Maximum Roth contribution for joint filers

Submitted by John Furrer on Fri, 2018-04-20 20:35

Joint income allows husband and wife to only contribute in total $10,230 for 2017 (they are both under age of 50 so maximum would have been $11,000) to their Roth IRA’s. One spouse contributed $5500 and one spouse $4100. Does it matter how much you contribute to each Roth as long as the cumulative number (in this case, $9600) is less than the allowable joint amount of $10,230 OR is each spouse limited to 1/2 the total allowable contribution of $10,230, or $5115? If they are limited to $5115 each, is it an easy fix to move the excess from one spouse to the other prior to October 15?



Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Fri, 2018-04-20 22:09

  • Yes, it does matter. The MAGI reduction worksheet in Pub 590 A establishes a max dollar limit for each spouse’s Roth contribution. That amount is rounded up to the next $10. Neither spouse can exceed the individual dollar limit even if the other spouse contributes less. Not sure where the figure of 10,230 came from, but since half of that is 5115 which does not reflect the rounding up to the nearest $10 amount. Now if couple only has a total of 9600 to contribute, the contributions do not have to be equal, but neither spouse can exceed the rounded dollar limit for an individual. 
  • In your example, the higher contributor has an excess contribution which must be corrected. The other spouse could have added to their contribution, but it is now too late for 2017.

Submitted by David Mertz on Fri, 2018-04-20 22:41

Perhaps total compensation is only $10,230 and the contributions are limited by compensation rather than by MAGI.  In that case, the higher earning spouse can contribute up to a maximum of the amount of their own compensation or $5,500, whichever is less, and the lower earning spouse can contribute the remainder of the $10,230 up to a maximum of $5,500.

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