Roth contribution
I made a contribution to my roth Ira in 2009. I also got married in 2009 and will be filing separately for my income taxes. Is this contribution ok ? If not, what are the conditions for it to be allowed or is it completely disallowed?
Permalink Submitted by Alan Spross on Thu, 2010-08-05 04:55
Unfortuneately, the contribution is not allowed if you file separately UNLESS you never lived with your spouse at anytime during the year. If you got married at the end of the year, you might be OK. Honeymoon time does not count.
One alternative to consider is to have the contribution recharacterized to a TIRA contribution. You have until 10/15/2010 to recharacterize a 2009 contribution IF you either filed your 2009 return on time or filed an extension by 4/15/2010. If either of you were covered by a retirement plan at work you cannot deduct that contribution, but you CAN convert it to a Roth IRA. 2010 is the first year that married separate filers can convert. If you have no other TIRA balance, this conversion would be tax free.