A couple has well over 200K of income for 2011 and will make even more for 2012. They wish to set up roth IRAs, but their income prohibits a direct contribution. Since one spouse works and the other does not and they file a joint return, they can contribute $11,000 to non-deductible IRAs – $ 6,000 for the working spouse (who is over 50 years old) and $5,000 for the non-working spouse as a spousal IRA. Their plan is to do this and then convert to a Roth – keeping an eye on the Pro Rata rule, which won’t bother them since they have no other IRAs. How do they contribute the $11,000? Can they do this in just the working spouses name in one deposit? Does the non-working spouse have to contribute their $5000 in an IRA in their own name? I have read conflicting advice – what do they do to achieve their goals of contributing a total of $11,000 in IRAs? Thanks!

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