2019 Contributions to IRA opened in 2020

Submitted by Jim Baudreau on Tue, 2020-04-28 15:52

I’ve looked all over this forum and the IRS website but cannot find a definitive answer to this:
Can someone open an IRA in 2020 and (if they have not yet filed their 2019 tax return) make a contribution for 2019?

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Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Tue, 2020-04-28 16:01

Yes, a 2019 IRA contribution to either a new or existing IRA can be made before filing the 2019 return. The deadline for making a 2019 contribution has been extended to 7/15 this year. Be sure to clearly flag any contribution made between now and 7/15 with the tax year it should be assigned to.

Permalink Submitted by Jim Baudreau on Tue, 2020-04-28 18:35

I’ve read too many pages on the IRS website on this topic to count, and apparently I’ve missed this. Can you help me by sharing where this is noted in the regs so I can pass that along to my CPA friend who is also helping me research this for a client? Thanks!

Permalink Submitted by Alan - IRA critic on Tue, 2020-04-28 23:30

In the Pub 590 A link below, see p 6 for when an IRA can be opened, and p 10 for the due date for making contributions for a particular year. Note that p 10 indicates a 4/15 deadline, but due to the virus the deadline was since extended to 7/15 for making 2019 contributions.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590a.pdf