What Are the Roth IRA Rules?

Roth IRA rules form part of the 1997 Taxpayer Relief Act; it was named after the late Senator William Roth, Jr who instigated the idea.

The contributions, or deposits, you make to your Roth IRA are non tax deductible, unlike other retirement plans. On the flip side though, when you or your beneficiary withdraw funds, the earnings are not taxed, provided certain requirements are met. Another benefit of a Roth IRA is that there are no early penalty distributions, which means you don't have to take compulsory distributions after the age of seventy years and six months.

There are certain IRA limits that come with Roth investing. These IRA limits apply to contributions and may change each year. If you over age 50 you can add additional funds. Make sure to keep tabs on these factor when making contributions.

The main advantage of a Roth IRA is the complete freedom from taxation of your investment earnings. But remember the flip side of this: your contributions are non tax deductible. To decide whether this is an advantage or disadvantage for you, you will need to consider things like when you expect to need to withdraw your funds and what your tax bracket will be then; also what earnings you expect to receive in the interim.

Even without doing a load of calculation and analysis, the reality is that many people will be better off with a Roth IRA. Why? Because a Roth IRA is better than a traditional IRA because it has after-tax money. This maximizes your contributions and increases tax leverage to your savings. Your funds continue to grow, tax free, after you are seventy years and six months, if you have other money to live off at this time.

To set up a Roth IRA, you can convert a traditional IRA and make regular contributions to it, even if you have an employer maintained retirement fund. Your modified gross income must be $100, 000 or below; you must file jointly with your spouse unless you are single. The Roth IRA rules include a qualifying income of your spouse and there are limits on your adjusted gross income. While income tax has to be paid in the year you convert, the long term savings of the Roth IRA make this worthwhile.

Consult a financial planner to help you decipher the often complex Roth IRA rules.