You may contribute to a Roth IRA if you have earned income and your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) does not exceed the allowable limits.

If you have a small amount or no earned income yourself, but you are a married person who files a joint federal income tax return and your spouse has earned income, you may be able to make a Roth IRA contribution based on your spouse’s earned income.

Consult with a qualified tax advisor to determine your Roth IRA contribution eligibility.

Note:  There are additional eligibility requirements for catch-up contributions. (See “Am I eligible for a Roth IRA catch-up contribution?”)

If you are age 50 or older before the close of the taxable year and are otherwise eligible to make a Roth IRA contribution, you may increase your contribution amount by $1,000 for 2009 and later years.

No, there is no maximum or minimum age requirement for making Roth IRA contributions.  It is important to note, however, while there are no minimum age restrictions for Roth IRA contribution eligibility with respect to federal law, state laws may restrict the ability of a minor to enter into a contract and establish a Roth IRA.  Consult with a qualified tax advisor and your financial institution for additional information on minors establishing IRAs. 

For tax years 2011 and 2012, the maximum amount that you may contribute for a regular or spousal contribution to a Roth IRA is generally $5,000.  If you are eligible for a catch-up contribution, you may generally contribute an additional $1,000 for a total of $6,000 for 2011 and 2012. (The maximum amount for regular and spousal contributions is evaluated annually for cost-of-living and adjusted when applicable.)

If you meet contribution eligibility requirements for both Roth and Traditional IRAs, you may contribute to both for the same year. However, the contributions made between the two IRAs, in aggregate, cannot exceed the contribution limit.

If you have more than one Roth IRA, the contribution limit applies to the total amount of regular contributions you make to all of your Roth IRAs for the year. If you also have a Traditional IRA, your contribution limit is reduced by any regular contributions you make to your Traditional IRA for the same tax year.

The deadline for making Roth IRA contributions (i.e., regular contributions, spousal contributions and catch-up contributions) is your tax-filing deadline for the year, which is usually April 15th.  The IRA contribution deadline does not include any tax filing extensions.  For example, most IRA owners had until April 15, 2010 to make Roth IRA contributions for 2009.

The deadline for making Roth IRA contributions for tax year 2011, however, is Tuesday, April 17, 2012. The later than usual contribution deadline is a result of April 15, 2012 falling on Sunday and the observance of Emancipation Day in the District of Columbia on April 16, 2012. By law, filing and payment deadlines (including the deadline for making IRA contributions) that fall on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday are timely satisfied if met on the next business day. Under a separate statute, enacted decades ago, holidays that are observed in the District of Columbia have an impact nationwide, not just in Washington D.C. As a result, all taxpayers, nationwide, have until April 17, 2012 to make Traditional and Roth IRA contributions for tax year 2011.

A contribution made between January 1 and April 15 for the prior tax year is called a carryback contribution.  If you make a contribution between January 1 and April 15, tell your IRA custodian/trustee which tax year the contribution is for. If you do not indicate otherwise, the custodian/trustee will typically report it to the IRS as a current year contribution.