Generally, individuals who are unemployed are not allowed to contribute to retirement accounts such as
IRAs because they do not have eligible compensation. However, there is an exception for individuals with spouses that are employed and meet certain requirements. The employed spouse is allowed to make an IRA contribution on behalf of a non-working spouse or a spouse who has little income. These contributions are referred to as "spousal IRA contributions". Here we review the eligibility requirements for making spousal IRA contributions.
Eligibility Requirements
To make a spousal IRA contribution, you must meet the following requirements:
- You must be married.
- You must file a joint income-tax return.
- You must have compensation or earned income of at least the amount you contribute to your IRAs.
Age Limit
If you decide to fund a
Traditional IRA for your spouse, he or she must be under age 70.5 for the year for which the contribution is being made. For example, if your spouse attained age 70.5 in 2008, you wouldn't have been permitted to make a contribution to his or her Traditional IRA for 2008. You would, however, have been able to make a spousal IRA contribution for tax year 2007, provided the contribution was made by April 17, 2008.
There are no age limits that apply to
Roth IRA contributions.
Compensation Limit While there is no cap on the amount you may earn in order to fund a Traditional IRA, this is not so for a Roth IRA. If your compensation is more than $169,000, you are not allowed to contribute to a Roth IRA for yourself or your spouse. If your compensation is below $159,000, you may contribute up to the limit allowed for the year. Once your compensation reaches $159,000, your contribution limit is reduced and phases out until you reach a compensation of $169,000. When your compensation falls between $159,000 and $169,000, your tax professional will be able to help you determine the maximum amount that you are allowed to contribute to your and/or your spouse's Roth IRA.
Contribution Limit
You may contribute 100% of your compensation or the tax year's IRA contribution limit, whichever is less, to your IRA. Bear in mind that the contribution limit that applies to you also applies to your spouse. For example, for tax year 2008, which has a contribution limit of $5,000, you may contribute no more than $10,000 in total to both IRAs. If you are age 50 or older by the end of the year for which the contribution is being made, the limit is increased by the catch-up amount.
Table 1 summarizes the regular IRA contribution limits for tax years 2002 to 2009, and Table 2 summarizes the
catch-up contribution limits. The numbers shown apply to both Roth and Traditional IRAs.
| Regular IRA Participant Contribution Limit |
| Tax Year |
Individual Contribution Limit |
Combined Individual and Spousal IRA
Contribution Limit |
| 2002 |
$3,000 |
$6,000 |
| 2003 |
$3,000 |
$6,000 |
| 2004 |
$3,000 |
$6,000 |
| 2005 |
$4,000 |
$8,000 |
| 2006 |
$4,000 |
$8,000 |
| 2007 |
$4,000 |
$8,000 |
| 2008 |
$5,000 |
$10,000 |
| 2009 |
$5,000 + potential cost of living increase |
$10,000 + potential cost of living increase |
| Catch-Up Contribution Limit |
| Tax Year |
Individual Contribution Limit |
Combined Individual and Spousal IRA
Contribution Limit |
| 2002 |
$500 |
$1,000 |
| 2003 |
$500 |
$1,000 |
| 2004 |
$500 |
$1,000 |
| 2005 |
$500 |
$1,000 |
| 2006 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
| 2007 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
| 2008 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
| 2009 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
| 2010 |
$1,000 |
$2,000 |
If you contribute to both Roth and Traditional IRAs, remember that your combined contribution may not exceed the limits stated above.
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