Roth IRA - Eligibility
1

Generally, you can contribute to a Roth IRA if you have taxable compensation (defined below) and your 2019 modified AGI is less than:

  • $203,000 for married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er),
  • $137,000 for single, head of household, or married filing separately and you did not live with your spouse at any time during the year, and
  • $10,000 for married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during the year.

Compensation includes wages, salaries, tips, professional fees, bonuses, and other amounts received for providing personal services. It also includes commissions, self-employment income, nontaxable combat pay, military differential pay, and taxable alimony and separate maintenance payments.

Compensation does not include any of the following items.

  • Earnings and profits from property, such as rental income, interest income, and dividend income.
  • Pension or annuity income.
  • Deferred compensation received (compensation payments postponed from a past year).
  • Income from a partnership for which you do not provide services that are a material income-producing factor.
  • Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) payments reported on Schedule SE (Form 1040), line 1b.
  • Any amounts (other than combat pay) you exclude from income, such as foreign earned income and housing costs.

Please refer to IRS Publication 590-A Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) for additional information.