You may contribute to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) if you're a member of the armed forces. The rules that apply to servicemembers regarding IRA contributions and distributions generally are the same rules that apply to civilians.
You're allowed to contribute up to $6,000 to a traditional IRA in 2022, as long as you have earned income. In addition, if you're age 50 or older, you can make an extra "catch-up" contribution of $1,000 in 2022. You can make your annual contribution up to April 15 of the following year. Also, if you meet certain conditions, you may be able to contribute an additional $6,000 in 2022 to an IRA in your spouse's name (plus an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution if your spouse is age 50 or older), even if your spouse has little or no income. However, whether you can deduct your traditional IRA contributions will depend on several factors, such as your income, your tax filing status, and whether you or your spouse is covered by the Thrift Savings Plan or an employer-sponsored plan. You may be able to deduct all, a portion, or none of your contribution for a given year. You may also qualify for a partial tax credit.
On the other hand, contributions to Roth IRAs are never tax deductible, but qualified distributions will be tax free. Also, even though the same dollar caps on yearly contributions apply to Roth IRAs ($6,000 in 2022, and a $1,000 catch-up contribution if age 50 or older), not everyone will qualify to take full advantage of a Roth IRA. The amount you can contribute to a Roth IRA (if anything) will be based on your income and filing status. As with traditional IRAs, you may be able to contribute to a Roth IRA on behalf of your spouse. However, your contribution to a Roth IRA for any tax year must be reduced by contributions made to other IRAs during the same year. For example, your combined annual contribution to all of your IRAs in 2022 — Roth and traditional — cannot exceed $6,000 ($7,000 if you're age 50 or older).
In addition, members of the Armed Forces may include nontaxable combat pay as part of their taxable compensation when determining how much they can contribute to an IRA (their own or a spousal IRA). For service members with only nontaxable combat pay, Roth IRA contributions generally will make more sense than nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA.
Reach out to a knowledgeable First Bank Wealth Management advisor today to discuss your Individual Retirement Account options.
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Broadridge Investor Communication Solutions, Inc. does not provide investment, tax, legal, or retirement advice or recommendations. The information presented here is not specific to any individual's personal circumstances. To the extent that this material concerns tax matters, it is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used, by a taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed by law. Each taxpayer should seek independent advice from a tax professional based on his or her individual circumstances. These materials are provided for general information and educational purposes based upon publicly available information from sources believed to be reliable — we cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of these materials. The information in these materials may change at any time and without notice. Prepared by Broadridge Advisor Solutions Copyright 2023.
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