The IRS allows participants to contribute to Roth IRAs and simple IRAs in the same year. However, it's important to note that each type of retirement account has its own rules and contribution limits. Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs are great ways to save for retirement, and you can open them even if you already have an employer-sponsored retirement plan. You can have a traditional IRA backed by Gold and a Roth IRA, and you can even open them the same year. However, the amount you can contribute to each one per year depends on eligibility factors and contribution limitations.
If you do so before the deadline for filing your tax return (including extensions), you can consider the contribution as if it had been made to the second IRA of that year (practically ignoring the contribution to the first IRA). In addition, traditional IRAs require the account holder to start receiving distributions at a certain age, while Roth IRAs do not. Each year's RMD is calculated by dividing the IRA balance as of December 31 of the previous year by the applicable distribution period or life expectancy. Do not use Form 8606, Non-Deductible IRAs (PDF/PDF, Non-Deductible IRAs) to declare non-deductible contributions to a Roth IRA.
Your total contributions to your IRA and your spouse's IRA cannot exceed your combined taxable income or the annual IRA contribution limit multiplied by two, whichever is less. A requalification allows you to treat a regular contribution made to a Roth IRA or a traditional IRA as if it had been made to another type of IRA. The main difference between a Roth IRA and a traditional IRA is the characterization of the money you contribute to each one. However, opening several Roth IRAs or traditional IRAs is not a way to get around contribution limits.
IRA investments in other unconventional assets, such as limited liability companies and real estate, risk disqualifying the IRA due to prohibited transaction rules that prohibit self-trading. The decision to invest in a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA depends on several factors, such as how much you can contribute to each of them, your long-term retirement goals and preferred tax treatment. Gold and other ingots are collectibles under the IRA statutes, and the law discourages the possession of collectibles in IRAs. It's hard to predict where tax rates will head in the future, so it's helpful to know that you can get the most out of these types of accounts by making contributions to a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA whenever possible.
Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs are good options for those seeking to maximize their retirement options. For example, due to administrative burdens, many IRA trustees don't allow IRA owners to invest IRA funds in real estate. To recharacterize a regular contribution to an IRA, you ask the administrator of the financial institution holding your IRA to transfer the amount of the contribution plus earnings to a different type of IRA (either a Roth or traditional one) through a transfer from trustee to trustee or to a different type of IRA with the same trustee.
