Spousal IRA

A spousal IRA is a strategy that allows a working spouse to contribute to an IRA in the name of a non-working spouse to circumvent income requirements. This creates an exception to the provision that an individual must have earned income to contribute to an IRA. The working spouse's income, however, must equal or exceed the total IRA contributions made on behalf of both spouses. Spousal IRAs are just regular Roth or traditional IRAs that are used by married couples. They are not joint accounts; each IRA is set up in the name of an individual spouse. As of 2019, the use of a spousal IRA strategy allows couples who are married filing jointly to contribute $12,000 to IRAs  – or $14,000 if they are age 50 or older due to the catch-up contribution provision. 

To qualify to make spousal IRA contributions, the couple also must file a joint tax return (married filing jointly). Spousal IRAs can be either traditional or Roth IRAs, and are subject to the same annual contribution limits, income limits and catch-up contribution provisions as traditional and Roth IRAs. While IRAs cannot be held jointly in both spouse's names, spouses can share their account distributions in retirement. 

Spousal IRAs allow couples to accelerate their retirement savings. An added $6,000 per year over 30 years at 5% rate of return can add up to well over $400,000 at retirement.

The IRS has extensive rules on how IRAs must be structured and specific guidelines on how spousal IRA strategies can be deployed. According to the IRS, the amount of your combined contributions can’t be more than the taxable compensation reported on your joint return. See the formula in IRS Publication 590-A. Worth noting is that if neither spouse participated in a retirement plan at work, all of their contributions will be deductible.

For married couples filing jointly in which the spouse making the IRA contribution is covered by a workplace retirement plan, the phase-out range is $103,000 to $123,000 in 2019, up from $101,000 to $121,000 in 2018, according to the IRS.

For an IRA contributor who is not covered by a workplace retirement plan and is married to someone who is, the deduction is phased out if the couple’s income is between $193,000 and $203,000 in 2019, up from $189,000 and $199,000 in 2018.

As of 2019, each half of a couple utilizing a spousal IRA strategy can contribute $6,000 – up from $5,500 in 2018. An additional $1,000 may be contributed by each person if they are age 50 or older. That amounts to total contributions of $12,000 to $14,000 for 2019 or $11,000 to $13,000 for 2018. Contributions must be made by the tax filing deadline (including extensions). For example, you can make a contribution to your 2018 IRA through April 15, 2019, or later if you file for an extension.

Spousal IRAs are offered by IRS-approved institutions including banks, brokerage companies, some credit unions as well as federally insured savings & loan associations. Investopedia's Best Brokers for IRAs allows you to compare brokers side-by-side to find the one that matches your investing needs.