What to know about a spousal individual retirement account – CNBC

Damircudic | Getty ImagesOne of the ground rules for individual retirement account contributions is you must have “earned income,” such as wages or salary from a job or self-employment earnings.But there’s a special exception, known as a spousal IRA, which allows you to contribute based on your spouse’s earnings if you file taxes jointly — and there’s still time to save for 2022.”That’s probably the thing that surprises people the most,” said certified financial planner Malcolm Ethridge, executive vice president of CIC Wealth in Rockville, Maryland.More from The New Road to Retirement:How a spousal IRA worksA spousal IRA is a separate account, meaning both spouses can contribute to their own IRAs. But collectively, annual IRA deposits for the couple can’t exceed joint taxable income or two times the yearly limit.For 2022, the annual IRA contribution limit is $6,000 for 2022 or $7,000 for savers age 50 and older. The limit jumped to $6,500 for 2023, with an extra $1,000 for investors age 50 and up.Ethridge said many clients don’t realize they can still make 2022 IRA contributions until the federal tax filing deadline, which is April 18 for most Americans.And many couples aren’t aware of spousal IRA contributions, according to
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