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What are the rules for contributing to a traditional ira?

If lower, your taxable compensation for the year. There are no income limits for traditional IRAs, but there are income limits for tax-deductible contributions. It depends on what type of IRA it is. Just about anyone can open a Gold IRA, as long as you (or your spouse) receive taxable income and are under 70 and a half years old. However, your contributions are tax-deductible only if you meet certain requirements.

For more information on those qualifications, see Who can contribute to a traditional IRA? Do not use Form 8606, Non-Deductible IRAs (PDF/PDF, Non-Deductible IRAs) to declare non-deductible contributions to a Roth IRA. 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. 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 owner of a traditional IRA doesn't immediately owe income taxes on the money deposited in the account.

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. However, you must use Form 8606 to declare the amounts you have converted from a traditional IRA, SEP, or simple IRA to a Roth IRA.