What is a Joint Roth IRA?

A Joint Roth IRA is a type of individual retirement account that’s similar to a Roth IRA,  and different in that it permits married couples to contribute to the same account. It combines the after-tax benefits of a Roth IRA with the ability for spouses to jointly contribute to a shared retirement fund.

Contributions to a Joint Roth IRA are made with after-tax dollars. This means that qualified withdrawals, including earnings, are tax-free at the time of retirement.

The structure of a Joint Roth IRA allows spouses to maximize their retirement savings potential by pooling their money together. The bigger the capital input, the bigger the potential for compounded returns. 

Eligibility and contribution limits, determined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) each year, still apply. It’s worth noting that the limit is determined by the combined income of both spouses, and each spouse must meet certain requirements to contribute to a Joint Roth IRA.

For example, the total contributions to each spouse’s individual IRAs and the Joint Roth IRA may not exceed the joint taxable income or the annual contribution limit on IRAs times two, whichever is less (regardless of which spouse earned the income).