Not everyone can open a Roth IRA, and the barrier is income, not age or employment status
You can open a Roth IRA if you have earned income in the year you contribute and your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) falls below the IRS limit for your filing status. The income limits change each year and depend on whether you file as single, married filing jointly, married filing separately, or head of household. If your income exceeds the limit, you cannot contribute directly to a Roth that year, though other routes exist.
The IRS does not care whether you are 18 or 75, employed by a company or self-employed, a U.S. citizen or a resident alien with a valid tax ID. What matters is the earned income and the income ceiling. A teenager with a summer job can open one. A retiree with only Social Security cannot, because Social Security is not earned income.
Key Takeaways
- You must have earned income in the year you want to contribute — wages, self-employment income, or taxable alimony count; investment returns and Social Security do not.
- Your modified adjusted gross income must stay below the IRS limit for your filing status, which changes annually and ranges from roughly $146,000 to $230,000 depending on how you file.
- If your income exceeds the limit, you can still fund a Roth through a backdoor Roth conversion, which involves contributing to a traditional IRA and converting it.
- You can open a Roth at any age and can keep contributing as long as you have earned income, even after age 73.
- Contribution limits are the same for everyone who is under the income cap — $7,000 per year for most people, $8,000 if you are 50 or older.
What counts as earned income for Roth IRA purposes
Earned income means money you received for work. This includes W-2 wages from an employer, net self-employment income from a business or freelance work, taxable alimony or separate maintenance payments, and military combat pay (which you can elect to exclude from gross income). It does not include interest, dividends, capital gains, rental income, Social Security, pensions, or distributions from retirement accounts.
If you are married and file jointly, you can contribute to a Roth based on your spouse's earned income even if you did not work that year — but only up to the amount of your spouse's income. For example, if your spouse earned $10,000 and you earned nothing, you can contribute up to $10,000 combined between the two of you (split however you choose), not $7,000 each.
The earned income must be reported on a tax return. If you are self-employed, you report it on Schedule C. If you are a W-2 employee, your employer reports it. If you earned money but did not file a return because your income was below the filing threshold, you can still open a Roth, but you will need to file a return to make the contribution official.
Income limits that determine whether you can contribute
The IRS sets income ceilings for Roth contributions each year. These are based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), which is usually your adjusted gross income with certain deductions added back. The limits vary by filing status and increase slightly each year.
For 2024, the income phase-out ranges are approximately:
| Filing Status | Phase-Out Range |
|---|---|
| Single or Head of Household | $146,000 to $161,000 |
| Married Filing Jointly | $230,000 to $240,000 |
| Married Filing Separately | $0 to $10,000 |
If your MAGI falls within the phase-out range, you can contribute a reduced amount. If it exceeds the top of the range, you cannot contribute directly. The IRS publishes updated limits each January, so check the current year's limits on IRS.gov before you contribute.
What to do if your income is too high
If your income exceeds the limit, you have two main options: wait until your income drops below the ceiling, or use a backdoor Roth conversion. A backdoor Roth involves contributing money to a traditional IRA (which has no income limit) and then converting it to a Roth. The conversion itself is not limited by income, though you may owe taxes on the conversion depending on whether you have other traditional IRA balances.
A backdoor Roth is legal and common among high-income earners, but it requires careful execution. If you have existing traditional IRA, SEP-IRA, or SIMPLE IRA balances, the conversion can trigger unexpected taxes. You should consult a tax professional before attempting one, because the IRS has strict rules about how the conversion is reported and the pro-rata rule can complicate things if you have multiple IRA accounts.
Another option is a mega backdoor Roth, which involves contributing to an employer 401(k) plan (if your plan allows it) and then converting the after-tax contributions to a Roth. This is not available to everyone — your employer's plan must permit after-tax contributions and in-service conversions — but it allows much larger contributions than a standard backdoor Roth.
Age and employment status do not matter
You can open a Roth IRA at any age. A 16-year-old with a part-time job can open one. A 75-year-old with consulting income can open one. There is no age minimum and no age maximum, as long as you have earned income.
You do not need to be employed by a company. Self-employed people, freelancers, gig workers, and business owners can all open Roths based on their net self-employment income. You do not need to be a U.S. citizen, but you must have a valid Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) and file a U.S. tax return.
You can open a Roth even if you are already retired, as long as you have earned income that year. For example, if you retired at 60 but took on consulting work and earned $5,000, you could contribute $5,000 to a Roth that year.
How to open a Roth IRA once you confirm you are may be able to access
Once you know you have earned income and your MAGI is below the limit, you can open a Roth at any bank, brokerage, or investment firm that offers them. Common providers include Fidelity, Vanguard, Charles Schwab, and most traditional banks. You do not need to open it at the same institution where you bank or have other accounts.
The application process is straightforward: you provide your name, address, Social Security number, employment information, and funding source (whether you will transfer money from another account or deposit new funds). Most institutions let you open an account online in 10 to 15 minutes. You can then choose how to invest the money — in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or money market funds, depending on what the institution offers.
You can open multiple Roths at different institutions if you want, but your total contributions across all Roths in a single year cannot exceed the annual limit ($7,000 for most people in 2024). If you open more than one, you are responsible for tracking your total contributions across all accounts to avoid over-contributing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I open a Roth IRA if I am unemployed but have self-employment income?
Yes. Self-employment income counts as earned income for Roth purposes. You report it on Schedule C and pay self-employment tax on it. As long as your net self-employment income and MAGI are below the limit, you can contribute.
What if I earned money but did not file a tax return because my income was too low?
You can still open a Roth and contribute, but you will need to file a tax return to report the contribution. The contribution itself does not trigger a filing requirement, but the IRS expects you to report all income, even if it is below the threshold.
Can my spouse open a Roth if they did not work?
Yes, if you file jointly and you had earned income. Your spouse can contribute up to the amount of your earned income (combined with their own if they had any). This is called a spousal Roth contribution. You each have separate accounts, but the contribution limit is based on the working spouse's income.
Do I lose the ability to contribute if my income goes over the limit partway through the year?
Your income for Roth purposes is measured at the end of the tax year. If your MAGI for the full year ends up over the limit, you cannot contribute for that year. If you already contributed and then your income rose, you may need to withdraw the excess contribution and any earnings on it to avoid penalties.
Can I contribute to a Roth after I turn 73?
Yes. There is no age limit on Roth contributions as long as you have earned income. You can contribute at 80, 90, or any age, as long as you worked and earned money that year.