You have to have an earned income before you can contribute to an IRA. Non earned taxable income cannot be used for this, like rental income, interest or dividend, etc.
Roth IRA:
Contribution: after tax money.
Contribution limit: $6,000 ($7,000 if you're age 50 or older) in 2021
Withdrawal: after the age of 59.5, no penalty. No tax if you follow the rules and no withdrawal limit if the Roth IRA account has been open for at least 5 years.
The IRS link for Roth IRA information:
https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/roth-iras
The following is rough calculation of Roth IRA contributions and returns based on S&P500 index returns.
Roth IRA from the beginning |
||||
Date |
S&P 500 Close |
Return % |
Contribution |
Cumulative Gain |
Dec-97 |
970 |
2,000 |
||
Dec-98 |
1,229 |
27% |
2,000 |
2,533 |
Dec-99 |
1,469 |
20% |
2,000 |
5,419 |
Dec-00 |
1,320 |
-10% |
2,000 |
6,666 |
Dec-01 |
1,148 |
-13% |
2,000 |
7,536 |
Dec-02 |
880 |
-23% |
3,000 |
8,074 |
Dec-03 |
1,112 |
26% |
3,000 |
13,996 |
Dec-04 |
1,212 |
9% |
3,000 |
18,524 |
Dec-05 |
1,248 |
3% |
4,000 |
23,200 |
Dec-06 |
1,418 |
14% |
4,000 |
30,905 |
Dec-07 |
1,468 |
4% |
4,000 |
36,137 |
Dec-08 |
903 |
-38% |
5,000 |
25,305 |
Dec-09 |
1,115 |
23% |
5,000 |
37,413 |
Dec-10 |
1,258 |
13% |
5,000 |
47,834 |
Dec-11 |
1,258 |
0% |
5,000 |
52,832 |
Dec-12 |
1,426 |
13% |
5,000 |
65,585 |
Dec-13 |
1,848 |
30% |
5,500 |
92,127 |
Dec-14 |
2,059 |
11% |
5,500 |
108,748 |
Dec-15 |
2,044 |
-1% |
5,500 |
113,418 |
Dec-16 |
2,239 |
10% |
5,500 |
130,256 |
Dec-17 |
2,674 |
19% |
5,500 |
162,120 |
Traditional IRA:
Contribution: pre-tax money.
Contribution limit: $6,000 ($7,000 if you're age 50 or older) in 2021
Withdrawal: after the age of 59.5, no penalty. Pay tax at ordinary income tax rates. There is RMD (Required Minimum Distribution) age 72 or older as of December 31, 2021,
Here is the IRS link for Traditional IRA information:
https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/traditional-iras
The total combined contribution to both Roth IRA and Traditional IRA will be limited to $6,000. If you are over the age of 50, you can contribute $7,000.