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March 17, 2025
Question

Contributed to IRA and Roth IRA while not working

  • March 17, 2025
  • 2 replies
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I was not aware I am not able to contribute to a Roth IRA and IRA. in 2023 and 2024.  When I filed taxes in 2023, I did not report this. Now in 2024, I contributed $950 each to both accounts and I am still not working. Can I pay the 6% penalty and not withdraw this amount? Then, when I file my taxes for 2025, I can withdraw it?  

    2 replies

    March 17, 2025

    If you do not withdraw the excess contribution, you must report them each year on form 5329 and pay an excise tax of 6% for every year the excess remains in your account.

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    Employee
    March 17, 2025

    You need to amend your 2023 return and pay the penalty.    It is too late to remove the excess.

     

    For 2024, your penalty is the combined total of your 2023 and 2024 contributions, because both are excess.  This won't be figured correctly by Turbotax unless you manually tell the program you had uncorrected excess contributions from the previous years.

     

    Do you plan on resuming work?  If you work in 2025, then you could leave the excess in the account, pay the 6% for 2024, then apply the excess as a 2025 contribution and "use up" the excess. (Or you can contribute based on a spouse's work income to use up the excess.)  However, if you don't plan on working again, you will pay 6% on the combined excess for every year the excess is still in the account.

     

    You can remove the 2024 excess by a special procedure before April 15.  The 2023 excess can't be removed that way, you have to leave it in the account until after April 15 and then remove it by a different procedure. 

    RNTAX2025Author
    March 17, 2025

    I am currently looking for work. I already stopped the IRA contributions going forward. 

    In 2024, the total contributions was $950 for Roth IRA and $950 to the Traditional rollover IRA. This means, I need to withdraw a total of $1900 for excess contributions? 

    Employee
    March 17, 2025

    @RNTAX2025 wrote:

    I am currently looking for work. I already stopped the IRA contributions going forward. 

    In 2024, the total contributions was $950 for Roth IRA and $950 to the Traditional rollover IRA. This means, I need to withdraw a total of $1900 for excess contributions? 


    You said you also made contributions in 2023?  How much, and is that included in the $950/$950?