IRA Contribution Limits & Deadlines
All IRA plans offer the ability for participants to set aside income into the plan. This is a great way to build your tax-sheltered retirement savings and in most types of IRAs, reduce your tax liability as well. When you (or your employer in some plan formats) add money to your IRA account, this is referred to as a contribution.
All contributions must be in the form of cash.
The general contribution limits and deadlines for each type of IRA account are shown below. A self-directed IRA LLC may be formed using any of these available IRA types.
In some cases, contributions – or the deduction associated with contributions – may be limited based on income, filing status or coverage through an employer plan such as a 401(k). We encourage you to check with your licensed tax advisor regarding contribution decisions.
Rollovers from other plans and earnings from plan investments do not apply to the plan contribution limit.
If you are married filing jointly, both you and/or your spouse may contribute to an IRA, even if one of you does not have taxable income.
With a Checkbook IRA LLC, contributions must be made into the IRA account held by the custodian. These funds are then invested into the LLC. Under no circumstances should you place new contributions directly into your LLC account, as this could have severe tax consequences.
Traditional IRA
| Deadline to Open Account | April 15 following the end of the tax year |
| Deadline to Contribute | April 15, no extensions |
| Contribution Limit – 2022 | $6,000 for participants under age 50 $7,000 for participants age 50 and older |
| Notes | You must have earned income in order to contribute. Contributions are reduced from your taxable income and the taxes are deferred until you take IRA distributions.
The ability to deduct contributions is phased out based on income, filing status and participation in an employer retirement plan. Refer to the IRS web site for more details: |
Roth IRA
| Deadline to Open Account | April 15 following the end of the tax year |
| Deadline to Contribute | April 15, no extensions |
| Contribution Limit – 2022 | $6,000 for participants under age 50 $7,000 for participants age 50 and older |
| Notes | You must have earned income in order to contribute. Contributions are taxed, but earnings and distributions are not taxed.
The ability to make contributions is phased out based on income, filing status and participation in an employer retirement plan. Refer to the IRS web site for more details: |
SEP IRA
| Deadline to Open Account | Due date of tax return, including extensions |
| Deadline to Contribute | Due date of tax return, including extensions |
| Contribution Limit | Contributions are based on profit sharing, with a plan maximum of:
$58,000 for 2021 $61,000 for 2022 The calculation is up to 25% of compensation (W-2 employees) or up to 20% of net business income for recipients of pass-through income such as self-employed sole proprietors. |
| Notes | A SEP IRA is essentially a traditional tax-deferred IRA with the same investment, distribution and rollover rules – but with special contribution rules allowing an employer to make profit sharing contributions to the plan. |
SIMPLE IRA
| Deadline to Open Account | October 1 of the tax year |
| Deadline to Contribute | Employer contributions must be made by the due date of tax return, including extensions
Employee contributions must be made within 30 days of the end of the pay period from which the contribution is being made |
| Contribution Limit – 2021 | $13,500 for participants under age 50 $16,500 for participants age 50 and older |
| Contribution Limit – 2022 | $14,000 for participants under age 50 $17,000 for participants age 50 and older |
| Notes | A SIMPLE IRA is an employer plan available to eligible businesses with less than 100 qualifying employees. Contributions are made both by the employer and the employee. |
More information on the topic of IRA accounts and contributions is available in IRS Publication 590-A.
This page has been updated to reflect law changes implemented with the SECURE Act of 2019. Last Updated 04/21/2021.
