Truth 23 Excess contributions to a Roth IRA

Mae West used to say that too much of a good thing can be wonderful, but if you have made an excess contribution to a Roth IRA for which you did not qualify, it can create problems for you. Fortunately, this is one of the few places where the IRS readily permits you to have a mulligan, a do-over.

For you to make the maximum contribution to a Roth IRA in 2009, the IRS requires you to have at least $5,000 (or $6,000 if you are 50 years old or older) of earned income. That generally does not present much of a problem to anyone wishing to contribute to a Roth IRA. If you determine that you have sufficient income to qualify to contribute to a Roth IRA, the next step is to determine how much ...

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