We’re Married filing jointly but my spouse is covered by a plan at work . A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit for me, but not for my wife right?
Should she still contribute to a trad. IRA regardless. Best way to track what was deductible over the years for when we take distributions? We’ve only made pre tax contributions so far, but how does IRS track this during retirement?
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You file form 8606 which tracks your (non deductible) basis in your traditional ira the year your contribute and whenever anything changes.
I guess I have to hang on to this form for a while. We haven’t done any non deductible IRAs yet, but we’re close to thresholds this year. so might just contribute myself (no work plan) and not for my wife (has multiple)
“Close to non-deductible thresholds” implies you’re nowhere near the Roth IRA contribution phaseout. So why would you contribute to a non-deductible IRA instead of a Roth IRA?
Contributions are after-tax in both cases, but Roth IRA distributions are tax-free, while distributions of any gains from a non-deductible IRA are taxable income. Contributing to Roth IRA also means you don’t have to worry about keeping track of what is or isn’t deductible or filing Form 8606.
I didn’t know any gains from a non-deductible IRA are taxable income. I thought that was what filing Form 8606 was for keep those gains basis “separate”?
Our AGI is ~$225K but not sure (extension)
I already contributed to a $6K trad. IRA for myself (no work plan) but not yet for my wife (has multiple work plans) Should I do a Roth for her (or non-deductible trad IRA then recharacterize to Roth when I file)
You’re over the Roth limit of $214k for 2022.
Right ~$ 225K approx calc. on my part since I haven’t done child care expenses etc yet. (just added W2+Interest so i can extend)
This is why I thought trad. IRA No AGI limits but MIGHT be deductible. i can recharacterize to Roth if it isn’t?
We MIGHT end up in this category married filing jointly with a spouse who is covered by a plan at work more than $204,000 but less than $214,000, a partial deduction.
There is very little reason to do a non-deductible traditional IRA contribution outside of making a backdoor Roth contribution.
But if you already have traditional IRAs, that isn’t really an option, since the conversions are pro-rata and will be mostly taxable in your case.
Thanks. I will try to cancel my $6k trad. contribution. But Fido doesn’t make it easy to find online. Hoping that I will qualify for deduction by lowering AGI with adjustments like childcare?
Regardless I won’t backdoor Roth (not that into backdoor stuff 
) I too thought it was just taxes on the $6K This article answers my comingling question but does that apply in a traditional IRA of to comingling pre and post tax funds?
(Backdoor Roth IRA Conversions: Beware the Pro Rata Rule | ThinkAdvisor)
Contributions to Dependent Care FSA reduce your AGI. All other childcare related items are credits (Child Tax Credit, Child & Dependent Care Credit), which do not reduce your AGI.
ok I now know no upsides but are there any downsides to a non deductible IRA contribution going into my “pure” pre tax IRA account?
or should i do this before 10/16 (extension)
IRA Return of Excess Contribution
Complete this request to have an excess contribution returned to you or, if allowed, applied to the current tax year as an annual IRA contribution.
It is important to note that you cannot request to carry over an excess contribution to a subsequent tax year if it’s already past your tax-filing deadline the year in which you made the contribution. [How do I request a carryover after the filing deadline?](javascript:stens.modals[‘whySSN’].open()
If you do not have a Traditional IRA, a Rollover IRA, or a Roth IRA, please download and complete the [IRA Return of Excess Contribution form (PDF)](javascript:action(‘retrieveIraPDF’)).
The deadline is today, 4/18/23. IRA contributions don’t get extended even if you take an extension.
No downside to which account into which the nondeductible contribution is placed. For tax / withdrawal purposes, all traditional IRAs are treated as aggregated. Might as well keep it simple.
It’s to keep your contributions separate. If you paid tax on the money going in (a non-deductible contribution), you dont pay tax on it coming out. You only pay tax on the gains. With a deductible contribution, you pay tax on the whole amount when withdrawn.
ok I now know no upsides but are there any downsides to a non deductible IRA contribution going into my “pure” pre tax IRA account?
It doesn’t cause any direct harm, it is just generally a wasteful place to put after tax money.
The “convenience” of tax deferral on the gains and not needing to deal with related tax paperwork each year is not offset, IMO, by the fact that you’ll pay ordinary income tax rates on the gains in the future.
About the only “advantage” I can see would be having a little more that you could convert to a Roth post-retirement when your income is presumably lower than your earning years. But making it to the end of your retirement with any money in a tax-deferred IRA is about the worst place to leave it to your heirs due to taxable distributions on an inherited traditional IRA.
I already contributed to my traditional IRA on 4/17. Debating whether I should call Fido to reverse (if it’s possible)
But given the advice here better to leave it. When I convert to ROTH someday it will give me more $ to convert