Traditional IRA contribution and
deduction limit. The contribution limit to your
traditional IRA for 2005 will be increased to the smaller of the following
amounts:
 | $4,000, or |
 | Your taxable compensation for the year. |
If you reach age 50 before 2006, the most
that can be contributed to your traditional IRA for 2005 will be the
smaller of the following amounts:
 | $4,500, or |
 | Your taxable compensation for the year. |
For more information, see
How Much Can Be Contributed? in
chapter 1.
Roth IRA contribution limit. If
contributions on your behalf are made only to Roth IRAs, your contribution
limit for 2005 will generally be the lesser of:
 | $4,000, or |
 | Your taxable compensation for the year. |
If you are 50 or older in 2005 and
contributions on your behalf are made only to Roth IRAs, your contribution
limit for 2005 will generally be the lesser of:
 | $4,500, or |
 | Your taxable compensation for the year. |
However, if your modified AGI is above a
certain amount, your contribution limit may be reduced. For more
information, see How Much Can Be Contributed?
under Can You Contribute to a Roth IRA?
in chapter 2.
Modified AGI limit for traditional IRA
contributions increased. For 2005, if you are
covered by a retirement plan at work, your deduction for contributions to
a traditional IRA will be reduced (phased out) if your modified adjusted
gross income (AGI) is:
 | More than $70,000 but less than $80,000 for a
married couple filing a joint return or a qualifying widow(er), |
 | More than $50,000 but less than $60,000 for a
single individual or head of household, or |
 | Less than $10,000 for a married individual filing a
separate return. |
For all filing statuses other than married
filing separately, the upper and lower limits of the phaseout range will
increase by $5,000. See How Much Can You
Deduct? in chapter 1.
Increase in limit on salary reduction
contributions under a SIMPLE. For 2005, salary
reduction contributions that your employer can make on your behalf under a
SIMPLE plan are increased to $10,000 (up from $9,000 in 2004). For more
information about salary reduction contributions, see
How Much Can Be Contributed on Your Behalf?
in chapter 3.
Additional salary reduction
contributions to SIMPLE IRAs for persons 50 and older. For
2005, additional salary reduction contributions can be made to your SIMPLE
IRA if:
 | You will be 50 or older in 2005, and |
 | No other salary reduction contributions can be made
for you to the plan for the year because of limits or restrictions,
such as the regular annual limit. |
For 2005, the additional amount will be the
lesser of the following two amounts.
 | $2,000 (up from $1,500 for 2004), or |
 | Your compensation for the year reduced by your
other elective deferrals for the year. |
For more information, see
How Much Can Be Contributed on Your Behalf?
in chapter 3.
Simplified employee pension (SEP). SEP-IRAs
are no longer covered in this publication. They are covered in Publication
560, Retirement Plans for Small Business.
Deemed IRAs. For
plan years beginning after 2002, a qualified employer plan (retirement
plan) can maintain a separate account or annuity under the plan (a deemed
IRA) to receive voluntary employee contributions. If the separate account
or annuity otherwise meets the requirements of an IRA, it will be subject
only to IRA rules. An employee's account can be treated as a traditional
IRA or a Roth IRA. For this purpose, a qualified
employer plan includes:
 | A qualified pension, profit-sharing, or stock bonus
plan (section 401(a) plan), |
 | A qualified employee annuity plan (section 403(a)
plan), |
 | A tax-sheltered annuity plan (section 403(b) plan),
and |
 | A deferred compensation plan (section 457 plan)
maintained by a state, a political subdivision of a state, or an
agency or instrumentality of a state or political subdivision of a
state. |
Statement of required minimum
distribution. If a minimum distribution is
required from your IRA, the trustee, custodian, or issuer that held the
IRA at the end of the preceding year must either report the amount of the
required minimum distribution to you, or offer to calculate it for you.
The report or offer must include the date by which the amount must be
distributed. The report is due January 31 of the year in which the minimum
distribution is required. It can be provided with the year-end fair market
value statement that you normally get each year. No report is required for
section 403(b) contracts (generally tax-sheltered annuities) or for IRAs
of owners who have died.
IRA interest. Although
interest earned from your IRA is generally not taxed in the year earned,
it is not tax-exempt interest. Do not report this interest on your return
as tax-exempt interest.
Form 8606. If
you make nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA and you do not
file Form 8606, Nondeductible IRAs, with your tax return, you may have to
pay a $50 penalty.
Roth IRA. You
cannot claim a deduction for any contributions to a Roth IRA. But, if you
satisfy the requirements, all earnings are tax free and neither your
nondeductible contributions nor any earnings on them are taxable when you
withdraw them. Roth IRAs are discussed in chapter 2.