What is a spousal IRA?
A spousal IRA is a tax-advantaged retirement account that allows a married individual with little or no earned income to save for retirement in an IRA.
The IRA itself isn't different — it still comes in a traditional or Roth IRA type — but it is referred to as "spousal" because contributions come from the working spouse's income, even though the account is in the nonworking spouse's name.
Spousal IRAs are an exception to the rule that people must have their own earned income to contribute to their IRA.
» Need help deciding? How to choose between a traditional and Roth IRA
How spousal IRAs work
To contribute to a spousal IRA, the couple must file as married filing jointly. The working spouse must also earn at least as much money as is contributed to all of the couple's IRAs.
For example, say one spouse works and makes $100,000 a year, and their spouse does not work. Because their annual income exceeds the maximum annual contribution limit for IRAs, they can contribute to their own IRAs and to their partner's IRAs (if both are under age 50).
The maximum annual contribution to all of an individual's IRA accounts is $7,500 for 2026 ($8,600 if aged 50 and older).
This means that, depending on the working spouse's annual income and their ages, married couples can contribute up to $15,000 or $17,200 in 2026.
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Some couples may be able to earn the Saver’s Credit for making a contribution to a retirement account, including a spousal IRA. While there are rules to qualify, the credit is worth up to $2,000 for those married filing jointly. Make sense of the markets with The Nerdy Investor
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Spousal IRA rules
In addition to the requirement that at least one spouse has enough earned income to cover the contributions for both, there are some other rules to consider:
- Income and other limits for both types of IRAs
- The spousal IRA is not co-owned. It’s in the name of, and owned by, the nonworking spouse.
- There is no age restriction on contributing to either traditional or Roth IRAs.
» Need to double-check your eligibility? See this year's IRA income limits
How to open a spousal IRA
Because a spousal IRA is just a normal IRA account, it can be opened at any IRA broker or robo-advisor. You may have to provide personal information, such as birth date and Social Security number, to open the account.
After it's open, you can start funding the account and choosing your investments. From there, the savings could pay off (use an investment calculator to estimate how returns compound over time). For example, if you put $500 every month into an IRA and earn a 6% investment return, you could end up with more than $340,000 after 25 years.
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- 1. Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-A (2024), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).
- 2. Internal Revenue Service. Topic no. 451, Individual retirement arrangements (IRAs). Accessed Jan 13, 2026.
