Simple Tax Question / Roth IRA

[Sideonecincy]

This is a pretty simple question that I just can't find the answer to, so I figured someone on here probably knows it.

I am looking to open a Roth IRA, but I already filed my taxes for 2011. I meant to do this in 2011 but just never got around to it. So since I already filed my taxes for 2011 and don't want to have to amend them, should I wait until after taxes are due to open a roth IRA or can I open it anytime and have it apply to 2012?

I am planning on just opening it and maxing it out for the year right away. Is this somehow a bad idea?

Thank you!

 

[jca24]

Yes you can open the roth at any time this year and have it apply for 2012.

 

[whoathere]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

If your going to max it out, and put it in an investment, then you'll want to do that sooner rather than later.

 

[SuperCachetes]

1. You have a choice of what tax year to contribute under, until April so-and-so. You just want to be sure that you do select "2012" when depositing/contributing right now.

2. Nothing wrong with making one lump sum contribution up to the annual limit - it's $5,000 for most people, more if you are older. Also watch the income limitations: if you are way into the six-figure salary range, you may not be able to do a Roth.

 

[ImAlwaysRight]

You pay the full tax on a Roth IRA now, so even though you filed your taxes for 2011, I believe you can still open a Roth IRA for 2011. You have until April 15 to contribute to a Roth IRA for the previous tax year.

The salary cap was mentioned for a Roth IRA. For the maximum contribution in 2011, the limits are $107,000 for single individuals and $169,000 for married couples filing joint returns.