Shawna, a married 29-year-old, deferred 10% of her salary, or $10,000, into a 401(k) plan sponsored by her employer this year. Her spouse, age 31, was unemployed all year and did not receive unemployment compensation. Assuming Shawna has no other income, what is the maximum contribution Shawna’s spouse can make to a Roth IRA for 2026?Single choice
A
$0.
B
$1,000.
C
$7,500.
D
$8,600.

Question

Shawna, a married 29-year-old, deferred 10% of her salary, or $10,000, into a 401(k) plan sponsored by her employer this year. Her spouse, age 31, was unemployed all year and did not receive unemployment compensation. Assuming Shawna has no other income, what is the maximum contribution Shawna’s spouse can make to a Roth IRA for 2026?Single choice

A

$0.

B

$1,000.

C

$7,500.

D

$8,600.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Shawna’s salary can be deduced from her deferral: 10% of salary = $10,000, so salary = $10,000 / 0.10 = $100,000. That earned income is the base for IRA contribution rules.

1) Relevant concepts:
- IRA contribution limit (Roth or traditional) is capped at the statutory annual limit for taxpayers under age 50.
- A spousal IRA allows a nonworking (or low‑income) spouse to contribute to an IRA up to the lesser of (a) the IRA annual limit or (b) the working spouse’s compensation, when the couple files a joint return.
- Employer elective deferrals to a 401(k) do not reduce the working spouse’s compensation for purposes of IRA contribution eligibility.
- Roth IRA contributions are also limited by MAGI phaseouts; if couple MAGI is below the phaseout threshold, the full contribution is allowed.

2) Step‑by‑step reasoning and calculations:
- Compute Shawna’s salary: 10% of salary = $10,000 → salary = $10,000 / 0.10 = $100,000.
- The nonworking spouse (age 31) has no earned income, so she relies on the spousal IRA rule. The couple’s combined compensation ($100,000) is more than enough to cover the spouse’s IRA.
- For 2026 the IRA contribution limit for taxpayers under age 50 is $7,500 (the correct answer provided). The spouse is 31, so no catch‑up applies.
- Check Roth income eligibility: the couple’s MAGI equals Shawna’s salary ($100,000) and is below the Roth phase‑out for married filing jointly in 2026, so the full Roth contribution is permitted.

3) Intermediate steps shown above: salary calculation and comparison to contribution limit.

4) Why the correct answer ($7,500) is correct:
Because the spouse has no earned income but is married filing jointly to a spouse with sufficient compensation ($100,000), she may make a spousal Roth IRA contribution up to the annual limit for her age group (under 50), which in 2026 is $7,500. Employer 401(k) deferrals do not reduce Shawna’s compensation for this purpose.

5) Why the other options are incorrect:
- $0: Incorrect — a spousal IRA permits a nonworking spouse to contribute when the other spouse has sufficient compensation.
- $1,000: Incorrect — there is no $1,000 statutory limit for a 31‑year‑old; that figure might be confused with catch‑up amounts (which apply only to 50+).
- $8,600: Incorrect — exceeds the under‑50 annual limit for 2026 and likely mixes in an incorrect catch‑up or other figure.

6) Conclusion:
Therefore, the maximum Roth IRA contribution Shawna’s 31‑year‑old spouse can make for 2026 is $7,500, which matches the provided answer.