KPM

Retirement Account Required Minimum Distributions Vacation Property Rentals Affecting Your Taxes Social Security Benefit Taxation Tax Implications of Unemployment Unused 529 College Funds IRA Contribution Gift Tax Return Difference Between Filing Jointly Or Separately Substantiation For Your 2023 Charitable Donations IRA Questions Filing 2023 Tax Year Returns Kiddie Tax Rules Medical Expense Tax Deduction Tax Obligations Of Moving To Another State How Are Court Awards & Out-Of-Court Settlements Taxed Nanny Tax Reduce Your 2023 Tax Bill FSA 2024 Inflation-Adjusted Federal Tax Amounts 10% Penalty Tax Restricted Stock 401(K) Plan SECURE 2.0 Scholarships Considered Taxable Income Casualty Loss Tax Deductions Tax Implications HSA Investment Gift Tax Selling your home Employer-Provided Life Insurance ABLE account Student Loan Interest Tax Breaks Catch-Up Contributions Tax Text Or Email From The IRS

Teens in Your Family with Summer Jobs? Set Up IRAs for Them!

Teenagers’ retirement may seem too far off to warrant saving now, but IRAs can be perfect for teens precisely because they will likely have many years to let their accounts grow tax-deferred or tax-free.

The 2015 contribution limit is the lesser of $5,500 or 100 percent of earned income. A teen’s traditional IRA contributions typically are deductible, but distributions will be taxed. Roth IRA contributions aren’t deductible, but qualified distributions will be tax-free.

Choosing a Roth IRA is typically a no-brainer if a teen does not earn income that exceeds the standard deduction ($6,300 for 2015 for single taxpayers), because he or she will likely gain no benefit from deducting a traditional IRA contribution. Even above that amount, the teen probably is taxed at a low rate, so the Roth will typically still be the better answer.

How powerful can an IRA for a teen be? Here is an example: Both Madison and Noah contribute $5,500 per year to their IRAs through age 66 and earn a six percent rate of return. But Madison starts contributing when she gets her first job at age 16, while Noah waits until age 23, after he has graduated from college and started his career. Madison’s additional $38,500 of early contributions results in a nest egg at full retirement age of 67 that’s nearly $600,000 larger than Noah’s — $1,698,158 vs. $1,098,669!

Contact us for more ideas on helping teens benefit from tax-advantaged saving.

Related Articles

Talk with the pros

Our CPAs and advisors are a great resource if you’re ready to learn even more.