Roth IRA Question

[Ryan started the FIRE]

I have a quick 2 part question about opening a Roth IRA with Vanguard. I currently have a Roth with them that has been fully funded for the year but since I got married a few months ago I would like to open one for my wife as well.

Question #1. Can I open a Roth for her in my vanguard account so that everything will be in one place or will I need to create a whole new Vanguard account for her?

Question #2. I believe I read somewhere on this forum that I have until April 15, 2015 to make contributions to her account for the 2014 tax year. Is this correct?



Thanks in advance for your help.

[Catbert]

Her IRA will need to be a separate account from your (I=Individual).  You may be able to set it up so both accounts are shown on the same statement (Ryan's IRA Account ABC, Mrs. Ryan's IRA Account XYZ)

Yes, you have until April 15 2015 to fund 2014 IRAs.

[Spork]

For my wife and myself...  We each have a Roth and we each have a few rollover traditional IRAs with Vanguard.  We also have some non-tax advantaged accounts with Vanguard.

When I log in: I see my Roth/IRAs ... and all the shared holdings.
When she logs in: She sees her Roth/IRAs ... and all the shared holdings.

They're all connected... but the retirement accounts are not visible across account boundaries.  (Now: she knows my password and actually makes most of the deposits.... and I know her password... but that's outside of VG's control).

[Gone Fishing]

Do you plan to retire early?  What is your tax bracket?  Read the articles linked in my signature before you decide on the ROTH vs. a Traditional IRA.

[Ryan started the FIRE]

Thanks for the quick replies! That means I have 6 months to fully fund her for the year. I need to get to work.

Spork, thanks for the illustration. I was hoping to have it all visible when I log in but that will still be fine. First world problems I guess.

So Close, I am in the 15% tax bracket as I only make about 48,000 per year. Wife is still in school to be a teacher for another semester so even when she starts making money that won't push us into the 25% tax bracket. I put in 6% to my company 401k plan as that is what they match but I don't know that it makes  much sense to get more tax advantages when I am just about as low as I can be.

[Gone Fishing]

If you retire early, you could very well not pay ANY taxes on your savings.  Read the articles below...

[johnhenry]

Thanks for the quick replies! That means I have 6 months to fully fund her for the year. I need to get to work.

Spork, thanks for the illustration. I was hoping to have it all visible when I log in but that will still be fine. First world problems I guess.

So Close, I am in the 15% tax bracket as I only make about 48,000 per year. Wife is still in school to be a teacher for another semester so even when she starts making money that won't push us into the 25% tax bracket. I put in 6% to my company 401k plan as that is what they match but I don't know that it makes  much sense to get more tax advantages when I am just about as low as I can be.

Wife and I have our IRAs at Wells Fargo along with a joint taxable brokerage.  We had to sign forms to make it happen, but our online login(s) show all of our accounts, including the IRA of the spouse.  As others have said, the account itself can only have one name on it and is NOT jointly owned. 

Hopefully a little paperwork will show you everything in one place.

[Spork]

Thanks for the quick replies! That means I have 6 months to fully fund her for the year. I need to get to work.

Spork, thanks for the illustration. I was hoping to have it all visible when I log in but that will still be fine. First world problems I guess.

So Close, I am in the 15% tax bracket as I only make about 48,000 per year. Wife is still in school to be a teacher for another semester so even when she starts making money that won't push us into the 25% tax bracket. I put in 6% to my company 401k plan as that is what they match but I don't know that it makes  much sense to get more tax advantages when I am just about as low as I can be.

Wife and I have our IRAs at Wells Fargo along with a joint taxable brokerage.  We had to sign forms to make it happen, but our online login(s) show all of our accounts, including the IRA of the spouse.  As others have said, the account itself can only have one name on it and is NOT jointly owned. 

Hopefully a little paperwork will show you everything in one place.

*IF* this is true with Vanguard... please follow up here.  I tried to make this sort of thing happen several years ago and they just said "nope, can't do it."   Yes, it's truly a first world problem... and maybe not even that.   But if someone makes this work natively, I'll go back and see if I can fix mine.

[BlueLesPaul]

Thanks for the quick replies! That means I have 6 months to fully fund her for the year. I need to get to work.

Spork, thanks for the illustration. I was hoping to have it all visible when I log in but that will still be fine. First world problems I guess.

So Close, I am in the 15% tax bracket as I only make about 48,000 per year. Wife is still in school to be a teacher for another semester so even when she starts making money that won't push us into the 25% tax bracket. I put in 6% to my company 401k plan as that is what they match but I don't know that it makes  much sense to get more tax advantages when I am just about as low as I can be.

Wife and I have our IRAs at Wells Fargo along with a joint taxable brokerage.  We had to sign forms to make it happen, but our online login(s) show all of our accounts, including the IRA of the spouse.  As others have said, the account itself can only have one name on it and is NOT jointly owned. 

Hopefully a little paperwork will show you everything in one place.

*IF* this is true with Vanguard... please follow up here.  I tried to make this sort of thing happen several years ago and they just said "nope, can't do it."   Yes, it's truly a first world problem... and maybe not even that.   But if someone makes this work natively, I'll go back and see if I can fix mine.

I set my Vanguard account so that I can see my and my wife's IRAs under my login.  We had to set an agency relationship so that I could see my wife's accounts on my login.  I don't remember it being too onerous and I think you can do most of the work online.

[Spork]

Thanks for the quick replies! That means I have 6 months to fully fund her for the year. I need to get to work.

Spork, thanks for the illustration. I was hoping to have it all visible when I log in but that will still be fine. First world problems I guess.

So Close, I am in the 15% tax bracket as I only make about 48,000 per year. Wife is still in school to be a teacher for another semester so even when she starts making money that won't push us into the 25% tax bracket. I put in 6% to my company 401k plan as that is what they match but I don't know that it makes  much sense to get more tax advantages when I am just about as low as I can be.

Wife and I have our IRAs at Wells Fargo along with a joint taxable brokerage.  We had to sign forms to make it happen, but our online login(s) show all of our accounts, including the IRA of the spouse.  As others have said, the account itself can only have one name on it and is NOT jointly owned. 

Hopefully a little paperwork will show you everything in one place.

*IF* this is true with Vanguard... please follow up here.  I tried to make this sort of thing happen several years ago and they just said "nope, can't do it."   Yes, it's truly a first world problem... and maybe not even that.   But if someone makes this work natively, I'll go back and see if I can fix mine.

I set my Vanguard account so that I can see my and my wife's IRAs under my login.  We had to set an agency relationship so that I could see my wife's accounts on my login.  I don't remember it being too onerous and I think you can do most of the work online.

Weird... I just went though the agent stuff... and it shows that we have full access to each other's IRAs.  But we don't.  I'll call or chat with them after lunch.  If I can get this issue knocked out, I can start working on world peace.

[bearkat]

Thanks for the quick replies! That means I have 6 months to fully fund her for the year. I need to get to work.

Spork, thanks for the illustration. I was hoping to have it all visible when I log in but that will still be fine. First world problems I guess.

So Close, I am in the 15% tax bracket as I only make about 48,000 per year. Wife is still in school to be a teacher for another semester so even when she starts making money that won't push us into the 25% tax bracket. I put in 6% to my company 401k plan as that is what they match but I don't know that it makes  much sense to get more tax advantages when I am just about as low as I can be.

Wife and I have our IRAs at Wells Fargo along with a joint taxable brokerage.  We had to sign forms to make it happen, but our online login(s) show all of our accounts, including the IRA of the spouse.  As others have said, the account itself can only have one name on it and is NOT jointly owned. 

Hopefully a little paperwork will show you everything in one place.

*IF* this is true with Vanguard... please follow up here.  I tried to make this sort of thing happen several years ago and they just said "nope, can't do it."   Yes, it's truly a first world problem... and maybe not even that.   But if someone makes this work natively, I'll go back and see if I can fix mine.

I set my Vanguard account so that I can see my and my wife's IRAs under my login.  We had to set an agency relationship so that I could see my wife's accounts on my login.  I don't remember it being too onerous and I think you can do most of the work online.

Weird... I just went though the agent stuff... and it shows that we have full access to each other's IRAs.  But we don't.  I'll call or chat with them after lunch.  If I can get this issue knocked out, I can start working on world peace.

Like BlueLesPaul, I set it up so I can see my wife's account on Vanguard, and she can see mine. Depending on the amount of control you want to share, you can even set it up so that you can trade in her account and she in yours ... but the ownership remains with the original owner of the account.

I did it all online without issue, so I suspect if you give them a call as planned, you should be just fine. Good luck!

[BooksAreNerdy]

I set ours up so that DH and I have full access and view of all accounts when we log in. There was a series of back and forth approvals through vanguard, but overall, no big deal.