IRA Eligibility
Anyone under the age of 70-1/2 who has earned income can establish an IRA.  A person with earned income can also contribute to an IRA on behalf of a non-working spouse if the couple files a joint tax return.  A Roth IRA has no age limits, but does have contribution limits based on income.

Contributions
Individuals may contribute up to $5,000 annually or 100% of earned income, whichever is less. Married couples with only one spouse earning income may contribute up to a total of $10,000 between them into individual accounts, only if not more than $5,000 is deposited in either account. Contributions do not need to be made each year to maintain an IRA.

When making a contribution, you may designate your contribution to either the current or preceding year. Contributions for the preceding year can be made until the April 15 federal income tax filing deadline of the following year.

For a Roth IRA, anyone who has income from compensation (or who is filing jointly with a spouse who earns compensation), up to $95,000 for single filers or up to $150,000 for joint filers, can contribute up to $5,000 annually. Reduced contributions are allowed for higher incomes ( up to $110,000 for single filers, $160,000 for joint filers). Please check with your tax advisor to determine your specific contribution limit. As with a Traditional IRA, all contributions must be made with earned income.

Additionally, any member over the age of 50 is allowed to add a catch up contribution of $1,000 to either a Traditional or Roth IRA.

Taxpayers may contribute to either traditional or Roth IRAs or both, but aggregate contributions between the two types of accounts may not exceed $5,000 or $6,000 for those who qualify for the catch up contribution in any year.

Rollovers & Transfers
Once IRA funds have been withdrawn from an institution, you have 60 days in which to redeposit the money into another IRA without a penalty.  Rollovers may only be done once in a 12-month period.  Transfers are handled directly between institutions with member authorization.  There is no limitation on the number of transfers you may authorize.

Tax Deductibility
Traditional IRA contributions may be tax deductible depending upon your income. Non-deductible contributions still earn tax deferred dividends until withdrawn, when many people shift to a lower tax bracket.

Roth IRA contributions are not tax deductible, but contributions can be withdrawn anytime without penalty and tax free. Earnings can be withdrawn tax-free after five tax years and for a qualified reason.