Named after Senator William V. Roth, Jr., the Roth IRA, or individual retirement arrangements or individual retirement accounts as they are commonly called, are fast emerging as popular saving schemes. The advantage of this scheme is that the tax payers, on meeting a certain eligibility criteria, can contribute some amount of their compensation income into the Roth IRA account, and the savings that grow in it will be tax-free.

One thing to be kept in mind is that the tax benefits accrue only when an individual withdraws money from the account. Withdrawals are subject to certain Limits in order to be tax-free. First and foremost, a person who has either reached fifty-nine and a half years of age or has suffered some sort of disability can make the withdrawals after a period of five years. The withdrawn money will also be tax-free if the person needs it to buy, build or rebuild his first home.

Also, regarding contributions, there are certain set Limits. This means that in one financial year, a person’s contributions cannot exceed $4,000 or 100% of his gross adjustable income, whichever is lesser. Also, the contributions can only be from compensation income. This includes the wages or the earnings obtained from self-employment. Compensation income does not include income from investments, or pension income.

Also, the total IRA contributions that an individual can make include the sum total of the traditional and Roth IRA amounts. So if a person has made some contributions to the traditional IRA, the amount that he can contribute to the Roth IRA will also be reduced.

Then there are certain eligibility Limits. A single person can make contributions to the Roth IRA only if his adjusted gross income (AGI) is below $95,000. A single person with an AGI of $115,000 or more is not eligible for the Roth IRA.

For a married couple who file joint returns, the AGI needs to be $150,000. If they file their returns separately, they are not entitled to make a contribution to a Roth IRA, if his or her AGI exceeds $100,000.