Can You Open a Roth IRA With Your Spouse?

If you’re married, there’s a good chance you have joint bank accounts to pay your bills and save money. However, one type of account you can’t hold jointly is a Roth individual retirement account (IRA). These accounts are meant to benefit and be held in one person’s name. As an alternative, you can open a spousal IRA or name your spouse as your beneficiary.

Key Takeaways

• Retirement accounts are tax-advantaged and are meant for individual ownership, which is why they cannot be jointly held, even by spouses.
• You can name your spouse as a beneficiary to inherit your Roth IRA when you die.
• You can open a spousal IRA in your spouse’s name and fund it with your income even if they aren’t working.

What Is a Roth IRA?

A Roth IRA is a type of individual retirement account that allows you to save after-tax dollars for retirement. You can invest in many types of securities in your Roth IRA, including stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), money market funds, and certificates of deposit (CDs).

Contributions are capped and adjusted annually. The limit for IRA contributions, including to a Roth, is $7,000 in 2025, with an additional $1,000 as a catch-up contribution for those 50 or older.

Your contributions, along with the earnings, grow tax-free in a Roth IRA until you turn 59½, provided you held the account for at least five years. Any money you withdraw from the account (as long as you meet the age and holding requirement) is also tax-free, and there are no penalties.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows you to continue contributing to a Roth IRA even after you reach 70½ and, unlike other retirement accounts, you can leave money there for as long as you wish. Although these rules give you some leeway to fund and use your Roth IRA, you cannot have a joint Roth IRA with your spouse.

Warning

You can have more than one IRA, such as a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA, but the contribution limits set by the IRS apply to all of your IRA accounts. This means the combined total of the contributions made to all of your IRAs cannot exceed the cap set each year.

Why Opening a Roth IRA With Your Spouse Is Not an Option

Many financial products allow joint ownership, but that doesn’t apply to retirement accounts, including Roth IRAs. The IRS doesn’t allow this because retirement accounts are tax-advantaged.

Due to their nature, these accounts must be held solely in one person’s name. This means you and your spouse must have separate accounts. This same rule applies to anyone in your household, so a parent and child cannot hold a joint Roth IRA.

One thing to remember is that if you file a joint tax return with your spouse, your combined income may preclude you from opening or funding a Roth IRA. Married couples filing jointly with a modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) over $246,000 in 2025 are barred from participating in Roth IRAs.

Important

A Roth IRA is different from a traditional IRA. If you open a traditional IRA, you can save pre-tax dollars that grow on a tax-deferred basis. You are taxed on your distributions when you retire. These withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income.

What Are the Alternatives?

Even though you can’t hold a joint Roth IRA with your spouse, there are ways they can benefit from your retirement savings.

Beneficiary

When you open a Roth IRA, you can name a beneficiary on your account. This guarantees your assets go to someone of your choosing rather than probate. You can add whomever you choose, including your spouse. Keep in mind that if you don’t name one, most states consider your spouse to be your default beneficiary (or your estate if you aren’t married).

In the event of your death, your Roth IRA is passed on to your spouse, who can choose to complete a spousal transfer, open an inherited IRA, or take a lump sum distribution.

Spousal IRA

Another option is to open a spousal IRA as long as you file a joint return. This type of account allows you to open and make contributions toward your spouse’s retirement savings—even if they are unemployed or have very little income. However, the total amount of combined contributions cannot exceed the taxable income reported on your joint return.

Contribution limits remain the same, but if you have an IRA in your name and open one for your spouse, you both can contribute up to the maximum to each. This means $7,000 for you and $7,000 for your spouse, for a total of $14,000 if you are both under 50. You can add $1,000 as a catch-up contribution if one or both of you are 50.

Although you make the contributions, the account and the investments held in it are in their name. This means they have control over the account. But, you stand to benefit because the contributions you make effectively lower your taxable income.

The Bottom Line

Retirement savings vehicles like the Roth IRA are tax-advantaged accounts and are intended for individuals. This is why the IRS doesn’t allow joint ownership of these accounts—even if you’re spouses. Although you and your spouse can’t share a Roth IRA, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other options. You can name them as a beneficiary or you can open a spousal IRA to help them save. If you’re unsure of how to proceed, speak with a financial professional to see what your options are to meet your retirement goals.