A running log of substantive content and infrastructure changes on RothIRAHub. Entries are newest first. Typo fixes and pure formatting cleanups are not logged. Factual and interpretive corrections to existing content are additionally recorded in the corrections log.

2026-06-09

New FAQ: SIMPLE IRA vs. Roth IRA. Added SIMPLE IRA vs. Roth IRA — how the small-business workplace plan and the personal Roth account differ (who opens each, pre-tax vs. after-tax, the required employer match, RMDs), the separate 2026 contribution limits, the SIMPLE IRA's 2-year 25%-penalty rule, the pro-rata interaction with backdoor Roth conversions, and a framework for funding both. Cross-linked with the SIMPLE IRA rules guide.

2026-06-06

New: Roth IRA vs. HSA, compared in depth. Added Roth IRA vs. HSA — a detailed comparison of the two accounts: the triple tax advantage (and a fourth, through payroll), 2026 contribution limits, what happens when each account is inherited, the California and New Jersey state-tax treatment, how an HSA behaves like a Traditional IRA after age 65, the deferred-reimbursement strategy, the Medicare contribution cutoff, and a funding-order framework. Includes charts on HSA growth and how few accountholders actually invest their balance. Cross-linked with the Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA comparison and the Roth IRA basics explainer.

2026-06-03

New research: how Roth IRA owners actually behave. Added Roth IRA Owners by the Numbers — a data brief drawing on the Investment Company Institute's 2025 household data. The findings: 37.5 million US households own a Roth IRA; Roth owners contribute far more actively than Traditional owners (42% vs 23% in 2024); and they rarely withdraw (6% vs 33%, with 70% of Traditional withdrawals made to satisfy required minimum distributions) — the no-RMD advantage showing up in actual behavior. Figures cited to ICI. We also added the withdrawal-behavior finding to Roth IRAs & RMDs.

2026-06-02

New: a full Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA comparison. Added Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA — a side-by-side walkthrough of how the two accounts differ: when you pay the tax, the shared 2026 contribution limit, the income rules (a Roth's income limit caps who can contribute; a Traditional's caps only the deduction), required minimum distributions, early-withdrawal access, a framework for choosing between them, and how to use both. Cross-linked with the Roth vs. Traditional calculator and the Roth IRA basics explainer.

2026-05-31

Correction: the Saver's Match is deposited into a pre-tax account, not a Roth. Our Saver's Match page previously said the federal match (beginning in 2027) is deposited into your Roth IRA or Roth 401(k). That was incorrect. Under IRC §6433, the match cannot go into a Roth: even when you earn it by contributing to a Roth IRA, the match itself is deposited into a non-Roth account — a traditional IRA or a pre-tax plan — and is taxed as ordinary income when you withdraw it. We corrected the page throughout (the lead, the three worked examples, the deposit mechanics, and the FAQ) and added a question explaining the distinction. The 2027 phase-out figures, match amounts, and disqualifiers were already correct and are unchanged.

2026-05-30

Expanded the Roth IRA basics page into a complete explainer. Our What Is a Roth IRA? page is now a full walkthrough rather than a brief overview — covering how a Roth IRA works, the 2026 contribution limits and income eligibility, the benefits, how to open one, the withdrawal rules (including which money you can take out at any time), and how it compares to a traditional IRA. The five focused basics articles and the FAQ remain, now alongside the fuller explanation.

2026-05-27

New: a research section, opening with “The Backdoor Roth, by the Numbers.” Launched a research section for original, data-driven analyses built from public IRS data. The first study, The Backdoor Roth, by the Numbers, traces what happened after the $100,000 income limit on Roth conversions was repealed effective 2010: conversions jumped 847% to $64.8 billion that year — the only year on record they exceeded total IRA contributions — and 79% of the conversion dollars came from filers earning more than $100,000, the very group the old limit had blocked. It includes four charts, an interactive income-bracket explorer, a full methodology, and the underlying IRS figures as downloadable CSV files. Cross-linked from backdoor Roth, mega backdoor Roth, and conversion rules.

2026-05-26

New tool: when do your RMDs start? Added the Required Beginning Date calculator — enter your birth year and it shows your RMD age (73 if born 1951–59, 75 if 1960 or later), the year you reach it, and your Required Beginning Date (April 1 of the following year), plus the “two RMDs in one year” trap. It also makes the Roth point: a Roth IRA has no lifetime RMDs for the owner, so this applies to traditional / pre-tax accounts. Cross-linked with Roth IRAs & RMDs and the missed-RMD penalty tool.

2026-05-25

New tool: what starting earlier is worth. Added What Starting Your Roth IRA Earlier Is Worth, a calculator that isolates a single variable — time. Enter your age, annual contribution, and an assumed return, then slide how many years you delay starting: it shows the balance if you start now versus after the delay, and the dollar “cost of waiting” between them. It deliberately holds the contribution and return constant so the only thing being measured is when you begin — a companion to the fuller Growth Projector.

Form 5498 explainer expanded to cover its sibling forms. What Is Form 5498? now notes the related IRS information returns for other tax-advantaged accounts — Form 5498-SA (HSAs), 5498-ESA (Coverdell education savings), 5498-QA (ABLE accounts), and the newest, Form 5498-TA, which reports contributions to a Trump Account. Same custodian-files-it structure, different account types.

2026-05-22

New reference: the Roth IRA annual checklist. Published The Roth IRA Annual Checklist: What to Review Each Year, a practical walkthrough of the handful of Roth IRA decisions worth an annual once-over: confirming eligibility against the MAGI phase-out, maxing the $7,500/$8,600 contribution before the April filing deadline, deciding whether (and when) to convert, keeping contributions invested rather than sitting in cash, reviewing beneficiary designations, tracking the two 5-year clocks, and knowing which IRS forms to expect (5498, 8606, 5329, 8880, 1099-R). Organized by when each item is due. Cross-links to 2026 contribution limits, eligibility, conversions, backdoor Roth, inherited Roth, and the 5-year rules; inbound cards added on the contribution-limits and eligibility pages.

2026-05-20

New Roth IRA income-limit history reference. Published Roth IRA Income Limits by Year: MAGI Phase-Out History (1998 → 2026), a complete year-by-year record of the modified-AGI thresholds that determine who can contribute to a Roth IRA. The thresholds were frozen at $95,000–$110,000 (single) and $150,000–$160,000 (married filing jointly) for the program’s first nine years, then became inflation-indexed beginning 2007 under IRC §408A(c)(3); by 2026 they reach $153,000–$168,000 (single) and $242,000–$252,000 (joint). The page documents the fixed phase-out widths ($15,000 single, $10,000 joint), the married-filing-separately range that has never been indexed ($0–$10,000 every year since 1998), and the 2022–2024 inflation surge that produced the largest jumps in the program’s history. Every figure was checked against IRS Publication 590-A and prior-year editions. Companion to the contribution-limits history; inbound links added on the eligibility and 2026 contribution limits pages.

Two growth FAQs expanded with direct answers. Added explicit answers to two of the most-asked Roth IRA growth questions. What Will My Roth IRA Be Worth? now opens by answering “How much will a Roth IRA grow?” directly — using $7,500/year at a 7% real (after-inflation) return as a benchmark, a Roth IRA grows to roughly $329,000 over 20 years, ~$755,000 over 30 years, and ~$1.6 million over 40 years, all tax-free. Does a Roth IRA Earn Interest? now answers “How does a Roth IRA grow?”: through the contributions you add, the returns of the investments held inside the account, and tax-free compounding — the Roth IRA is a tax wrapper, so the growth comes from what you invest in, not from the account structure itself. Both reinforce that a Roth IRA left in uninvested cash barely grows, the most common beginner mistake.

2026-05-18

New Roth IRA vs. savings account comparison reference. Published Roth IRA vs. Savings Account: What’s the Difference (and Which One Do You Need)?, addressing one of the most common search-engine questions in personal finance. The page reframes the comparison: a savings account is a deposit product at a bank or credit union, FDIC-insured up to $250,000 under 12 CFR Part 330 (or NCUA-insured at credit unions under 12 USC §1787), paying interest. A Roth IRA is a tax-advantaged retirement account under IRC §408A that holds investments — including, if you want, the same kind of FDIC-insured deposit you would put in a savings account (called a “bank Roth IRA” or “IRA CD”), or a money market fund, or a full portfolio of stocks and bonds. The savings account is one type of product; the Roth IRA is the wrapper that can contain it. The article walks through where the emergency fund actually belongs (high-yield savings account, not Roth IRA — emergency funds need instant access + FDIC insurance + no risk of principal loss), what “interest rate on a Roth IRA” actually means (whatever the underlying holding pays: 0–5% for a bank Roth, ~4–5% for a money market fund, historical ~10% with volatility for stock/ETF holdings), the standard saver sequence (emergency fund in HYSA → max Roth IRA → workplace plan), and the FDIC-vs-SIPC-vs-market-risk insurance distinction. Cross-links to Roth IRA Interest Rates, Roth IRA vs. Brokerage Account, and Custodial Roth IRA. Companion inbound-link cards added on the contributions hub, the interest-rates FAQ, and the custodial Roth IRA page for cross-cluster discoverability.

2026-05-16

New IUL vs. Roth IRA comparison reference. Published IUL vs. Roth IRA: Why Most Savers Should Choose the Roth IRA, an independent statutory-grounded comparison of Indexed Universal Life insurance and the Roth IRA for retirement saving. IUL is permanent life insurance with a cash-value side account governed by IRC §7702 and §72(e); the Roth IRA is a tax-advantaged retirement wrapper under §408A. Both are pitched as “tax-free retirement” vehicles, but the article walks through why the Roth IRA wins on every dimension that matters for retirement saving: fees (insurance overhead of 1.5–3% per year vs. 0.03–0.20% index-fund expense ratios), upside (typical IUL caps of 8–12% vs. full market exposure in a Roth IRA), liquidity (Roth IRA contributions withdrawable anytime under §408A(d)(4) vs. IUL surrender charges of 7–15 years and policy-loan-lapse risk), and statutory tax certainty (Roth treatment is statutory; IUL “tax-free” access depends on contract compliance and never lapsing the policy). The page documents the cap trap (carriers can lower caps mid-contract; in 2024 the S&P 500 returned +25% but a 10%-cap IUL captured only 10%), the policy-loan mechanism that powers the IUL “tax-free retirement” pitch and its lapse-failure mode (deferred gains become taxable if the policy lapses, often producing six-figure surprise tax bills), and the four narrow scenarios where IUL might legitimately fit (high-net-worth saver who has maxed everything else; genuine permanent life-insurance need; state-law creditor-protection edge cases; executive bonus arrangements). Worked example: Sarah, age 35, saving $7,500/year for 30 years; the Roth IRA delivers approximately 1.7–2.2× the retirement wealth on identical underlying assumptions. Includes a Common IUL Sales Tactics section recognizing the most common framings used by IUL agents (“market upside with no downside,” “tax-free retirement income,” “a Roth IRA alternative for high earners”) and what to know about each. The article is explicit that for high earners above the Roth IRA MAGI phase-out, the right alternative is the Backdoor Roth IRA, not IUL. Companion inbound-link cards added on the contributions hub, Backdoor Roth, and Mega Backdoor Roth for cross-cluster discoverability.

2026-05-14

New 403(b) vs. Roth IRA comparison reference. Published 403(b) vs. Roth IRA: How to Choose (and Why Most Should Fund Both), a workplace-plan-vs-personal-account comparison covering 2026 contribution limits ($24,500 elective deferral for 403(b) under IRC §402(g) vs. $7,500 / $8,600 catch-up for Roth IRA under IRS Notice 2025-67), employer matching mechanics, the universal availability rule under IRC §403(b)(12)(A)(ii), the 15-year service catch-up unique to 403(b) plans under IRC §402(g)(7) (up to $3,000/year and $15,000 lifetime for employees of qualifying organizations with 15+ years of service), tax treatment differences (pre-tax or Roth treatment under IRC §402A inside the 403(b); always after-tax for Roth IRA), investment-menu warnings (annuity-only menus with 1.5%+ expense ratios can eat the tax-deferral advantage; §403(b)(7) custodial mutual fund accounts are preferable), and rollover mechanics (pre-tax 403(b) becomes taxable on conversion under IRC §402(c)(8); Roth 403(b) rolls tax-free; the pro-rata rule under IRC §408(d)(2) does NOT apply to workplace-plan rollovers). The page walks the standard saver sequence — 403(b) up to employer match → max Roth IRA → HSA if eligible → back to 403(b) up to the §402(g) limit → taxable brokerage. Worked example: Maria, a 35-year-old hospital RN earning $80,000 with a 5% employer match, saves $12,000/year across both account types — the 30-year projection shows approximately $160,000 more after-tax retirement wealth from including the Roth IRA in the mix rather than funding only the 403(b). Companion inbound-link cards added on the contributions hub, 401(k) to Roth IRA, and Roth 401(k) / Roth 403(b) Rules for cross-cluster discoverability.

2026-05-12

New Roth IRA vs. brokerage comparison reference. Published Roth IRA vs. Brokerage Account: Tax Treatment, Limits, and When to Use Each, a side-by-side comparison covering the wrapper effect (no internal tax on dividends, interest, or capital gains inside the Roth IRA versus annual taxation on every dollar of distributable income in a taxable brokerage), 2026 contribution rules ($7,500 / $8,600 catch-up for the Roth IRA under IRS Notice 2025-67; unlimited for the brokerage), the MAGI phase-out and earned-income gate that apply only to the Roth IRA (IRC §219(f)(1)), and the asymmetric withdrawal mechanics under the IRC §408A(d)(4) ordering rules. The article walks the standard saver sequence — emergency fund → 401(k) match → max Roth IRA → back to 401(k) up to the $24,500 elective-deferral limit → taxable brokerage — alongside the asset-placement framework that puts tax-inefficient holdings (REITs, high-yield bonds, actively-managed funds) inside the Roth wrapper and tax-efficient holdings (broad-market index funds, municipal bonds, tax-loss-harvest candidates) inside the taxable brokerage. A worked example projects Sarah’s $7,500 Roth contribution at age 30 to approximately $1.04M at retirement vs. an alternative scenario inheriting $50,000 outside the wrapper. The page also documents the cross-account wash-sale trap under IRS Rev. Rul. 2008-5, where realizing a loss in the taxable brokerage and re-buying substantially-identical securities in the Roth IRA within 30 days permanently disallows the loss (not deferred as with intra-brokerage wash sales). Cross-links to Asset Placement, 2026 Contribution Limits, Do You Pay Capital Gains on a Roth IRA?, and Backdoor Roth IRA for high-MAGI savers.

2026-05-11

Two new reader FAQs. Published Do You Report a Roth IRA on Your Taxes?, a statutory walkthrough of when Roth IRA activity does and does not generate annual tax filing. The short answer is mostly no — contributions, internal growth, and qualified withdrawals are not reported on Form 1040; the custodian files Form 5498 with the IRS as informational reporting and you receive a copy in May for your records. Filing is required only in four specific scenarios: backdoor Roth conversions (Form 8606 under IRC §408(d)(2) pro-rata rule), excess contributions (Form 5329 with 6% excise tax under IRC §4973), early withdrawal of earnings before age 59½ (Form 5329 with 10% penalty under IRC §72(t)), and claiming the Saver’s Credit (Form 8880 under IRC §25B). The article walks through each form’s purpose, the codes and boxes that matter on Form 1099-R, and common reporting mistakes (filing Form 8606 unnecessarily, missing Form 5329 on excess contributions, misreading qualified-distribution boxes on Form 1099-R). Also published How Old Do You Have to Be to Open a Roth IRA?, the direct-answer companion to Can I Open a Roth IRA for My Child? The article documents that there is no statutory minimum age in IRC §408A — the IRS imposes no age floor; the practical floor is whenever the child has earned income from real work (W-2 or 1099, not allowance). Minors require a custodial Roth IRA opened by a parent or legal guardian; control transfers at the age of majority under state UTMA law (18 in most states; 21 in Alabama, Mississippi, Nebraska, Tennessee). For adults, no upper age limit exists — unlike Traditional IRAs (which had an age 70½ cap until SECURE 1.0 §107 eliminated it), Roth IRAs have always allowed contributions at any age as long as you have earned income. The article also covers the age-of-majority transition, custodian-specific rules, and the family-conversation aspect (an 18-year-old with control over a five-figure Roth IRA balance has the legal right to liquidate it). Both new FAQs are listed in the FAQ hub, which now contains 37 articles.

2026-05-09

Roth IRA contribution limits history reference added. Published Roth IRA Contribution Limits by Year: Complete History (1998 → 2026), a year-by-year reference covering every change to the contribution limit since the Roth IRA’s creation in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. The page documents the three legislative phases — the original $2,000 cap (1998-2001) under TRA-97 §302, the EGTRRA scheduled increases (2002-2008) under P.L. 107-16 §601, and the modern COLA indexing (2009-present) under IRC §219(b)(5)(C) — with a consolidated table showing each change point, the catch-up contribution’s evolution from $0 (1998) through $500 (2002) through $1,000 (2006-2025) to $1,100 (2026, the first indexed increase under SECURE 2.0 §108), and the MAGI phase-out evolution from $95,000-$110,000 single in 1998 to $153,000-$168,000 in 2026. A real-dollar comparison shows today’s $7,500/$8,600 is approximately 1.9–2.2× the 1998 cap in inflation-adjusted terms. The page also explains why the limit holds flat in some years (the $500 rounding rule under IRC §219(b)(5)(C)) and offers 2027 estimates pending the IRS Notice scheduled for late 2026. Companion change: a new "Contribution Limits by Year (1998 → 2026)" Continue Reading card on the canonical 2026 Contribution Limits page.

2026-05-06

Two new reader FAQs on activity inside the Roth IRA wrapper. Published Can You Trade Options in a Roth IRA? and the companion Do You Pay Capital Gains on a Roth IRA?. The options FAQ explains why IRC §4975 prohibited-transaction rules forbid IRAs from using margin — making naked calls/puts, short stock, futures, and most multi-leg margin spreads off-limits — while permitted Level 1–2 strategies (covered calls, cash-secured puts, long calls/puts, protective puts, collars) remain available at most major Roth IRA custodians (Fidelity, Schwab, E*TRADE, Tastytrade, Robinhood). The capital-gains FAQ documents that no internal trade or sale inside a Roth IRA triggers a capital-gains event regardless of holding period, that custodians do not issue Form 1099-B for IRA activity (eliminating Schedule D filing), that non-qualified earnings withdrawals become ordinary income plus 10% penalty under IRC §72(t) rather than capital gains, and that the cross-account wash-sale trap under IRS Rev. Rul. 2008-5 permanently disallows a loss from a taxable account if substantially-identical securities are repurchased in a Roth IRA within 30 days. Side-by-side Roth-IRA-vs-taxable-brokerage tax-treatment table included. Both new FAQs are listed in the FAQ hub, which now contains 35 articles.

2026-05-05

Three previously-inaccessible reference pages restored. Cleaned up server-side configuration that had been preventing readers and search engines from reaching three substantive pages on the site. The Withdrawals hub had been returning a redirect to Roth IRA Withdrawal Rules since launch — leaving the hub’s curated card grid + cluster-overview content unreachable even though the underlying file existed. The hub now serves directly, with cards linking to the withdrawal-rules canonical, the 5-year rule, early-withdrawal penalties, home-purchase + education distributions, Roth IRA RMD pages, and the Roth IRA loan statutory reference. Separately, Asset Placement — a framework for which asset classes belong in a Roth IRA versus taxable and tax-deferred accounts — and Excess Contribution Remediation — covering the 6% excise under IRC §4973, the October 15 corrective-deadline remedies, and the net-income attributable formula — were lifted from a pre-launch hold that had prevented search-engine indexing since site launch. Both pages now eligible for indexing alongside the rest of the site.

Two new reader FAQs on Roth IRA tax deductibility. Published Does a Roth IRA Reduce Taxable Income? and the companion Are Roth IRA Contributions Tax-Deductible?, both addressing the most common Roth IRA misconception — that contributions reduce current-year taxable income or qualify for a deduction. Statutory answer: no. By IRC §408A(c)(1), Roth IRA contributions are made with after-tax dollars and no deduction is allowed under any circumstance. Both articles include side-by-side comparisons with Traditional IRA tax treatment, a worked example showing a $50,000 earner’s tax outcome with a $7,500 Roth vs. Traditional contribution, and clarification of the one indirect tax-bill mechanism that does apply to Roth contributors: the Saver’s Credit (IRC §25B), a nonrefundable credit up to $1,000 per filer for low-to-moderate-income contributors, becoming the federal Saver’s Match starting tax year 2027 under SECURE 2.0 §103. The companion-pair pattern: each FAQ explicitly cross-links to the other so readers landing on either query get the full answer regardless of how they framed the search. Same-rule coverage extends to Roth 401(k), Roth solo 401(k), Roth SEP-IRA (newly permitted under SECURE 2.0 §601, effective tax year 2023), and Roth SIMPLE-IRA — all after-tax to the employee. State tax treatment notes included (most states follow federal; Pennsylvania’s back-end exclusion under PA DOR REV-636 noted separately). Both new FAQs are listed in the FAQ hub, which now contains 33 articles.

2026-05-04

Two new reader FAQs. Published Roth IRA Interest Rates: What Rate Does a Roth IRA Pay?, addressing the most common beginner question by explaining why a Roth IRA does not have a single rate — bank Roth IRAs (savings accounts and CDs) earn 0.5–4.5% APY in 2026; brokerage Roth IRAs hold investments that have historically averaged 4–10% depending on asset mix. The article includes a 2026 rates table by investment type, $7,500 worked examples for the most common holdings, and a companion cross-link to the existing Does a Roth IRA Earn Interest? page for the underlying mechanics. Also published Can I Open a Roth IRA for My Child?, the direct-answer FAQ for the custodial Roth IRA question — yes, with a single hard requirement that the child has earned income from real work (W-2 or 1099, not allowance, gifts, or investment income). The article walks through what counts as earned income, step-by-step custodian setup at Fidelity / Schwab / Vanguard, the long-term math (a single $5,000 contribution at age 14 grows to roughly $200,000 by age 65 at 7% real returns), age-of-majority transition rules under state UTMA law, and the family-match strategy that lets parents fund the contribution without consuming the child’s actual earnings. Cross-links to the canonical Custodial Roth IRA guide and the Trump Accounts reference for the OBBBA §70204 children’s program. Both new FAQs are listed in the FAQ hub, which now contains 31 articles.

2026-05-02

Self-directed Roth IRA reference added. Published Self-Directed Roth IRA: Permitted Investments, Prohibited Transactions, UBIT, a primary-source-only walkthrough of the legal framework around alternative-asset Roth IRAs — real estate, private placements, precious metals, tax liens. The article is built around three statutory landmines: IRC §4975 prohibited transactions (with the §4975(e)(2) full disqualified-persons enumeration and the Peek v. Commissioner self-dealing precedent); IRC §408(m) collectibles ban (with the precious-metals exception, fineness standards, and custodian-possession requirement); and IRC §§511–514 UBIT/UDFI tax on debt-financed income (with a worked example showing how a 70% mortgage on IRA-owned real estate generates UDFI taxable at trust rates topping 37%). The article includes an explicit editorial caveat that the SDIRA marketing industry skews toward upside narratives; the downside — entire IRA disqualified on January 1 of the year a prohibited transaction occurred — is real, statutory, and unforgiving. For most savers, mainstream Roth IRAs at $0-fee brokerages are the right fit; SDIRAs make sense only for a narrow set of expert investors with deep alternative-asset conviction. The article notes the IRC §514(c)(9) leveraged-real-estate exemption that solo 401(k) plans receive but IRAs do not — meaningful for self-employed readers weighing both vehicles.

529 Plan vs. Roth IRA comparison guide added. Published 529 Plan vs. Roth IRA: How to Choose (and When to Fund Both), a side-by-side reference covering contribution limits, income limits, qualified-expense rules, state tax incentives, the SECURE 2.0 §126 / IRC §529(c)(3)(E) rollover bridge, and the both-strategy for families saving for education and retirement. The article documents the One Big Beautiful Bill Act expansion of §529 (effective July 4, 2025) that doubled the K-12 cap to $20,000 per beneficiary, expanded qualified K-12 expenses to include curriculum materials, tutoring, standardized test fees, and educational therapies, and added postsecondary credentialing programs (WIOA, apprenticeships, state-licensed certifications) to the eligible-expense list — with an explicit warning that many states have not conformed to the federal changes. Companion changes: a new "529 Plan vs. Roth IRA" Continue Reading card on the Contributions hub, plus a cross-link from the existing 529-to-Roth Conversion reference.

Roth IRA loan reference added. Published Can You Borrow From a Roth IRA?, a statutory reference that leads with the answer most consumer finance articles bury: federal law (IRC §408(e)(2) and §4975) prohibits an IRA from lending to its owner; pledging an IRA as collateral triggers a deemed distribution under §408(e)(4) on the pledged portion. The article then walks through the legitimate alternative — Roth IRA contributions can be withdrawn tax-free and penalty-free at any age under the §408A(d)(4) ordering rules — and quantifies the long-term cost of using contributions as a cash source (the worked example shows a $15,000 contribution withdrawal at age 28 forfeiting roughly $280,000 of future Roth balance at 7% real returns). 4-mechanism comparison table covers contribution withdrawal, 401(k) loan (under IRC §72(p), available only to qualified plans not IRAs), the IRA collateral trap, and the 60-day rollover misconception (clarifying via Bobrow v. Commissioner and IRS Announcement 2014-32 that the rollover provision is not a loan substitute). Companion cluster integration: new Continue Reading card on Withdrawals; inline cross-links from Roth IRA Withdrawal Rules and Early Withdrawal Penalties.

Region-aware cookie consent. The Site now applies the consent model that matches the law of the country your request originates from. In the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway, Google Analytics is not loaded until you give explicit consent via the cookie banner (the existing Accept all / Reject all / Customize controls). In the United States and the rest of the world, analytics is enabled by default with a slim opt-out notice on first visit; you can opt out at any time from the cookie settings link in the footer or the manage button on the notice. The Global Privacy Control browser signal continues to be honored in all regions as a binding opt-out. Google Analytics 4 remains configured with IP-anonymization, no Google Signals, no advertising features, and 14-month event-level retention. Country is determined at the network edge from your IP address and is not stored or logged. Both the Cookie Notice and the Privacy Policy have been updated to describe the new model.

2026-05-01

Trump Accounts canonical guide added. Published Trump Accounts: A Plain-English Guide for Parents, covering the new tax-favored Traditional IRAs for U.S. citizen children created by §70204 of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (P.L. 119-21, July 4, 2025) at IRC §530A. The article walks through the $5,000 annual contribution cap, the federal $1,000 seed for children born 2025–2028, the 0.10% expense-ratio investment requirement, the age-18 transition into a regular Traditional IRA, and the explicitly-permitted Roth IRA conversion path under IRS Notice 2025-68 §III.G. Worked example: Maya at 18 with a $182,000 balance, comparing single-year vs. multi-year conversion ladders. Two sibling FAQ articles ship alongside: Can a Trump Account be converted to a Roth IRA? and Trump Account vs. Roth IRA: Which is better for a child?. The Roth IRA in Congress tracker now includes the OBBBA §70204 enacted entry, and the TrumpIRA.gov disambiguation table has been corrected to clarify that a Trump Account is a designated §408(a) Traditional IRA — not a custodial savings account, not a Roth IRA, and not the same program as TrumpIRA.gov.

2026-04-30

TrumpIRA.gov canonical guide added. Published TrumpIRA.gov: A Plain-English Guide in response to the Executive Order signed April 30, 2026 directing the Treasury Department to establish a federal portal listing low-cost IRAs (≤0.15% expense ratio, no minimum contribution or balance) from private financial institutions. The portal is scheduled to launch January 1, 2027. The article covers what the program is and is not (it does not create a new statutory IRA type — accounts found through it are still regular Roth or Traditional IRAs), how it interacts with the federal Saver's Match (SECURE 2.0 §103, IRC §6433) effective tax year 2027, and how to distinguish it from the separate Trump Accounts program enacted under OBBBA. The Roth IRA in Congress tracker now lists the Executive Order; the Contributions hub links to the new article from its Continue Reading grid.

2026-04-26

2026-figures sweep — worked-example backdoor and 5-year-rule scenarios. Targeted YMYL audit of generic worked examples that quoted $7,000 as the current Roth IRA / backdoor contribution amount when 2026's limit is $7,500. Earlier passes (commit 8bc1c60 and the phase-1/2 fact-check) caught explicit "current limit" callouts; this pass focused on backdoor-mechanics scenarios where $7,000 read as the 2026 amount-in-flight without saying so explicitly. 14 fixes across 7 pages: 5-Year Rule (Sophie 2026 conversion, "fund again" hypothetical, abstract-amount illustration); 5-Year Rule After 59½ (abstract-amount illustration); 5-Year Rule for Conversions (backdoor pro-rata example with $100,000 traditional-IRA balance, plus the §408A(d)(3)(F) discussion of non-taxable-basis carve-out); Saver's Match (prose and JS plain-English template "your $7,000 / $8,000 limit" → "$7,500 / $8,600"); Can You Transfer Traditional IRA to Roth?, How to Avoid the Pro-Rata Rule, and What Is Basis in an IRA? (each had the same $93,000 + $7,000 worked example; rebased to $92,500 + $7,500 to keep clean 7.5%/92.5% pro-rata math). The "convert $7,500 / $107,500" backdoor example also recomputes the taxable percentage from 93.5% to 93%.

2026-04-24

Fact-check phase 2. Closed out the six deferred items from phase 1's "what this session did NOT do" catalogue: (1) every worked-example arithmetic recomputed site-wide, (2) structured data diffed against visible body content for consistency, (3) state-tax claims verified against primary state statutes / DOR guidance, (4) external citations (Clark v. Rameker, Bobrow v. Commissioner, Rev. Proc. 2020-46) verified against primary sources, (5) calculator behavior tested against 2026 ground-truth constants, (6) "Last reviewed" dates refreshed on every substantively revised page. Approximately 45 additional findings; 39 discrete fixes + 48 date substitutions across 27 files.

Critical corrections in this pass.

  • Pennsylvania Roth conversion treatment corrected. Prior language (in Conversion Rules, Conversion Tax Implications, and the Conversion Cost Calculator) asserted that PA taxes pre-59½ Roth conversions "as compensation." Per PA DOR REV-636, Pennsylvania does not tax traditional-to-Roth conversions at any age (cost-recovery method applies to later earnings distributions). Age-gating JS logic removed from the calculator; state-rate note revised.
  • FAQ structured data on Roth 401(k) Rules updated to match body on SECURE 2.0 §325. The visible body was corrected in phase 1, but the structured-data FAQ answers still asserted Roth 401(k) RMDs at age 73 and cited "eliminate future RMDs" as a rationale for rolling to a Roth IRA. Both corrected to match the body.
  • Fee Drag Calculator default corrected. Fee Drag Calculator still defaulted to annualContribution: 7000 (2025 limit) despite prose referring to 2026; corrected to 7500.
  • IRMAA 2026 Tier 1 threshold precision. Conversion Cost Calculator and Conversion Planner had IRMAA thresholds stored as $109,000 / $218,000; corrected to $109,001 / $218,001 to match CMS's published bracket-edge (IRMAA fires when MAGI exceeds the threshold).
  • Provisional-income formula for Social Security taxation corrected on Withdrawal Rules (Elena example) and Inherited Roth Taxes (Patricia example). Provisional income uses 50% of Social Security, not the full amount. Patricia's taxable SS percentage re-derived from the correct §86 formula at 82.5% (was 60%).
  • Wyoming IRA creditor-protection claim corrected. Roth IRA Rules previously labeled Wyoming "among the weakest" for IRA creditor protection. Wyo. Stat. §1-20-110 is actually a solid exemption; the prior characterization was wrong and is now removed.
  • Pennsylvania inheritance-tax rates table corrected. Inherited Roth Special Situations now accurately shows 0% to spouses (and parents of minor decedents), 4.5% to lineal ancestors and descendants, 12% to siblings, 15% to all other heirs, per 72 P.S. §9116.
  • Minnesota "retirement income deduction" claim corrected on Conversion Tax Implications. MN does not offer a general retirement-income deduction; narrow subtractions for Social Security and certain public pensions exist but do NOT cover IRA/Roth-conversion income.

Worked-example arithmetic corrections (19 fixes), including: Asha 25-year backdoor projection ($187,500 in contributions → $474K FV at 7%, not $675K); Alyssa Roth 401(k) accumulation labeled 6% growth but math required 7%; Rachel post-59½ withdrawal ordering-rules ($0 tax, not $2,000); Rachel two prior-year contributions totaling $15,000 (not $14,000); Marcus pro-rata rounding $560/$6,940; Maya inherited 9-year growth $919K (not $895K); James RMD taxed at 24% federal + 5% state = $10,900 (not $8,900); tax-torpedo marginal 45.7% (not 46.25%); and several compound-growth corrections on Inherited Roth IRA, Inherited 10-Year Rule, Custodial Roth IRA, and Withdrawal Age. Robert's bridge-strategy balance also reframed with an explicit growth assumption and a caveat about contribution-basis exhaustion.

External citations verified against primary sources (no site changes needed): Clark v. Rameker, 573 U.S. 122 (2014) — citation and holding accurate; Bobrow v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2014-21 — citation accurate; Rev. Proc. 2020-46 12-reason self-certification list — all twelve items on 60-Day Rollover match the primary text.

Structured data housekeeping. "Last reviewed" dates refreshed across 24 pages; breadcrumb URLs in structured data corrected on Corrections and four other pages where escape characters had previously broken parsing. Breadcrumb hrefs on Roth 401(k) Rules, Rollover Rules, and 401(k) → Roth IRA Rollover corrected to point through their parent Conversions hub.

Items still deferred for CPA primary-source sign-off: full parse of IRS Notice 2025-67 PDF (Notice summary verified; some figures like §415(c), QCD, §603 threshold need primary-text confirmation); Rev. Proc. 2025-32 Table 1 for LTCG caps, AMT, kiddie-tax, HoH brackets (currently NEEDS-VERIFICATION in calculator JS); CMS 2025 IRMAA Tiers 2–5 (only Tier 1 verified); PA CPA sign-off on the rewritten PA conversion language; search-index.json regeneration.

2026-04-23

Full site-wide fact-check pass (second pre-launch audit). Independent re-verification of every dollar figure, statutory cite, phase-out band, bracket math, RMD factor, and worked example against primary IRS sources (IRS Notice 2025-67, Rev. Proc. 2025-32, TD 10001, TD 10007, SECURE 2.0 Act as finalized). Approximately 140 distinct findings surfaced across 60+ pages and 17 calculators; substantially all corrected in this release.

Critical corrections.

  • Roth 401(k) RMD myth purged. Removed claims across Roth 401(k) Rules and 401(k) → Roth IRA Rollover that still treated Roth 401(k) lifetime RMDs as current. SECURE 2.0 §325 eliminated them effective 2024 for all balances — no $5M threshold. Rollover rationales rewritten around investment flexibility and fees rather than RMD avoidance.
  • 20% mandatory withholding scope corrected on Rollover Rules and 60-Day Rollover. §3405(c) 20% mandatory withholding is qualified-employer-plan only; IRA indirect distributions fall under §3405(b) optional 10% default (waivable). Corrected in comparison table, body text, and FAQ.
  • SIMPLE IRA 2026 age-50 catch-up corrected from stale $3,500 to $4,000 across SIMPLE IRA Rules (12 locations). Per IRS Notice 2025-67, SIMPLE age-50 catch-up rose from $3,500 (2025) to $4,000 (2026). Combined totals updated to $21,000 (standard + catch-up) and $22,100 (enhanced + catch-up). The 2-year clock framing also corrected to run from the participant's first SIMPLE contribution under §72(t)(6), not from plan establishment or termination.
  • Conversion tax-engine calculators updated from stale 2025 brackets to 2026. Conversion Cost Calculator and Conversion Planner migrated their tax brackets, standard deductions, IRMAA thresholds (Tier 1 $109,001 single / $218,001 MFJ), and LTCG caps to Rev. Proc. 2025-32 values.
  • Growth-projection calculator defaults corrected to 2026 limits: Growth Projection now defaults to $7,500 annual contribution and $1,100 catch-up (was $7,000 / $1,000).
  • Roth-vs-Traditional RMD age derived from birth year per SECURE 2.0 §107 (was hardcoded at 73, ignoring the age-75 cohort born 1960+).
  • Conversion-rules and Conversion-tax-implications bracket math rewritten end-to-end for 2026 (per Rev. Proc. 2025-32): single 22% bracket $50,400–$105,700, MFJ 22% $100,800–$211,400, etc. Multiple worked examples had been using 2024 bracket thresholds with 2026 dates.
  • Inherited Roth 10-year rule clarification propagated. Added the critical caveat — no annual RMDs in years 1–9 for inherited Roth (owner has no RBD under §408A(c)(5)) — to Roth IRA RMD Rules, Start, Statistics, and other pages where the distinction from inherited Traditional was under-emphasized. Also corrected year-10 deadline arithmetic (2024 death → Dec 31, 2034, not 2035).
  • TD 10007 release date corrected from September 16, 2024 to September 16, 2025. TD 10007 is the final regulation package for SECURE 2.0 §603 (high-earner Roth-only catch-up mandate).
  • §415(c) 2026 limit corrected from stale $70K/$71K to $72,000 in Roth 401(k) after-tax discussion.
  • Expats page: MFJ phase-out corrected from invented $246K–$266K to the actual $242K–$252K; FEIE updated from 2024 $126,500 to 2026 $132,900; §219 citation corrected from §219(c) to §219(f)(1) for the compensation-definition rule.
  • Glossary: IRA age-50 catch-up corrected from $1,000 to $1,100 per SECURE 2.0 §108 (first-ever indexation, effective 2026). §219(c) → §219(f)(1) citation fix for the FEIE compensation trap.
  • Withdrawal-rules: removed incorrect claim that the pro-rata rule governs Roth IRA distributions. Roth IRAs use the ordering rules (§408A(d)(4)); the pro-rata rule under §408(d)(2) applies only to traditional/SEP/SIMPLE.
  • Withdrawal-age: stale age-72 RMD references corrected to 73 (born 1951–1959) / 75 (born 1960+) per SECURE 2.0 §107 as finalized in TD 10001.
  • Early-withdrawal-penalty: contradictory statements about the 5-year rule gating the FTHB penalty exception resolved (it does not); birth/adoption exception correctly reattributed to SECURE 1.0 §113 (2020), not SECURE 2.0 (2023); reservist active-duty threshold confirmed as 179 days per §72(t)(2)(G).
  • Roth-ira-rmd: $25% excise explained correctly with SECURE 2.0 §302 history (50% → 25%, or 10% with timely correction); James/Julie worked-example math made internally consistent; missing key caveat about no annual inherited-Roth RMDs years 1–9 added.
  • Inherited-roth-rmd: Rachel worked-example RMD factors corrected to 2022-revised Single Life Table values (age 55 = 31.6, subtract-one method); starting RMD corrected from $13,513 to $12,658.
  • Statistics page: super catch-up description corrected — it is greater of $10,000 indexed or 150% of standard catch-up, and applies to 401(k)/403(b)/457/SIMPLE only (not IRAs). The 2026 figure is $11,250 for 401(k)/403(b)/457 and $5,250 for SIMPLE. RMD-age framing updated to birth-cohort form.
  • 529-to-Roth: "Step 5: File Form 8606" heading corrected to "Step 5: Report on Forms 1099-Q and 5498 (NOT Form 8606)" — Form 8606 is not used for §529(c)(3)(E) rollovers.
  • Contributions / Spousal-IRA / Backdoor-Roth: stale 2025 figures ($7,000 cap, $14,000 spousal combined, $23,500 401(k), 32% bracket at $300K single) all corrected to 2026 values ($7,500, $15,000, $24,500, 35% at $300K single per Rev. Proc. 2025-32).
  • Withdrawal-home-purchase: removed duplicated content block (lines ~716–773 duplicated lines ~658–714).
  • State tax claims softened where over-generalized. Illinois correctly described as exempting qualified retirement distributions under 35 ILCS 5/203. Pennsylvania's treatment of pre-retirement-age Roth conversions clarified as compensation-taxable. Mississippi clarified as exempting qualified retirement income only once recipient has separated from service and reached qualifying age.
  • IRS tracker: added missing TD 10007 (2025-09-16), IRS Notice 2025-67 (2025-11 release for 2026 COLAs), and Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments including OBBBA amendments) — the three most consequential 2025 releases for the 2026 tax year.

Methodology. Fresh end-to-end audit — not relying on the April 18 pass. Four parallel deep reviews covered contributions/conversions, withdrawals/5-year/inherited/RMDs, rollovers/special accounts, and all 17 calculators. Findings cross-checked against IRS Notice 2025-67, Rev. Proc. 2025-32, TD 10001, TD 10007, and SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022. Any figure flagged as still needing verification is held for CPA review before launch.

2026-04-18

Pre-launch fact-check. Completed a site-wide cross-check of every dollar figure, phase-out band, and statutory citation against 2026 IRS releases (Notice 2025-67 / Rev. Proc. 2025 tables), SECURE Act 2.0 provisions (especially §§103, 107, 126, 302, 603), and Treasury Decision 10001 (July 2024 final inherited-IRA regs). Corrected two worked examples (Robert on Roth 401(k) Rules, IRMAA brackets on Roth Conversion Rules).

Legal compliance. Published Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Cookie Notice, and Legal Disclaimers at /about/. Publisher metadata across the site now reflects the legal entity (Certified SysAdmin LLC, Kansas, formed 2018-10-25). Deployed a GPC-honoring cookie consent banner site-wide, with analytics held until consent is granted (GA4 Consent Mode v2).

Site origin

RothIRAHub's article archive, calculator suite, and design system were built and validated in the weeks leading up to the 2026-04-18 fact-check pass. Every dollar figure on the site at that point was reviewed against the 2026 IRS baseline (Notice 2025-67, Rev. Proc. 2025-32, SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, TD 10001, TD 10007). Editorial governance — including this changelog, the corrections policy, and editorial guidelines — was published before launch and remains the framework for ongoing maintenance.

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