How Old Do You Have to Be to Open a Roth IRA?

There is no minimum age in IRC §408A — the IRS imposes no age floor on Roth IRA eligibility. The practical floor is whenever you have earned income from real work (W-2 wages or 1099 self-employment income). For minors, a parent or legal guardian opens a custodial Roth IRA on the child's behalf; the provider’s custodial agreement and applicable state law control when the child takes over. Do not assume every custodial Roth IRA is a UTMA account. For adults, account-opening capacity depends on applicable law and the provider’s rules. There is also no maximum age — unlike Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs have never had an age ceiling.

The Statutory Answer — No Minimum Age (IRC §408A)

Roth IRA eligibility under IRC §408A is governed by two requirements:

1. You must have compensation (earned income) under IRC §219(f)(1).
2. Your modified AGI must fall below the phase-out threshold for your filing status.

Notably absent: any age requirement. The statute does not specify a minimum age, a maximum age, or any age-related eligibility test. The IRS confirms this in IRS Publication 590-A: “You can open a Roth IRA at any age, including for minors who have earned income.”

The reason there's no age floor is structural: the contribution-limit and earned-income tests already do the gatekeeping. A 6-year-old without any earned income can't contribute to any IRA (Roth or Traditional) because there's no compensation against which to make the contribution. A 6-year-old with $50 of legitimate babysitting or modeling income could technically have a $50 Roth IRA contribution — the law just doesn't separately gate by age.

Earned Income Is the Real Gatekeeper

The hard rule: your Roth IRA contribution can't exceed your earned income for the year, up to the 2026 limit of $7,500 (or $8,600 with the age-50+ catch-up). What counts:

• W-2 wages from any employer
• 1099-NEC self-employment income from babysitting, lawn care, dog walking, modeling, freelance work, family-business services
• Tips reported on Form 4137 or via employer
• Combat pay excluded from gross income but treated as compensation under IRC §219(f)(1)(C)

What doesn't count:

• Allowance for ordinary chores (cleaning your room, etc.)
• Gifts and birthday/holiday money
• Investment income (dividends, interest, capital gains)
• Social Security survivor benefits
• Alimony (post-2018) under TCJA
• Unemployment compensation
• Inherited money or trust distributions

For a child contributing to a custodial Roth IRA, documentation matters. Keep a simple log: dates worked, hours, hourly rate, client names, payments received. A spiral notebook is fine. If self-employment income exceeds $400, file a Schedule C on the child's tax return (even if no tax is owed) — this creates an audit trail.

Custodial Roth IRA for Minors

For anyone below the age of majority (typically 18; 21 in some states), a parent or legal guardian opens a custodial Roth IRA on the child's behalf. The structure:

• The child is the legal owner of the account — their SSN is on it, the contributions count toward their lifetime tracking.
• The parent or guardian is the custodian — they make investment decisions, sign forms, and have control until the child reaches majority.
• The contribution limit is the child's earned income for the year (capped at the standard IRA contribution limit, $7,500 for 2026).
• The funds can come from anywhere — the parent can contribute on the child's behalf using parental funds, as long as the contribution doesn't exceed the child's earned income for that year.

For a complete walkthrough of opening a custodial Roth IRA, the earned-income test, custodian options, and the long-term math, see our companion FAQ: Can I Open a Roth IRA for My Child?

The Age-of-Majority Transition

There is no single federal handoff age for every custodial Roth IRA. The provider’s custodial IRA agreement and applicable state law control when and how the child takes over. Some accounts use a state UTMA structure; others rely on different custodial account mechanics. Confirm the governing agreement instead of assuming that a state’s UTMA maximum automatically applies.

• Common handoff ages: 18 or 21, depending on the agreement and governing law.
• Virginia’s age-25 designation is conditional: for property actually transferred under Virginia UTMA through §64.2-1903 or §64.2-1904 on or after July 1, 2019, the transferor may expressly designate age 25 under §64.2-1908(E). The original designation, account documents, and provider mechanics all must support it.
• Age 21 remains a request boundary for certain Virginia gifts: for an irrevocable-gift transfer covered by §64.2-1919(B), the beneficiary may request the property in writing during the statutory window beginning 30 days before turning 21 and ending 30 days after the later of turning 21 or receiving the custodian’s notice. An age-25 designation does not erase that request right.

When the controlling agreement and law require the handoff, the custodian loses authority and the child takes control of the Roth IRA. The provider may require its own paperwork rather than an automatic “conversion” on a birthday, so families should confirm the process in advance.

This is a worthwhile family conversation to have in advance. An 18-year-old with control over an IRA balance in the high four or five figures has the legal right to liquidate it and use the proceeds for anything — including a car, college, or impulsive spending. The Roth IRA structure (especially the contributions-can-be-withdrawn-anytime rule under IRC §408A(d)(4)) makes this tempting. Many parents make the conversion an explicit teaching moment.

Adults — When You Can Open Your Own

Once you've reached the age of majority in your state (typically 18), you can open a regular (non-custodial) Roth IRA in your sole name at any major brokerage:

• Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, E*TRADE, Robinhood — all offer Roth IRAs to adults with no minimum age above majority. Account-opening process: SSN + driver's license/passport + employment information + bank account for funding. Typically takes 10–15 minutes online.
• Most banks — offer bank Roth IRAs (savings accounts, CDs) but at lower long-term return potential than brokerages.
• Credit unions — same as banks, often with slightly higher rates on savings products.

The earned-income requirement still applies as an adult. A 19-year-old college student earning $3,000 from a summer job can contribute up to $3,000 for that tax year. A 22-year-old without any earned income (e.g., living off family support during job search) can't contribute.

No Maximum Age

Roth IRAs have never had a maximum age on contributions. Unlike pre-2020 Traditional IRAs (which had an age 70½ contribution cap that the SECURE Act of 2019 §107 eliminated), Roth IRAs have always allowed contributions at any age, as long as you have earned income.

This makes Roth IRAs particularly valuable for late-career savers and even working retirees:

• An 80-year-old earning $40,000 from part-time consulting can contribute up to $8,600 (with the 50+ catch-up) to a Roth IRA, even while taking RMDs from a Traditional IRA.
• A 70-year-old who hasn't yet retired can use ongoing Roth contributions to keep accumulating tax-free assets, complementing their workplace retirement plan.
• A 90-year-old grandmother earning honorarium income from speaking engagements could contribute that income to a Roth IRA, accumulating tax-free assets to pass on under the inherited Roth IRA 10-year rule (TD 10001, July 2024).

There are also no required minimum distributions on a Roth IRA during the owner's lifetime (per IRC §408A(c)(5)). Unlike a Traditional IRA where you must begin withdrawing at age 73 or 75 (depending on birth year), a Roth IRA can hold its full balance through the owner's death and pass to beneficiaries under the inherited-IRA rules.