No, SEP plans do not allow for employee deferrals. The employer has discretion whether or not to make contributions. They may contribute up to 15% of each employee's total compensation.

If the SEP participant???s modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) for 2007 is under $52,000 (single filer) or under $83,000 (married, joint filer), then a full deduction for a traditional IRA contribution is also permitted. The amount that may be deducted is phased out over the next $10,000 in income.

Yes. You may make salary reduction contributions to your 403(b), and make contributions to a SEP-IRA. However, SEP IRA contributions are generally made by an employer. Therefore, you will need to have income from self-employment or from another employer in order to have contributions made to a SEP IRA on your behalf.

SEP IRA plans are used by sole-proprietors or small business owners for additional retirement savings, much like a large company would have a 401(k) or another qualified plan.

Annual contributions to an IRA and/or Keogh (as well as other retirement plans) are reported as untaxed income on the FAFSA. Follow the FAFSA instructions for completing Worksheet B to accurately report these contributions.

You may contribute up to $4,000 on the Traditional and Roth IRA's. The Coverdell Education Savings Account has a contribution limit of $2,000.

SEP plan contributions are tax deductible. Amounts contributed remain tax-deferred, as do their earnings, until withdrawn and are taxed like Traditional IRA's on distributions, as ordinary income.

A SEP allows a self-employed person to contribute more to a retirement account than the current limits on 401(k) and IRA. For a sole-proprietor, the maximum contribution is 20% of net operating income, up to $45,000. If a small business owner allocates a specific amount of cash flow to salaries, the maximum SEP contribution is 25% of compensation, up to $45,000. There is no upper age limit on participation in a SEP.

SEP stands for "Student Education Plan." For more information, please contact the Department of Counseling at 510-436-2475.

No. SEP contributions can be made to Traditional IRAs only. While it is possible to convert a Traditional IRA containing SEP contributions to a Roth IRA, subsequent SEP contributions must be made to a Traditional IRA.

Contributions must be made for each eligible employee in a SEP, even if over age 70 1/2. Such an employee must take minimum distributions, however. No, contributions are not required to be made every year, but in years contributions are made to the SEP, they must be made to the SEP-IRAs of all eligible employees. A SEP cannot have a last-day-of-the-year employment requirement. If the employee is otherwise eligible, they must share in any SEP contribution.

No, but the employee participant may convert the SEP IRA into a Roth and pay the tax due on the conversion.

Completed IRA Adoption Agreement. When applying on-line, this form is automatically incorporated into your application.

Even though the money owed to you and/or your IRA represents a claim in a bankruptcy estate, the IRS provides different tax treatment for IRA investments and/or distributions from such IRA investments. It is critical that you identify your claim as IRA investment if your investment was originally recorded as an IRA contribution.

There are no prohibitions on distributions from IRA-based plans. A participant can take distributions at any time. However, in addition to the distribution being taxable, it may be subject to a 10% additional tax if the participant has not reached age 59 1/2. If the distribution is taken in the first 2 years of participation in a SIMPLE IRA plan, the additional tax is increased to 25%.

Yes, SEP and SIMPLE IRA's can be converted directly to a Roth IRA. In the case of the SIMPLE IRA, a 2-year holding period must be met before converting. You can fund a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA (if you qualify), or both, but your total contributions cannot be more than these amounts. Deductibility in traditional IRA's and eligibility for contributions to Roth IRA's can be subject to Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) phaseouts.

Yes, you can ‘convert’ your Traditional, SEP or SIMPLE IRA into a Roth IRA if you meet the requirements for a Roth IRA.

Yes, individuals can contribute to a traditional IRA whether or not they are covered by another retirement plan. However, they may not be able to deduct all of their contributions if they or their spouses are covered by an employer-sponsored retirement plan. [Note that contributions to a Roth IRA are not deductible and income limits apply.] See Publication 590 for further information.

The maximum contribution to a Traditional IRA is $3,000 or 100% of earned income per tax year, whichever is less. You must reduce this contribution by the amount contributed to a Roth IRA in the same year. Yes. IRA holders age 50 and older may contribute an extra $500 to their IRA in addition to their regular contribution.

The amount of the contribution available to your IRA and, more importantly, the deductibility of that amount contributed, depends primarily on your age (over age 50 or not), your income level (over certain income levels, IRA contribution may not be deductible), and whether or not you are covered by a retirement plan at your place of work.

Anyone with earned income up to $95,000 for single filers, (phase out between $95,000 and $110,000) and $150,000 for married couples filing jointly, (phase out between $150,000 and $160,000) can contribute.

You may designate your Donor Advised Fund as a beneficiary to a portion or all of your IRA. There is pending legislation (not yet enacted) that would allow IRA distributions to charity to be tax-free at age 70 1/2. We encourage you to consult with a qualified tax attorney to discuss the tax consequences of utilizing an IRA for charitable giving.

The contribution limits for both the Traditional and Roth IRA for 2006 and 2007 is $4,000 with a "catch up" contribution of $1,000 for those age 50 and over. There are several factors to determine the deductibility of Traditional IRA contributions and the eligibility of Roth IRA contributions based upon adjusted gross income and participation in other retirement plans.

A Traditional IRA can be opened by anyone with earned income from employment that is under the age of 70 ?. The maximum contribution for 2006-07 is $4,000 ($5000 if 50 yrs or older) or 100% of your earned income, whichever is less.

Unlike the Traditional IRA, there is no 70 ? age limit on making contributions. You simply need to have earned income equal to the amount you contribute, up to a maximum of $4000 ($8000 combined for spouses) per year. There are income thresholds that may reduce the amount you can contribute.