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before June 25, 1959, that is funded entirely by employee contributions). This is the most that can be contributed regardless of whether the contributions are to one or more traditional IRAs or whether all or part of the contributions are nonde- ductible. (See Nondeductible Contributions, later.) Quali- fied reservist repayments don’t affect this limit. Examples. George, who is 34 years old and single, earns $24,000 in 2018. His IRA contributions for 2018 are limited to $5,500. Danny, an unmarried college student working part time, earns $3,500 in 2018. His IRA contributions for 2018 are limited to $3,500, the amount of his compensation. More than one IRA. If you have more than one IRA, the limit applies to the total contributions made on your behalf to all your traditional IRAs for the year. Annuity or endowment contracts. If you invest in an annuity or endowment contract under an individual retire- ment annuity, no more than $5,500 ($6,500 if you are age 50 or older) can be contributed toward its cost for the tax year, including the cost of life insurance coverage. If more than this amount is contributed, the annuity or endowment contract is disqualified. Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA Limit For 2018, if you file a joint return and your taxable com- pensation is less than that of your spouse, the most that can be contributed for the year to your IRA is the smaller of the following two amounts. 1. $5,500 ($6,500 if you are age 50 or older). 2. The total compensation includible in the gross income of both you and your spouse for the year, reduced by the following two amounts. a. Your spouse's IRA contribution for the year to a traditional IRA. b. Any contributions for the year to a Roth IRA on be- half of your spouse. This means that the total combined contributions that can be made for the year to your IRA and your spouse's IRA can be as much as $11,000 ($12,000 if only one of you is age 50 or older, or $13,000 if both of you are age 50 or older). Note. This traditional IRA limit is reduced by any con- tributions to a section 501(c)(18) plan (generally, a pen- sion plan created before June 25, 1959, that is funded en- tirely by employee contributions). Example. Kristin, a full-time student with no taxable compensation, marries Carl during the year. Neither of them was age 50 by the end of 2018. For the year, Carl has taxable compensation of $30,000. He plans to con- tribute (and deduct) $5,500 to a traditional IRA. If he and Kristin file a joint return, each can contribute $5,500 to a traditional IRA. This is because Kristin, who has no com- pensation, can add Carl's compensation, reduced by the amount of his IRA contribution ($30,000 − $5,500 = $24,500), to her own compensation (-0-) to figure her maximum contribution to a traditional IRA. In her case, $5,500 is her contribution limit, because $5,500 is less than $24,500 (her compensation for purposes of figuring her contribution limit). Filing Status Generally, except as discussed earlier under Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA Limit, your filing status has no ef- fect on the amount of allowable contributions to your tradi- tional IRA. However, if during the year either you or your spouse was covered by a retirement plan at work, your deduction may be reduced or eliminated, depending on your filing status and income. See How Much Can You Deduct, later. Example. Tom and Darcy are married and both are 53. They both work and each has a traditional IRA. Tom earned $3,800 and Darcy earned $48,000 in 2018. Be- cause of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA limit rule, even though Tom earned less than $6,500, they can con- tribute up to $6,500 to his IRA for 2018 if they file a joint return. They can contribute up to $6,500 to Darcy's IRA. If they file separate returns, the amount that can be contrib- uted to Tom's IRA is limited by his earned income, $3,800. Less Than Maximum Contributions If contributions to your traditional IRA for a year were less than the limit, you can’t contribute more after the due date of your return for that year to make up the difference. Example. Rafael, who is 40, earns $30,000 in 2018. Although he can contribute up to $5,500 for 2018, he con- tributes only $3,000. After April 15, 2019, Rafael can’t make up the difference between his actual contributions for 2018 ($3,000) and his 2018 limit ($5,500). He can’t contribute $2,500 more than the limit for any later year. More Than Maximum Contributions If contributions to your IRA for a year were more than the limit, you can apply the excess contribution in one year to a later year if the contributions for that later year are less than the maximum allowed for that year. However, a pen- alty or additional tax may apply. See Excess Contribu- tions, later, under What Acts Result in Penalties or Addi- tional Taxes. When Can Contributions Be Made? As soon as you open your traditional IRA, contributions can be made to it through your chosen sponsor (trustee or other administrator). Contributions must be in the form of Chapter 1 Traditional IRAs Page 9