Can I open a new Roth IRA for the year 2008 in April of 2009, or does it have have to be open before Dec. 1st?

Question

I have a question about specifics. I would like to open a Roth IRA for 2008, but would like to wait as long as I can to do it. So if I wait until April 14th of 2009, can I still open a new IRA for 2008 and max it out, or does it have to be opened in 2008. In other words, Can I only contribute to it until April 14th of 2009 if it has already been opened in the year I want to make my contributions for? A reference would also be helpful, thank you.

Answer 1

An IRA can be opened and/or funded by the filing deadline of the tax return, i.e. April 15.  

Don't play it too close to the wire, however, since some custodians don't do things well in the last minute, and if it is April 16, will, it counts for 2009.

Also be sure the custodian is clear about it being a 2008 donation.

Answer 2

A contribution to an IRA can be made any time before the income tax is filed. You can wait until April 14, 2009 to contribute to a 2008 IRA provided the income tax return for 2008 has not been filed.

Go to IRS.gov. IRA contributions.