You can open a Roth IRA at any age, but you must have earned income to contribute

There is no minimum age to open a Roth IRA account itself. A child, teenager, or adult can have one. The real requirement is earned income — money you made from working, not from investments, gifts, or allowances. You cannot contribute more to a Roth IRA than you earned that year, and you cannot contribute at all if you had zero earned income.

This means a 14-year-old with a summer job can open a Roth IRA and contribute up to the amount they earned. A 10-year-old with no job cannot. The account itself has no age gate; the contribution rule does.

Once you turn 59½, you can withdraw your contributions and earnings tax-free, provided the account has been open for at least five years. Before that age, you can always withdraw your contributions (the money you put in) without penalty, but withdrawing earnings early usually triggers a 10% penalty plus income tax.

Key Takeaways

  • You can open a Roth IRA at any age as long as you have earned income from a job or self-employment.
  • Earned income is money you made from working; gifts, allowances, and investment returns do not count.
  • A parent or guardian can open a custodial Roth IRA for a minor, but the minor must still have earned income to contribute.
  • You can withdraw your contributions at any time without penalty, but earnings withdrawals before age 59½ usually cost you 10% plus income tax.
  • The five-year rule means your account must be open for five tax years before you can withdraw earnings tax-free at 59½.

Earned income is the only real age requirement

The IRS does not care how old you are when you open the account. It cares whether you have earned income in that tax year. Earned income means wages from a W-2 job, net profit from self-employment, or taxable alimony. It does not include interest, dividends, capital gains, gifts, inheritance, or allowance.

If you earned $3,000 working at a restaurant in 2024, you can contribute up to $3,000 to a Roth IRA for that year. If you earned $0, you cannot contribute anything, regardless of your age or how much money you have in the bank.

This rule applies equally to a 16-year-old and a 56-year-old. The difference is that the teenager has decades for that money to grow tax-free, while the adult does not.

How minors open and fund a Roth IRA

A minor cannot open a brokerage account alone. A parent or legal guardian must open a custodial Roth IRA on their behalf. The parent is the custodian; the minor is the beneficiary. The custodian controls the account until the minor reaches the age of majority (usually 18 or 21, depending on your state).

The minor's earned income is still the contribution limit. If your 15-year-old earned $2,500 from a part-time job, you can contribute $2,500 to their custodial Roth IRA. You can use your own money to make the contribution, but the contribution is tied to their earned income, not yours.

Most major brokers — Fidelity, Vanguard, Charles Schwab, and others — offer custodial Roth IRAs. You will need the minor's Social Security number and a copy of their ID. The process is similar to opening a regular Roth IRA, except you designate yourself as custodian.

The five-year rule and when you can withdraw

A Roth IRA has two withdrawal rules that interact with age. The first is the five-year rule: your account must be open for at least five tax years before you can withdraw earnings tax-free. This rule applies regardless of your age. If you open a Roth IRA at 14 and try to withdraw earnings at 16, you will owe tax and penalty on the earnings, even though you are still young.

The second rule is age 59½. Once you reach 59½ and your account has been open for five years, you can withdraw contributions and earnings tax-free. Before 59½, you can always withdraw your contributions without penalty, but earnings withdrawals cost you 10% plus income tax — with a few exceptions for hardship (first-time home purchase, disability, medical expenses).

For a teenager opening a Roth IRA, the five-year rule is usually the tighter constraint. If you open at 16, the five-year clock starts. At 21, you can withdraw earnings tax-free if you meet the five-year requirement, even though you are not yet 59½. But if you open at 55, you have to wait until 59½ regardless of how long the account has been open.

Income limits do not apply to age, but they do apply to contributions

Roth IRAs have income limits that determine how much you can contribute, but these limits are based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), not your age. A high-earning teenager might hit the income limit and be unable to contribute the full amount they earned. A low-earning adult in their 60s faces no income limit at all.

The income limits change each year. For 2024, single filers begin to phase out at $146,000 MAGI and cannot contribute at all above $161,000. Married filing jointly begin at $230,000 and phase out completely at $240,000. These numbers shift annually, so check the IRS website or your broker for the current year.

A teenager with a summer job earning $5,000 will almost certainly be under the income limit. An adult with a high salary might not be able to contribute to a Roth IRA at all, despite being old enough.

What happens when a minor turns 18 or 21

When the minor reaches the age of majority in your state (usually 18 or 21), the custodial account automatically converts to a regular Roth IRA in their name. They gain full control and can make decisions about contributions, investments, and withdrawals without the custodian's permission.

The account history and the five-year rule carry forward. If the account was opened when they were 14, the five-year clock started then, not when they turned 18. This is one reason opening a custodial Roth IRA early is powerful — the account has a head start on the five-year requirement.

The transition is automatic at most brokers. You do not need to close the old account and open a new one. The custodian simply loses access, and the young adult gains it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a 12-year-old open a Roth IRA?

Yes, if they have earned income. A parent or guardian opens a custodial Roth IRA on their behalf. The 12-year-old must have earned money from a job — babysitting, lawn care, a part-time position — to contribute. The contribution cannot exceed what they earned that year.

What counts as earned income for a Roth IRA?

Wages from a W-2 job, net profit from self-employment, and taxable alimony count. Allowance, gifts, investment returns, and inheritance do not. If your child runs a small business or has a side gig, that self-employment income counts too.

Can I contribute to my child's Roth IRA using my own money?

Yes. You can fund the contribution with your own money, but the contribution limit is still tied to your child's earned income. If they earned $1,500, you can contribute $1,500 of your own money to their account. You cannot contribute more than they earned.

What happens to a custodial Roth IRA if the minor does not have earned income one year?

You cannot make a contribution that year. The contribution limit is zero if there is no earned income. You can resume contributions in future years when they earn income again. The account itself stays open and continues to grow.

Is there an age limit for opening a Roth IRA?

No. You can open a Roth IRA at 70, 80, or any age, as long as you have earned income. There is no upper age limit. The only constraint is that you must have earned income in the year you contribute.