My contributions to my kids Roth IRA

Is anybody taking a deduction for the contributions?

Assuming your adult children had enough taxable compensation to allow for a contribution, you are not precluded from making that contribution. It is treated as a gift to your child and counts against the annual gift tax exclusion. A side benefit to your child is that the contribution is deemed to come from him/her, and if eligible, entitles him/her to the IRA deduction if it is a traditional IRA. No deduction if a Roth IRA.

Nope. I don't and the kids know I'm doing it but I don't think it registers and I know they haven't been. Also it is a Roth if that makes any difference.

Contributions to IRAs (whether Roth or Traditional) can be made only if the (unmarried) IRA _owner_ has had _compensation_ (salary or wages, self-employment income, commissions for sales, etc) and is limited to the smaller of the compensation and $5500 ($6500 if over age 50). Since you call your children your kids, I presume that they are unmarried. Are they also by any chance in college, and might well not have earned income in order to make an IRA contribution? If so, that is a bigger can of worms that you might have opened for your "kids". There is a 6% excise tax on excess contributions to IRAs.

Dilip Sarwate

They are both near their 40s, unmarried, though, and both work full time and so are well over the income limit.

It does -- there's no deduction for Roth contributions. Only regular IRA contributions can be deducted, and only if your income is below the limit.

A great benefit is the IRS Tax Credit for retirement contributions. Even if you gifted the contribtion, they can tke it If they qualify, it is a very nice benefit. IRS form 8880

Nothing wrong so long as you keep it within the limits of the gift law. (Each hyear the IRS sets a "gift" limit. As I recall, it's like $14,000. this year.

Conbgress set the gift tax annual exclusion amount. The IRS just calculates the inflation factor.