There is no federal Roth IRA minimum deposit. The IRS doesn’t require you to put in any specific amount to open or keep the account, so the real floor is set by the brokerage or bank that holds it. Many of the largest online brokers have dropped their account-opening minimum to zero, which means you can start a Roth IRA with a dollar, or sometimes with nothing at all until you’re ready to invest.
No Federal Minimum Deposit Exists
Nothing in the tax code sets a floor on Roth IRA deposits. The statute governing Roth IRAs establishes contribution ceilings and income-based phase-outs but says nothing about minimums.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S. Code 408A – Roth IRAs You can open the account, leave it unfunded for a year or two, and still have a valid Roth IRA waiting when you’re ready.
You’re also not required to contribute every year. Skipping a year doesn’t close the account or change its tax status. The IRS caps how much you can put in during a single tax year; it doesn’t tell you how little.2Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits
What Brokerages Actually Require
Since the IRS doesn’t set a minimum, the practical answer depends on where you open the account. Each institution sets its own rules, and the range is wide.
Most major online brokerages have eliminated account-opening minimums entirely. Fidelity, for example, lets you open a Roth IRA with no minimum and begin investing with as little as $1.3Fidelity Investments. Roth IRA – Powerful Way to Save for Retirement Schwab, Vanguard, and other large platforms have moved in the same direction. At those brokers, your true minimum is whatever it costs to buy your first investment.
That cost depends on what you buy. Fractional shares let you purchase a sliver of a stock or ETF for a dollar or two. A target-date mutual fund, on the other hand, might require a $1,000 or $3,000 initial purchase. So a zero-minimum account doesn’t help much if the fund you want has a high entry point. Check the investment minimum for the specific fund or ETF before assuming your first deposit can be tiny.
Full-service brokerages and managed accounts tend to set higher thresholds, sometimes $500 to $5,000 or more, because personalized advice costs more to deliver. Some providers also charge annual custodial or maintenance fees, and those fees can eat into a small balance quickly. Many waive the fee once your balance crosses a certain level, so ask before you sign up.
Contribution Limits That Do Apply
The IRS says nothing about a minimum, but it does cap the maximum. For 2026:2Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits
- Under age 50: $7,500
- Age 50 or older: $8,600, which includes a $1,100 catch-up contribution
These caps apply to the total you put into all of your traditional and Roth IRAs combined. If you contribute $3,000 to a traditional IRA, you can only put $4,500 into a Roth IRA that same year, assuming you’re under 50. Contributions for the 2026 tax year can be made until the tax filing deadline in April 2027.
Who Is Allowed to Contribute
Before you fund the account, confirm you’re eligible. The IRS gates Roth IRA contributions on two things: earned income and total income.
You Need Earned Income
You can only contribute up to the amount of taxable compensation you earned during the year. That includes wages, salary, tips, bonuses, commissions, and net self-employment income. It also includes taxable alimony and nontaxable combat pay.2Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits Investment income, rental income, Social Security benefits, unemployment benefits, and child support do not count.
If you earned $3,000 in a given year, your Roth IRA contribution limit for that year is $3,000, even though the general cap is higher. A non-working spouse can still contribute through a spousal IRA as long as the couple files jointly and the working spouse earns enough to cover both contributions.2Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits
Your Income Can’t Be Too High
The IRS also limits or eliminates direct Roth IRA contributions once your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) passes certain thresholds. For 2026, the phase-out ranges are:4Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
- Single or head of household: full contributions below $153,000 MAGI, reduced contributions between $153,000 and $168,000, none at $168,000 or above
- Married filing jointly: full contributions below $242,000, reduced between $242,000 and $252,000, none at $252,000 or above
- Married filing separately (lived with spouse during the year): reduced contributions from $0 to $10,000, none at $10,000 or above
If your income falls inside a phase-out range, the IRS has a worksheet to calculate your reduced limit. If you’re above the ceiling entirely, you can’t contribute directly.
If You Contribute Too Much
Depositing more than your allowed limit, or contributing when your income makes you ineligible, creates an excess contribution. The IRS charges a 6% excise tax on excess amounts for every year they remain in the account.5Internal Revenue Service. IRA Year-End Reminders That penalty compounds annually until you fix it.
The simplest fix is to withdraw the excess contribution and any earnings it generated before your tax return due date, including extensions. If you pull the money out before that deadline, the excess is treated as if it never went in and no penalty applies. Miss that window, and the 6% tax hits for each year the overage sits in the account. If you catch the mistake late, you can also apply the excess toward a future year’s contribution limit, which stops the penalty from that point forward but doesn’t erase prior-year penalties already owed.