The IRS has announced the 2019 contribution limits for tax-advantaged retirement plans. Don’t forget that you can contribute to both a 401(k)/TSP type employer-sponsored plan and an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA), and that non-working spouses can have IRAs, too.
2019 Limits for Employer-Sponsored Plans like 401(k)s and TSP
The elective deferral limit, which is the “regular” limit on contributions, rises to $19,000 for 2019. This is the most an employee can contribute to their employer-sponsored plans, such as the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) under typical situations. Employer or government matching funds do not count towards that limit.
There is an additional catch-up limit for those who are age 50 or older during the year. Those folks can contribute an additional $6,000 to their employer-sponsored plans, for a total contribution of $25,000. (Eeek! That’s a lot of money!)
Then, there is another limit, called the annual additions limit, that applies to the total amount that can be contributed to these plans. For most people, this is the limit for the total of both employee and employer contributions, but there’s a special twist if you spend time in combat zone during the tax year. This limit is $56,000 (or $62,000 if you’re 50 or over.) There are some tricky rules if you’re hoping to contribute extra while you’re in a combat zone, and you’re going to want some help to make sure you do that correctly. Heck, DFAS and the TSP folks are still working out some of the rules as it applies to BRS…
Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRA)s
The 2019 limit for contributions to IRAs is $6,000 per person, with an additional catch-up of $1,000 if you’re age 50 or older. IRA contributions must be made from earned income, but you can contribute to one spouse’s IRA with income earned by the other spouse. While these are technically called a spousal IRA, they’re not a special type of IRA. It’s just a special rule that permits you to use another person’s money to fund your IRA.
Roth vs. Traditional
Keep in mind that you can have your TSP money in either a Roth or a traditional TSP account, and you can also have an IRA that is either Roth or traditional. They’re entirely separate. You can even have both a traditional and Roth TSP account, as long as the total amount contributed stays under the limits. Likewise, you may have both a traditional and Roth IRA account, as long as the total amount contributed stays under the limits.
Let me know if this is confusing!
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Jean says
11 January 2019 at 10:58 amI can not find a direct simple answer for this: Is the $19000 contribution limit inclusive across both a traditional Roth IRA and TSP? Currently we are on track to contribute the limit to our separate Roth IRAs ($6000), and in addition, another $13000 to TSP. Are we leaving $6000 on the table for contribution to our TSP, or are we going to hit the limit? Thanks for any help!
Kate Horrell says
12 January 2019 at 12:06 pmJean, TSP and IRA are different types of accounts and they have their own separate contribution limits. You an contribute $6,000 to your IRA and a separate $19,000 to TSP.
Does that help?
Jake says
23 January 2019 at 9:15 amHad the same question. Thanks for the help. Do you have a reference so I can privide to others that ask?
Kate Horrell says
24 January 2019 at 2:02 pmWhat kind of reference are you looking for? A google search of “2019 contribution limits” pulls up pages of results. Here is a link to the IRS announcement: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-contribution-limit-increases-to-19000-for-2019-ira-limit-increases-to-6000
Nate says
12 April 2019 at 10:47 amSorry if this is a dumb question. Is it possible for a service member to maximize contributions to the Roth TSP(19k plus BRS match), SM spouse contribute to a private Roth TSP (6k max), and have the SM open an additional Roth outside of the TSP (another 6k)? For a total of 31k Roth contributions for the family? Trying to maximize retirement savings…
If not, what other retirement acct should a SM open to increase retirement savings?
Thanks!
Kate Horrell says
12 April 2019 at 1:43 pmThere is no such thing as a private Roth TSP.
Service members who are under 50 and not deployed to a tax-free combat zone are limited to $19,000 plus BRS match in their TSP account (Roth or Traditional) and $6,000 in an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) (Roth or Traditional.)
If your spouse works, they may contribute to any employer plan (401k, TSP, 503b, etc.) plus $6,000 their own IRA (Roth or Traditional). Non-working spouses may contribute up to $6,000 to their own IRA (Roth or Traditional), assuming the working spouse has income in excess of their joint IRA contributions.
If you are looking strictly for tax-advantaged retirement savings, your next plan would be to open a small business and a SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, or Individual 401(k). However, there are benefits to having taxable investments as part of your portfolio, so that may be better for your specific situation.
I hope that helps.
Randy says
7 June 2019 at 12:22 amI have TSP, a Traditional IRA and a Roth IRA. I intend to put the maximum amount into each. I’m over 50. Can you bottom line the details again for me on the limits?
Jay says
23 July 2019 at 8:25 pmHello, I appreciate your well versed article! I do have a question though. I am a new gov employee and my wife is a federal contractor. Can I contribute 19K from my salary toward the TSP along with the agency matching the first 5% (equaling 5k) for a total of 24K?
Also I want to contribute the max 6K to a traditional IRA I currently have. Our household income exceeds 203K combined, so I believe that we are unable to contribute to any type of Roth whether 401k/TSP/IRA? Am I in the right ballpark with this?