conversation: User (moreinlessout): "Prior to getting married, my individual income was ~$75k and I had been contributing the max to a Roth IRA account without giving it much thought.  My husband does not have an IRA.  After getting married our combined income is now over $200k, and I learned that any contribution to a Roth IRA account will come with a tax penalty (I called my bank's Retirement Services Center and they said the penalty is 6%).  I *can* contribute to a Traditional IRA penalty-free, but it seems that contribution is not tax-deductible.\n\nI understand that to mean that like a Roth IRA, the $5500 we contribute into it will not save us anything by way of taxes this year.  But what about when it comes time to withdraw that money?  Will we essentially be taxed on it again?  If we will, will the prospective interest earned still be worth contributing to a Traditional IRA?  Would it be better if we continue to contribute to the Roth IRA and just pay the penalty?  Can we *both* contribute $5500 for a total of $11000, or are we jointly only permitted $5500 total? \n\nWe're both in our mid 30s so we have at least 2 decades before we can even touch any of the money in any IRA.  I would prefer to contribute to a Roth IRA even with the penalty as we are not obligated to start withdrawing the money by age 59.5, and could potentially leave it as inheritance... but are there other considerations I should keep in mind?\n\nEdit: Oops!  Bot just directed me to a link RE: backdoor Roth IRA.  I suppose my questions would be answered there."
  Self: "You may find these links helpful:\n\n- [Retirement Accounts](https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/index#wiki_retirement_accounts) (articles on 401(k) plans, IRAs, and more)\n- ["How to handle $"](http://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/wiki/commontopics)\n\n*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/personalfinance) if you have any questions or concerns.*"
  