The April 15 IRA Deadline Is Almost Here -- Here's What You Still Have Time to Do
Key Points
There is still time to make contributions toward your 2025 limit.
The IRA contribution limit for 2026 increased by $500 for people younger than 50 and $1,100 for people older than 50.
Contributing more than the IRA limit could result in an excise tax.
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April 15 is one of the more important financial dates to mark on your calendar because it's Tax Day (unless it falls on a weekend or holiday, in which case it's the next business day). Although many people will be focused on how much they're receiving back or how much they owe, there are IRA implications also worth noting.
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Whether you already have an IRA or just opened one, you still have time to do a few key things.
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Don't forget your contributions for 2025
You can begin contributing to an IRA for a given tax year on Jan. 1, but you have until April 15 of the following year to make your contributions.
For example, contributions to an IRA for tax year 2025 could be made starting on Jan. 1, 2025, but you have until April 15 of this year to make them. For tax year 2026, you'll have until April 15, 2027, to make your contributions.
If you're making IRA contributions for a previous tax year after the new year, you must select that year when making your contributions, or they'll likely default to the current year. You don't want to accidentally contribute to 2026's limit instead of 2025's because that'll reduce how much you could potentially save in total.
Note: Although you can file a tax extension to get your filing deadline pushed back six months to Oct. 15, your IRA contributions must still be made by the original April 15 deadline.
Double-check how much you've contributed
The most you can contribute to your IRA for tax year 2025 is $7,000 if you're younger than 50 and $8,000 if you're 50 and older. For tax year 2026, those contribution limits jumped up to $7,500 and $8,600, respectively, but you have until April 15 of next year to make those contributions.
If, for whatever reason, you contributed more than the limit to your IRA, you have until April 15 to withdraw the excess amount and the earnings it has potentially made. If you don't, you'll face a 6% excise tax penalty on the excess amount. The 6% excise tax penalty isn't a one-time fee, either. If you keep the excess money in your IRA, you'll pay the tax every year.
If the excess amount has made money while in the account, you'll owe taxes on the earnings you withdraw.
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