There’s Still Time to Contribute to an IRA for 2021

I forgot to contribute to my IRA last year. Is it too late?

Maybe, maybe not. Generally speaking, the IRS allows you to make your IRA contribution for a particular tax year up until April 15 of the following year. This rule applies to both traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs, giving you some flexibility in terms of the timing of your annual IRA contribution. You can contribute a total of $6,000 to all the IRAs you own in 2022 (unchanged from 2021). In addition, if you're age 50 or older, you can make an extra "catch-up" contribution of $1,000 a year in 2022.

Note that you can make your annual IRA contribution in a series of payments rather than in one lump sum. For example, let's say you want to contribute the maximum amount in your IRA for 2022. You can either make a lump-sum contribution of $6,000, or you can set up a savings plan whereby you contribute a fixed amount each month in your IRA. Because you're allowed to spread your 2022 IRA contribution over a 15½-month period (January 1, 2022 through April 15, 2023), you can contribute as little as $375 per month and still end up contributing the full $6,000 (provided the final contribution is made before April 15, 2023).