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Q. Let's say a married couple each maintains their own Roth IRA, and they have contributed to them for the last three years. Last year, however, only one of them will have earned income. Can the non-earning partner make a spousal contribution to the existing IRA, or must a new "Spousal" Roth IRA be established?A. You will want to look at IRS Pub 590. Generally, IRA's come in two flavors, Traditional (taxable) and Roth (non-taxable), which must be kept separate. You can have either or both. Once you set up an account, the type of contribution wage earner or non-wage earner does not matter. For example, your spouse works and has a Roth, and decides to return to school and has no income for the tax year. You can, on behalf of your spouse, choose to contribute to the existing account of any amount, up to your limit $3,000, depending on AGI. Never, ever mix Traditional and Roth funds. The easiest way to think of this is that the IRA is the funding mechanism. Once the funds are in the account, they can be co-mingled with funds from other retirement sources, as long as you keep taxable and non-taxable separate. As always, consult with your tax professional before making any decisions.
Q. I am planning to start a home business in Import/exporting. Do you know of any agency that can help me get started? I need help in narrowing down what product I want to trade. I am thinking initially trade in the United States. Is there any support group for minority women who want to start their own business?
A. Start with Customs and Immigration. They would know names of people or companies that could get you started - www.uscis.gov.
Q. If your driver's license number is stolen, but not your name or address, can they find a way to get your name to commit fraud? Can they even commit fraud without the name and just with the driver license number alone?
A. In many states, the driver's license number is just that. It may be possible to gain the name and address through the DMV, but I suspect it would not work. The legitimate holder of the license would not need that information. If you live in a state with the Social Security Number as the driver's license number, then that number is out there. Many states are either abandoning this practice or will honor a request to use a different number for the driver's license.
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