When did the Roth IRA start? The Roth IRA started on January 1, 1998, created by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and named for Senator William Roth of Delaware.
Key Takeaways
- The Roth IRA was created by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-34), signed August 5, 1997, and first available to savers on January 1, 1998.
- The account is named for Senator William V. Roth Jr. of Delaware, the law’s leading Senate sponsor.
- The Roth 401(k) was authorized by EGTRRA (Public Law 107-16, 2001) and became available on January 1, 2006.
- The $100,000 income cap on conversions was removed for 2010 by TIPRA 2005 (Public Law 109-222), which opened Roth conversions to every income level.
- The SECURE Act (2019) added the inherited-IRA 10-year rule, and SECURE 2.0 (2022) moved the RMD start age to 73 and 75.
- For 2026 the IRA contribution limit is $7,500 and the 401(k) elective deferral limit is $24,500, per the IRS.
Roth IRA Timeline
Figures for the 2026 tax year, verified against IRS primary sources.
When did the Roth IRA start?
The Roth IRA started on January 1, 1998. The account type was created five months earlier when President Clinton signed the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-34) into law on August 5, 1997, with the new accounts taking effect at the start of the 1998 tax year.
The design was a mirror image of the traditional IRA that had existed since 1974. Instead of a deduction now and tax later, the Roth uses after-tax dollars now so that qualified withdrawals in retirement come out income-tax free.
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That single structural choice is why the account still anchors so much retirement tax planning today, including the Roth conversion strategies many retirees weigh once they stop working. For a side-by-side of the two account types, see Roth versus traditional IRA.
Where did the Roth IRA get its name?
The Roth IRA is named for Senator William V. Roth Jr. of Delaware, who was the chief legislative sponsor of the provision. Wikipedia and the enacting law both record the account as named after Senator Roth, its leading sponsor in the Senate.
Roth chaired the Senate Finance Committee during the mid to late 1990s and pushed the back-loaded IRA concept through Congress. Unlike a traditional IRA, the Roth version he championed traded an upfront deduction for decades of tax-free compounding, a trade that reshaped how families think about Roth contributions and conversions.
When did the Roth 401(k) start?
The Roth 401(k) started on January 1, 2006. Congress authorized these employer-plan Roth features, formally called designated Roth accounts, in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA, Public Law 107-16, signed June 7, 2001), with a delayed effective date of 2006.
A designated Roth account lets an employee route salary deferrals into a Roth bucket inside a 401(k), 403(b), or governmental 457(b) plan. Unlike the Roth IRA, it carries no income limit on who may contribute, which made Roth saving available to high earners for the first time. See what a designated Roth account is and how a Roth 401(k) compares to a Roth IRA.
What changed for Roth conversions in 2010?
In 2010 the income limit on Roth conversions disappeared. Before that year, a saver whose modified adjusted gross income topped $100,000 (or who filed married filing separately) was barred from converting a traditional IRA to a Roth at all.
That cap was repealed by the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 (TIPRA, Public Law 109-222), with the change taking effect for tax years beginning in 2010. From that point forward, any taxpayer could convert regardless of income.
This is the pivot that made modern Roth conversion planning broadly available. Because conversions are no longer gated by an income ceiling, retirees in a lower-bracket window often model how much to convert before required distributions and Social Security stack on top of other income. Q3’s explainers on how much to convert to Roth and the related backdoor Roth contribution limits both trace back to this 2010 change.
How did the SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0 reshape Roth rules?
Two laws passed after 2010 reshaped the rules around Roth and traditional accounts. The SECURE Act of 2019 (enacted December 20, 2019) replaced the lifetime stretch for most non-spouse beneficiaries with a 10-year payout window and lifted the RMD start age to 72.
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (enacted December 29, 2022) went further: it set the required minimum distribution age at 73 for those born 1951 to 1959 and 75 for those born 1960 or later, and it removed lifetime RMDs from Roth 401(k) accounts starting in 2024. For a fuller rundown, see the SECURE 2.0 provisions and how a conversion interacts with distributions in does a Roth conversion count as an RMD.
What is the full Roth IRA timeline from its start to 2026?
The Roth story runs from a single 1997 statute to a series of later expansions. The timeline below maps each milestone to the law that created it and the year it took effect.
| Year | Milestone | Enabling law | Took effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Roth IRA created | Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (PL 105-34, signed Aug 5, 1997) | 1998 |
| 1998 | Roth IRA available to savers | Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 | Jan 1, 1998 |
| 2001 | Roth 401(k) authorized | EGTRRA (PL 107-16, signed Jun 7, 2001) | 2006 |
| 2006 | Roth 401(k) available | EGTRRA (designated Roth accounts) | Jan 1, 2006 |
| 2010 | Conversion income cap removed | TIPRA 2005 (PL 109-222) | 2010 |
| 2019 | 10-year inherited-IRA rule, RMD age to 72 | SECURE Act (PL 116-94) | 2020 |
| 2022 | RMD age to 73 and 75 | SECURE 2.0 (PL 117-328) | 2023 forward |
Why does the Roth IRA start date still matter today?
The start date matters because the account’s core promise has not changed since 1998: pay tax on the seed, not the harvest. Every later law widened access to that promise rather than replacing it.
The 2010 removal of the conversion cap is the piece that touches the most retirees now. Because anyone can convert regardless of income, a retiree in a low-bracket year (before required distributions and Social Security fully load the return) can often move traditional dollars into a Roth at a known rate rather than an unknown future one. A financial professional can model whether a conversion, and how much of one, fits a given bracket picture.
For 2026 the IRS set the IRA contribution limit at $7,500 and the 401(k), 403(b), and TSP elective deferral limit at $24,500, with a catch-up of $8,000 for savers age 50 and older and $11,250 for those age 60 to 63, per the IRS 2026 limits notice. The Roth conversion, by contrast, has no annual dollar cap, which is why it remains a central lever in retirement tax strategy.
Methodology: dates and dollar figures in this article are drawn from primary government sources, including the enacted public laws at GovInfo (Public Laws 105-34, 107-16, 109-222, 116-94, and 117-328) and IRS 2026 contribution-limit guidance. Anonymous forum anecdotes were deliberately excluded because retirement tax rules are a Your-Money-Your-Life topic that calls for primary sourcing.
Where the history meets your plan
Q3 Advisors is a fee-only RIA focused on retirement tax planning and Roth conversions. Retirees weighing whether a multi-year conversion fits their bracket picture can review our Roth conversion explainer and how much to convert to Roth.
Frequently asked questions about when the Roth IRA started
When did the Roth IRA start?
The Roth IRA started on January 1, 1998. It was created by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (Public Law 105-34), which President Clinton signed on August 5, 1997, with an effective date at the start of the 1998 tax year.
Who is the Roth IRA named after?
The Roth IRA is named for Senator William V. Roth Jr. of Delaware, who was the account’s leading legislative sponsor in the U.S. Senate.
What law created the Roth IRA?
The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, enacted as Public Law 105-34, created the Roth IRA. The same law made a range of other tax changes for the 1998 tax year.
When did the Roth 401(k) become available?
The Roth 401(k) became available on January 1, 2006. Congress authorized these designated Roth accounts in EGTRRA (Public Law 107-16) back in 2001, with a delayed 2006 effective date.
When were the Roth conversion income limits removed?
The $100,000 modified adjusted gross income limit on Roth conversions was removed for tax years beginning in 2010, under the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-222). Since then, any taxpayer can convert regardless of income.
Did the Roth IRA exist before 1998?
No. The Roth IRA did not exist before 1998. The traditional IRA dates to 1974, but the Roth version was created by the 1997 law and first opened to savers in 1998.
What did SECURE 2.0 change about Roth accounts?
SECURE 2.0, enacted in 2022 as part of Public Law 117-328, set the required minimum distribution age at 73 for those born 1951 to 1959 and 75 for those born 1960 or later, and it removed lifetime required distributions from Roth 401(k) accounts starting in 2024.
Is there still an income limit on Roth conversions?
No. There is no income limit on Roth conversions. The old cap was repealed for 2010, so a saver at any income level can convert traditional retirement dollars to a Roth, though the converted amount is generally taxable in the year of the conversion.
This article is for educational purposes only and is not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Consult a qualified professional about your specific situation.
