Max income for Roth contributions

One nice thing about a Roth is that you can pull out the amount you contributed at any time without any penalty.

Not just the amount you contributed this year either. *All* contributions over the lifetime of the account.

For example, suppose for each of the past five years you contributed $2000 and your total balance is, say, $11000 (you have a $1000 in investment gains). You can write yourself a check for $10000 today just as though it were your checking account. The $1000 in gain you can't.

This is why many people use a Roth as a way of building up emergency money. Unlike a savings account, Roth gains are tax-free, you just can't pull out the gains so easily. But the amount you put in is yours anytime you want it.

So if you find out you over-contributed, write yourself a check for the difference. Simple as that.

The penalty for making excess contributions is 6 percent of the extra money per year until you remove it from the IRA. For example, if you contribute $1,500 too much, you’ll be assessed $90 per year until you take it out of the Roth IRA. You may need to withdraw any earnings attributable to the excess contribution as well.

Why did you get four downvotes?

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What if I don’t do that? I understand how to remedy the situation. But what if I exceed the limit and keep contributing?

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The easiest way is that you straighten things out by April 15th the following year.

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But what if I exceed the limit and keep contributing? Is there a fine?

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This is why you need to get things squared away by 4/15 the following year. LINK for more info.

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Nothing happens unless I get audited?

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Don't count on that. The IRS has lots of automated checks that don't require an audit. The overwhelming majority of people who are paying you report that to the IRS. All they have to do is have a computer behind the scenes run a report that says "something isn't adding up".