Most people think of April 15th only concerns the tax filing procrastinators, but for the early retirement minded, it also means the final day to contribute to your Roth IRA/Traditional IRA.

I realize that you’re likely bombarded with the April 15 tax filing deadline each year, and that’s generally all main stream media will discuss, but it’s also important to remember that you have until April 15, 2009 to fund your IRA for the 2008 calendar year.

Of course, you don’t have to max it out (2008 maximum contribution limits are $5000), but with the stock market selling at such a discount from it’s previous highs, it could be worth your while to contribute as much as your can afford without breaking the budget.

Waiting Until the Last Day Can Hurt You

Like filing your taxes, I wouldn’t advise you wait until the last day to get this done.  Couple factors to take into consideration:

1. Time for money transfers.  Taking advantage of free ACH transfers (e.g. wiring money between banks) is a great thing, but can also it can take one to three days for money to show up in your account after it’s been transferred.  If you’re waiting until the very last minute, give your IRA holding firm a call just to make sure your transfer is still eligible.
2. Get an April 15 postmark.  If you’re going old school snail mail, make sure your contribution check gets an April 15th postmark.  Physically walk it into the post office if you’re dropping it off after 12pm.
3. There is no IRA contribution extension.  Last minute tax filers can file a tax extension, but there is no extension for IRA contributions.
4. Coming up with the cash.  Some people may not have enough “last minute” cash on hand to fund their IRA.  This is where tapping the emergency fund might be a good idea, as long as you don’t think you’ll need it right away and you can replenish it quickly.  Use this tip with caution.
5. You don’t have an IRA.  Shame on you!  If you haven’t opened an IRA, there is no time like the present.  If you get started now, you might have time to open a new retirement account before the April 15th deadline, and get full credit for the 2008 tax filing year.

So if you aren’t 100% certain that you’ve maxed out your contribution limit, or you have a few extra bucks sitting idle in your bank account making 2% interest that you won’t need anytime soon, click over to your IRA account and consider making an additional contribution.

You might thank me 30 years from now if you do.

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