Young Roth ClubTop matchAges 8+
Pet sitting and dog walking
Feed, walk and play with neighbors’ pets, especially while they travel.
$10–20 a visit
Counts as earned incomeSelf-employed
✓ Added to plan
For U.S. parents starting a Roth IRA for their kid
Find real jobs your kid can do, so the money they earn can grow in a Roth IRA.
A kid can only put money in a Roth if they earned it by working. Answer five quick questions and get job ideas that fit their age, plus fair pay ranges and the records to keep.
Start the quiz →Free · No sign-up required · Nothing you enter is saved
$1,440could go into a Roth this year
How it works
- 1
Answer a few questions
Your kid’s age, your state, what they’re into, who could pay them, and whether you own a business. About a minute.
- 2
Get job ideas that fit
Each idea shows whether it counts as earned income, a rough pay range, and the records to keep.
- 3
Build a plan
Add ideas, set rough hours, and see how much could go into a Roth this year, up to the 2026 limit of $7,500.
Every idea tells you what you need to know
No guessing whether a job “counts.” Here’s one of the cards you’ll get.
- ADoes it count?A green stamp means yes. Clay means it can work, with extra care.
- BRough payA fair range for the work. Pay that’s too high for the job can cause problems.
- CRecords to keepThe simple log or paperwork that shows the income is real.
Pet sitting and dog walking
Feed, walk and play with neighbors’ pets, especially while they travel.
B$10–20 a visit
ACounts as earned incomeSelf-employed
CRecords to keep
- A log of each job: date, task, hours, amount, who paid
- Proof of payment (check photo, Venmo or Zelle screenshot)
- If yearly profit reaches $400, your kid may need to file a tax return
Add to plan
The Club
Free gets you going. The Club keeps you on track.
- ✓On the 1st of every month, one email with what to do, plus a job idea for the season.
- ✓Your records stay yours. Jobs, pay and deposits go in your own copy of our records sheet, which adds everything up. We never keep them.
- ✓Every January, a tax-season checklist that walks you through your sheet’s year totals.
No app to download and no password. Everything arrives by email, and one tap answers each step. It keeps going every month until your kid takes over at 18.
Join the Club · $12/mo →Or $120 a year (2 months free). One price for up to 4 kids.
1 · Oct 1, in your inboxClose out September for BeanYour to-do this month, in three steps:
- Send the Millers their $36 invoice
- Add September’s jobs to your sheet
- Deposit up to the sheet’s “Can still deposit” by Oct 8
2 · In your own sheetYour copy lives in your Google Drive or on your computer. It adds up the month and the year. Then tap “Done for September” in the email.
Can still deposit$96
✓ Cancel any time and your records stay right where they are.Small jobs. A big head start.
Your kid’s work unlocks a Roth, which a gift can’t. Small deposits through childhood become theirs at 18, then keep growing for decades in an account where qualified withdrawals are generally tax-free.
Try the calculator →$100 a month, from age 4 through 17The head start: left alone, that could be about $680,000 by 65. A 30-year-old would need to save about $380 a month for 35 years to catch up. Hypothetical illustration only, not a prediction or guarantee. Assumes a steady $100/month deposit, a 7% average annual return before fees, taxes and inflation, and no withdrawals. It doesn’t determine how much can go in a Roth. Actual results will vary and could include losses. Small changes in the return add up over decades: at 5% a year instead of 7%, the age-65 figure would be about a third as large.
Put in
$16,800
Theirs at 18
$28,400
The most it could be: the full $7,500 every year from age 4$177,500 at 18
Questions parents ask
What counts as earned income?+
Pay for real work: wages from a job, or profit from work your kid does on their own, like pet sitting or selling crafts. Allowance, gifts and investment earnings don’t count. The pay should be fair for the work and your kid’s age.
Do I need a business?+
No. Most ideas are neighborhood jobs your kid does on their own, like yard work or babysitting. If you do own a business, you can hire your kid too. That means running payroll and keeping timesheets, and the tool will tell you what to keep.
Why not just give them the money?+
A Roth IRA contribution can’t be more than what your kid earned from working that year, so a gift on its own doesn’t qualify. A parent can still fund the deposit, up to the kid’s earnings. Gifts can also go into other accounts, like a custodial (UTMA/UGMA) account or a 529 plan, which are taxed differently. See the numbers.
How do I keep my kid safe?+
You arrange every job, only with people you know, and always know who, where and until when. Your kid can leave any job that feels wrong, no questions asked. Our safety guide covers rules by age, red flags and online work.
Is this tax advice?+
No. It’s here to help you learn and get started. Rules depend on your state and situation. Each guide links the official IRS or state source, and the IRS offers free help (Interactive Tax Assistant, VITA).