5 years ago, IRA contributions were limited to a measly $2,000. Plus, strict income limits prevented many folks from being able to contribute to deductible or Roth IRAs at all.

No more. Favorable changes to the IRA contribution rules have eased these limitations considerably. So if you haven’t considered the IRA as a powerful retirement savings tool, it’s time to change your thinking.

Contribution Rules for Traditional IRAs

For 2008, you can contribute up to $5,000 to a traditional IRA. Even better, if you’ll be age 50 or older as of Dec. 31, 2008, you can contribute up to $6,000. (The contribution limits for 2009 might be slightly higher due to adjustments for inflation.)

If you’re married, the same limits apply to your spouse if he or she wants to fund a separate IRA. As a result, the two of you can together contribute up to $10,000 or maybe even $12,000.

Whether you’re single or married, and whether you’re age 50 or younger, the current IRA contribution limits are generous enough to take seriously (which was not necessarily the case just a few years ago).

Here are the rest of the traditional IRA contribution ground rules.

* After turning age 70½, you can’t make any more contributions. However, Roth IRA contributions are still allowed (more on that later).

* You, and/or your spouse if you’re married, must have earned income at least equal to what you contribute.

* If you are unmarried and covered by a retirement plan in 2008, your eligibility to make a deductible traditional IRA contribution for this year is phased out between adjusted gross income (AGI) of $53,000 and $63,000. However, you can contribute to a traditional nondeductible IRA regardless of income. (For an overview of the three types of IRAs, click here.)

* If you’re married and both you and your spouse are covered by retirement plans in 2008, your eligibility to make a deductible traditional IRA contribution is phased out between joint AGI of $85,000 and $105,000. Ditto for your spouse. However, you can both contribute to traditional nondeductible IRAs regardless of income.

* If you’re married and only one spouse is covered by a retirement plan in 2008, the covered spouse’s eligibility to make a deductible traditional IRA contribution is phased out between joint AGI of $85,000 and $105,000. The noncovered spouse’s eligibility is phased out between joint AGI of $159,000 and $169,000. However, you can both contribute to traditional nondeductible IRAs regardless of income.

* These AGI phase-out ranges are considerably higher than just a few years ago, and they will be higher still in 2009 due to inflation adjustments.

Contribution Rules for Roth IRAs

The annual contribution limits and the contribution deadline for Roth IRAs are the same as for traditional IRAs. But the rest of the rules are different:

* After age 70½, you can still make Roth IRA contributions ?as long as you (and/or your spouse if you’re married) have earned income at least equal to what you contribute.

* For 2008, eligibility to make Roth IRA contributions is phased out between AGI of $101,000 and $116,000 for unmarried folks. For married joint filers, the phase-out range is between joint AGI of $159,000 and $169,000. The phase-out ranges for 2009 will be higher due to inflation adjustments.

* Eligibility to make Roth IRA contributions is unaffected by whether you (or, if you’re married, your spouse) are covered by a retirement plan.

* You can also consider the idea of converting a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. To be eligible for the conversion privilege, your AGI must be $100,000 or less (not counting the extra taxable income triggered by the conversion). The same $100,000 limit applies if you’re single or a married joint filer. If you’re over age 70½, you don’t have to count mandatory distributions from your traditional IRAs as income for purposes of the $100,000 limit.

Bottom Line

You can contribute more to your IRA than ever before, and you have a better chance of deducting contributions to your traditional IRA than ever before. While in the not-too-distant past contributing to IRAs was barely worth the effort, it’s definitely worth the effort now.

Ready to go? Good! The IRA contribution deadline for the 2008 tax year is April 15, 2009. However, you can make your contributions any time between now and then ?unless you’ve already done it. (You can make a contribution for your 2009 tax year as early as Jan. 1, 2009.) Of course, the sooner you stash some cash in a traditional or Roth IRA, the sooner you will start collecting the tax benefits.