Your contribution period is 1120 xx 41520 xx . So for 2015 tax year you had until April 15 , and you would ' ve declared that on your 2015 taxes the ones you filed in April 2016 if applicable . You have until 4152017 to contribute your $ 5 , 500 for tax year 2016 . I would probably just call Vanguard and ask them about your contributions by tax year to figure out how much space you have left . <| sep |> Yeah , I ' m sure that is how it goes down . Really how many people do you think are actually out there asking for this , maybe one person per class , maybe ? It ' s not like people are mad if you mess up , it ' s more if you do it purposefully . People are acting like if someone makes this request you will be tarred and feathered for going against it . That ' s insanity . It ' s more just being nice to people . Did this professor get outraged when he was told that calling someone a retard was offensive and he should stop ?