2026 IRA Contribution and Income Limits

For 2026, you may contribute a combined total of up to $7,500 to all your Traditional and Roth IRAs if you are under age 50. If you are age 50 or older by December 31, 2026, you may contribute up to $8,600 — the additional $1,100 is the catch-up contribution allowed under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act and subsequent legislation.

The limit applies to the sum of all contributions across all IRA accounts you own. For example, if you contribute $4,000 to a Traditional IRA, you may contribute at most $3,500 to a Roth IRA in 2026 (assuming you are under 50). Your total eligible contribution also cannot exceed your earned compensation for the year.

You must have earned compensation at least equal to the amount you contribute. Eligible compensation includes wages, salaries, tips, commissions, bonuses, net self-employment income, and certain alimony payments. Passive income — dividends, interest, rental income, pension distributions, and Social Security — does not count. If your earned compensation is less than the annual limit, you can contribute only up to what you earned.

A spousal IRA allows a working spouse to contribute on behalf of a non-working or lower-earning spouse, as long as the working spouse has sufficient earned compensation. The couple must file jointly, and each spouse's IRA is counted separately against the annual limit.

The ability to contribute directly to a Roth IRA phases out as your MAGI increases. For 2026, the phaseout ranges are listed in the table below. Above the ceiling, direct Roth contributions are not permitted. This is a contribution limit, not a deduction limit — Roth contributions are never deductible regardless of income.

Note: Married Filing Separately individuals who lived with their spouse at any time during the year face a phaseout from $0 to $10,000 MAGI — effectively eliminating direct Roth contributions for most such filers.

Contributing to a Traditional IRA is available regardless of income (subject to the earned-compensation requirement). What phases out is the deductibility of that contribution. There are two separate phaseout scenarios: when the contributing taxpayer is covered by a workplace retirement plan, and when only the spouse is covered.

When neither the taxpayer nor their spouse is covered by a workplace plan, the Traditional IRA contribution is fully deductible regardless of income.

You may split your contributions between Traditional and Roth IRAs in any proportion, as long as the combined total stays within the annual limit. For example, a 45-year-old with sufficient income could put $3,500 into a Traditional IRA and $4,000 into a Roth IRA — combined total $7,500.

Partial-deductibility rules still apply to the Traditional portion. If your income is in the phaseout range for Traditional deductibility, some or all of the Traditional contribution may be nondeductible, creating IRA basis tracked on Form 8606.

Contributing more than the annual limit, or contributing to a Roth when your income exceeds the ceiling, is an excess contribution. Excess contributions are subject to a 6% excise tax each year they remain in the account. You can avoid the penalty by withdrawing the excess — and any earnings on it — by the tax-filing deadline, including extensions.

If you realize you have overcontributed after filing, you can still fix it by withdrawing the excess before October 15 of the following year, provided you have not yet filed an amended return for the contribution year.

You have until the tax-filing deadline — generally April 15 of the following year — to make IRA contributions that count for the current tax year. For 2026, the deadline is April 15, 2027. Extensions of time to file your tax return do not extend the IRA contribution deadline. The deadline is the same whether you are making a deductible Traditional contribution or a Roth contribution.

Use the IRA calculator to estimate your maximum contribution, Roth eligibility, and Traditional deductibility based on your 2026 income and filing status.