IRA Contribution Calculator

How the 2026 IRA contribution limit works

The IRS sets one combined cap that covers Traditional and Roth IRAs together. For 2026, that cap is $7,500, or $8,600 if you're 50 or older at any point during the year (the catch-up is $1,100). You can split that limit any way you want across the two account types. What you can't do is contribute the full amount to each.

You also need taxable compensation (wages or self-employment income) at least equal to your contribution. The one common exception is the spousal IRA: a non-working spouse can contribute on a joint return as long as the working spouse earned enough to cover both contributions.

Two things people often miss. Contributions for tax year 2026 can be made all the way up until April 15, 2027, the tax filing deadline. And contributions to a workplace 401(k) or 403(b) don't count against this $7,500/$8,600 IRA cap; those are separate buckets with their own limits.

Traditional IRA deduction phase-outs explained

Whether your Traditional IRA contribution is deductible depends on three things: filing status, whether you (or your spouse on a joint return) are covered by a workplace retirement plan, and your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). If neither you nor your spouse is covered by a workplace plan, your contribution is fully deductible no matter how high your MAGI gets.

If you are covered, the deduction phases out across a 10K window for most filers, or a 20K window for married filing jointly. Inside the phase-out range, the IRS prorates your allowed deduction, rounds up to the next $10, and applies a $200 statutory floor. Quick example: a single filer covered at work with MAGI of $86,000 lands halfway through the $81K to $91K range, so their $7,500 cap shrinks to roughly $3,750 (rounded up to the next $10).

2026 Traditional IRA deduction phase-out reference

Source: IRS Notice 2025-67; IRC §219(g); IRS Publication 590-A, Worksheet 1-2.

Roth IRA income limits explained

Roth IRA eligibility is purely a function of MAGI and filing status. Workplace coverage doesn't matter. Singles and heads of household phase out across a $15,000 window from $153,000 to $168,000 in 2026. MFJ and qualified surviving spouses phase out across a tighter $10,000 window from $242,000 to $252,000. Married filing separately runs into the unfortunate $0 to $10,000 phase-out if you lived with your spouse at any point during the year.

The same $200 statutory floor applies, and the math rounds up to the next $10. If your MAGI is right at the upper threshold, you're out of direct Roth contributions. People above the limit often use a backdoor Roth: a non-deductible Traditional contribution converted to Roth shortly afterward. The mechanics are simple, but pro-rata rules can sting if you have other pre-tax IRA balances. Talk to a tax pro before doing one for the first time.

2026 Roth IRA contribution phase-out reference

Source: IRS Notice 2025-67; IRC §408A(c)(3); IRS Publication 590-A, Worksheet 2-2.

Traditional vs Roth: which one wins?

The whole decision hinges on tax-bracket arbitrage. Traditional pays tax later, when you withdraw in retirement. Roth pays tax now. If your retirement bracket is lower than your current bracket, Traditional wins because you defer the tax to a cheaper year. If your retirement bracket is higher, Roth wins because you locked in today's lower rate.

A few quick rules of thumb the calculator's recommendation engine uses:

• Lower bracket now → lean Roth. Pay the tax cheap, then never pay again on the growth.
• Higher bracket now (24%+) → lean Traditional. The upfront deduction is hard to beat.
• Long horizon (20+ years) → lean Roth. Compounding tax-free is the real magic.
• Need RMD flexibility → Roth. The original owner of a Roth IRA never has required minimum distributions.

Plenty of savers split the difference. Putting half in Traditional and half in Roth gives you tax-rate diversification: in retirement, you can pull from whichever bucket makes more sense for that year's tax situation. If you're a high earner above both phase-outs, the backdoor Roth is the standard workaround, just be careful about the pro-rata rule if you have existing pre-tax IRA money.