IRA Contribution Limits for 2025 and 2026

The past few years have been a wild ride! But you have to stay focused on your retirement goals—even with all the crazy going around. An important part of planning and meeting those goals? Knowing how much you can legally contribute to your retirement savings per year (and deduct at tax time).

Market chaos, inflation, your future—work with a pro to navigate this stuff.

Today, we’re talking about IRAs—Roth and traditional—to break down the 2025 and 2026 contribution limits and how your income can affect those limits.

What Are the IRA Contribution Limits for 2025 and 2026?

The 2026 annual contribution limit for an IRA—Roth or traditional—is $7,500. If you're 50 or older, you can make a catch-up contribution, which brings your limit to $8,600. That extra $1,100 is designed to give a nice little boost for those nearing retirement (and for folks who have some catching up to do).³

For 2025, the contribution limit was set at $7,000 ($8,000 for those age 50 and older).

Exceptions to the Contribution Rules

Keep in mind that any deposit you make into your traditional or Roth IRA from your earned income counts toward the annual contribution limit set by the IRS.

However, any rollover or transfer from another retirement account (like moving money from a Roth 401(k) to a Roth IRA) does not count toward the limit. That’s because it’s money you’ve already contributed, and you’re just moving it from one home to another.

Even if you participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, like a 401(k), you can still contribute to a Roth or traditional IRA.

Also, the government removed the age limit (70 1/2) for contributing to traditional IRAs.⁴ So there’s no age limit on making contributions to a traditional IRA—and there’s never been one for Roth IRAs.

What Are the Income Limits for Roth IRAs in 2025 and 2026?

The IRS loves rules. While there are no income limits for traditional IRAs (which means anyone with an earned income can contribute to one), your income level might impact whether or not you can invest in a Roth IRA. You’ll need to know your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI)—that’s just your gross income minus any adjustments—to figure out how much you’re allowed to contribute.

Remember, the contribution limit for any IRA—Roth or traditional—in 2026 is $7,500 (or $8,600 if you’re 50 or older). In 2025, the limit was $7,000 (or $8,000 if you’re 50 or older).  

But with Roth IRAs, you may only be allowed to contribute a reduced amount (or nothing at all) based on your tax filing status and income.⁵ 

If you’re not sure exactly where you land, you should connect with an investment pro to sort it all out (they’ve got a knack for this stuff).

Roth IRA Income Limits for 2026

If your filing status is . . .	And your MAGI is . . .	Then you can contribute . . .
Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)	Less than $242,000	Up to the $7,500 limit ($8,600 if you’re 50 or older)
Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)	$242,000–252,000	A reduced amount
Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)	$252,000 or more	Zero
Single, head of household or married filing separately and you didn’t live with your spouse at any time during the year	Less than $153,000	Up to the $7,500 limit ($8,600 if you’re 50 or older)
Single, head of household or married filing separately and you didn’t live with your spouse at any time during the year	$153,000–168,000	A reduced amount
Single, head of household or married filing separately and you didn’t live with your spouse at any time during the year	$168,000 or more	Zero
Married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during the year	Less than $10,000	A reduced amount
Married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during the year	$10,000 or more	Zero6

Roth IRA Income Limits for 2025

If your filing status is . . .	And your MAGI is . . .	Then you can contribute . . .
Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)	Less than $236,000	Up to the $7,000 limit ($8,000 if you’re 50 or older)
Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)	$236,000–246,000	A reduced amount
Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)	$246,000 or more	Zero
Single or married filing separately and you didn’t live with your spouse at any time during the year	Less than $150,000	Up to the $7,000 limit ($8,000 if you’re 50 or older)
Single or married filing separately and you didn’t live with your spouse at any time during the year	$150,000–165,000	A reduced amount
Single or married filing separately and you didn’t live with your spouse at any time during the year	$165,000 or more	Zero
Married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during the year	Less than $10,000	A reduced amount
Married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during the year	$10,000 or more	Zero7

Even though you’re not eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA when your income reaches a certain level, you still have some options. Thanks to a tax strategy called a backdoor Roth, high-income earners can take money from a traditional IRA and convert it to a Roth so that your retirement funds can grow tax-free over the long run.

However, a backdoor Roth could lead to a much larger tax bill because you must pay income tax on all the money you convert from a traditional IRA. That’s why you should always talk to a tax advisor or investment professional before deciding to move forward with a backdoor Roth.

What Are the Traditional IRA Deduction Limits for 2025 and 2026?

Now just to refresh, with traditional IRAs you may be able to deduct your contributions on your annual tax return. Tax deductions help you keep more of your hard-earned money in your pocket by reducing your taxable income.

There are three things that determine how much of your contribution you can claim as a tax deduction: your filing status, your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), and whether you or your spouse have an employer-sponsored retirement plan.

If neither you nor your spouse participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan like a 401(k) or 403(b), you can take a full deduction up to the limit regardless of your income and filing status. If you do contribute to an employer-sponsored plan, things get a little trickier.

Traditional IRA Deduction Limits for 2026

Here’s all the info for 2026:

• If your filing status is single, you can take a full deduction if your income is less than $81,000. You get a partial deduction if your income is $81,000–91,000, and no deduction if you make more than $91,000.
• If your status is married filing jointly, you get a full deduction if you make less than $129,000. If your income is $129,000–149,000, the deduction is only partial, while anyone making more than $149,000 gets no deduction.⁸

There’s one more qualifying factor for deductions, and it’s when you’re not covered by a retirement plan at work but your spouse participates in one.

• If you’re married filing jointly, you can take a full deduction if you make less than $242,000, a partial deduction with an income from $242,000–252,000, and no deduction if you make more than $252,000.
• If you’re married filing separately and have an income of less than $10,000, you get a partial deduction. For those making more than $10,000, there’s no deduction.⁹

Whew! That’s a lot, but important to note because we want you to know you can deduct your contributions if you happen to be contributing to a traditional IRA.

Traditional IRA Deduction Limits for 2025

When you file your taxes for 2025, you can take a full deduction up to the limit ($7,000, or $8,000 if you’re 50 or older), regardless of your income and filing status, if neither you nor your spouse participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. If you did contribute to an employer-sponsored plan, the IRS increased income limits for inflation:

• If your filing status is single, you can take a full deduction if your income is less than $79,000. You get a partial deduction if your income is $79,000–89,000 and no deduction if it’s more than $89,000.

• If your status is married filing jointly, you can take a full deduction if your income is less than $126,000. You get a partial deduction if your income is $126,000–146,000 and no deduction if it’s more than $146,000.¹⁰

Now let’s talk about if you’re not covered by a retirement plan at work but your spouse participates in one.

• If you’re married filing jointly, you can take a full deduction if your income is less than $236,000. You get a partial deduction if your income is $236,000–246,000 and no deduction if it’s more than $246,000.
• If you’re married filing separately and have an income of less than $10,000, you get a partial deduction. If your income is more than $10,000, there’s no deduction.¹¹

Other IRA Limits

More than 4 out of 10 U.S. households currently use an IRA for their retirement savings.¹² While the bulk of those own the Roth and traditional IRAs we’ve already covered, there are a few million households that have two other types—SEP and SIMPLE IRAs—made for small-business owners and the self-employed.¹³ 

So, if you’re killing it as your own boss, or working for the backbone of the American economy at a small business, what are the contribution limits for these IRAs?

SEP-IRA Contribution Limits

A SEP-IRA is a Simplified Employee Pension IRA where only employers contribute to the plan. For 2026, employers can contribute up to 25% of an employee’s salary or a total of $72,000 (whichever amount is less). For the 2025 tax year, this number was $70,000.¹⁴

Simple IRA Contribution Limits

With a SIMPLE IRA, the employee and the employer can contribute. For 2026, SIMPLE IRA plan participants can save up to $17,000 ($16,500 in 2025), and anyone 50 or older can add an additional $4,000 catch-up contribution in 2026 (it was $3,500 in 2025).

Plus, thanks to the SECURE 2.0 Act, employees ages 60–63 qualify for a higher SIMPLE IRA catch-up contribution of $5,250 in 2026.¹⁵

The big bonus with the SIMPLE IRA is that employers are normally required to offer a 3% match for their employees.¹⁶ That’s free money!

Get With a SmartVestor Pro

When it comes to saving for retirement, we recommend investing 15% of your annual gross income in tax-advantaged retirement accounts. Start with your employer plan, if you have one, and contribute up to the company match. After that, pile up your money in a Roth IRA if your employer plan isn’t a Roth 401(k).

 

This article provides general guidelines about investing topics. Your situation may be unique. To discuss a plan for your situation, connect with a SmartVestor Pro. Ramsey Solutions is a paid, non-client promoter of participating Pros.