For 2026, you can contribute up to $7,500 to an IRA, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older by year-end. That is a combined limit across traditional and Roth IRAs. Your direct Roth allowance also depends on income: it phases out at $153,000 to $168,000 for single filers and $242,000 to $252,000 for joint filers. Eligible compensation can further limit your contribution.
What are the Roth IRA contribution limits for 2026?
The IRS 2026 retirement-limit notice and Notice 2025-67 set the contribution and income limits. Publication 590-A explains how to calculate a reduced contribution.
Before depositing money, check three things: your age, what you have already contributed to IRAs for the year, and your income under the Roth rules. The advertised limit is a maximum, not everyone’s allowance.
What is the 2026 IRA dollar ceiling?
| Age at end of 2026 | IRA limit (combined) |
|---|---|
| Under 50 | $7,500 |
| 50 or older | $8,600 |
The higher amount includes a $1,100 catch-up contribution. Opening another IRA does not create another allowance. If you are under 50 and put $5,000 into a traditional IRA, at most $2,500 remains for your Roth before considering income eligibility.
Contributions also cannot exceed eligible compensation. Wages, bonuses, and qualifying self-employment income count; investment interest and dividends do not. Someone with $4,000 of eligible compensation and no spousal exception cannot contribute $7,500 simply because they have savings available.
On a joint return, a spouse with little or no compensation may qualify for a spousal IRA contribution. Each spouse owns a separate IRA and has a separate age-based limit; combined contributions cannot exceed the couple’s eligible compensation.
What MAGI phase-out shrinks a direct Roth?
Modified adjusted gross income, or MAGI, determines whether you can contribute directly to a Roth IRA. The 2026 ranges are:
| Filing status | Full | Reduced | None |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, head of household | Under $153,000 | $153,000 to $168,000 | $168,000+ |
| Joint, surviving spouse | Under $242,000 | $242,000 to $252,000 | $252,000+ |
| Separate, lived with spouse | See below | $0 to $10,000 | $10,000+ |
For the married-filing-separately rule, the reduction starts when MAGI exceeds $0. If you did not live with your spouse at any time during the year, the single-filer range generally applies instead. The contribution and compensation limits still apply in every row.
Roth MAGI is not necessarily the AGI printed on your return. Worksheet 2-1 in Publication 590-A subtracts taxable Roth conversion income, then adds back specified items, including deductible traditional IRA contributions and student-loan interest. Use that worksheet before concluding a bonus or conversion makes you ineligible.
How does the phase-out shrink a contribution inside the band?
The farther your income moves through the range, the smaller the contribution. The IRS worksheet rounds the reduced amount up to the nearest $10 and generally uses a $200 minimum while you remain eligible. At the upper cutoff, the allowance becomes zero.
Here is a 2026 example for a single filer under 50 with enough compensation:
- MAGI is $160,500, halfway between $153,000 and $168,000.
- The income test therefore allows half of $7,500: $3,750.
- If the person has contributed $2,000 to a traditional IRA, the shared annual limit has $5,500 left.
- The Roth maximum is the smaller of $3,750 and $5,500: $3,750.
Do not subtract that $2,000 from the already reduced $3,750. Worksheet 2-2 compares the income-based amount with the remaining shared allowance; it does not reduce the same dollars twice. If you have already made Roth contributions, those use part of the resulting Roth maximum too.
The current publication includes a 2026 update but uses 2025 figures in its worked worksheets. Apply the 2026 limits from Notice 2025-67 when calculating a 2026 contribution.
What if MAGI is over the Roth phase-out?
You cannot make a direct Roth contribution, but you may still be able to make a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution and convert it. That is the backdoor Roth approach.
The annual contribution and compensation limits still apply. A conversion itself does not use the annual contribution limit, but it can create taxable income. The pro rata calculation looks across your traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs, including year-end balances; moving only one account does not isolate its after-tax money.
The mega backdoor Roth is a separate employer-plan strategy. It requires plan features beyond ordinary Roth 401(k) contributions.
Do 401(k) deferrals use this same ceiling?
No. The usual 2026 employee 401(k) deferral limit is $24,500 before catch-ups. Contributing that amount does not use your $7,500 IRA allowance.
Workplace-plan coverage can affect whether a traditional IRA contribution is deductible. It does not, by itself, prevent a Roth IRA contribution. Income eligibility, compensation, and your remaining IRA allowance determine that answer.
When can you make a 2026 Roth IRA contribution?
You can contribute for 2026 during 2026, or by the due date of the 2026 return, not including extensions.
Tell the custodian which tax year the money is for, especially when contributing early in the following year. Do not assume the deposit date identifies your intention.
An excess contribution can trigger a 6% annual excise tax while it remains uncorrected. If income ends up higher than expected, ask the custodian about a timely correction, including the attributable earnings. An ordinary withdrawal is not necessarily the same process as a return of excess contributions.
Before funding, save the income estimate and contribution records you used. Recheck them after a large bonus, equity award, or job change so your automatic monthly deposits do not outrun your eligibility.