Roth IRA income limits 2026: how much can you still put in?
Inside the phase-out band a Roth IRA contribution is not refused, it is reduced. The calculator runs Worksheet 2-2 of Publication 590-A on your modified AGI and gives the amount, rounded the way the IRS rounds it.
You can put in a Roth IRA for 2026
$4,000
Worksheet 2-2: reduction rounded up to $10, never under $200.
| Phase-out range | $153,000 to $168,000 |
| Share of the range used | 46.7 % |
| Limit before the reduction | $7,500 |
| Reduced Roth contribution | $4,000 |
| MAGI | Roth IRA |
|---|---|
| $153,000 | $7,500 |
| $156,000 | $6,000 |
| $159,000 | $4,500 |
| $162,000 | $3,000 |
| $165,000 | $1,500 |
| $168,000 | $0 |
Worked out by Radif Partners · How we calculate · limits read on irs.gov · not personal financial advice
For 2026 a single filer or head of household can contribute the full $7,500 to a Roth IRA ($8,600 at 50 or over) with a modified AGI below $153,000; the amount shrinks between $153,000 and $168,000 and is zero from $168,000. On a joint return the band runs from $242,000 to $252,000, and married filing separately after living together it is $0 to $10,000 (Notice 2025-67). Inside the band the IRS does not let you guess: Publication 590-A Worksheet 2-2 takes the share of the band your income has crossed, removes that share of your limit, rounds the result up to the next $10 and keeps $200 as a floor. A single filer aged 40 with $160,000 of MAGI can therefore put $4,000 in a Roth IRA, and $4,590 at 56. The calculator above does the same steps on your figures.
The 2026 phase-out bands
| Filing status | Full contribution below | Nothing from | Each $1,000 above the start removes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, head of household, separated all year | $153,000 | $168,000 | $500 |
| Married filing jointly, qualifying surviving spouse | $242,000 | $252,000 | $750 |
| Married filing separately, lived together | $0 | $10,000 | $750 |
The bands moved up from 2025, when they ran from $150,000 to $165,000 for a single filer and from $236,000 to $246,000 on a joint return. The single band is $15,000 wide, the joint band only $10,000: a married couple loses the contribution faster for each dollar of income than a single person does, which is why a raise or a bonus near the top of the joint band can take the whole Roth contribution away in one year.
Worksheet 2-2, step by step
Publication 590-A gives the method in a short worksheet (Publication 590-A, chapter 2). Take a single filer, 40 years old, with a modified AGI of $160,000 in 2026.
- Subtract the start of the band from your MAGI: $160,000 minus $153,000 leaves $7,000.
- Divide by the width of the band, $15,000: the result, 46.7 %, is the share of your limit you lose.
- Multiply your limit by that share: $7,500 times 46.7 % is $3,500.
- Subtract it from the limit and round up to the next multiple of $10: $4,000.
- If the result is above zero but under $200, the contribution allowed is $200.
At 56 the same income gives $4,590, because the worksheet starts from $8,600: the catch-up is reduced in the same proportion, not kept whole. On a joint return with $247,000 of MAGI, halfway through the narrower band, each spouse under 50 can contribute $3,750.
Your reduced amount on a joint return
You can put in a Roth IRA for 2026
$3,750
| Phase-out range | $242,000 to $252,000 |
| Share of the range used | 50.0 % |
| Limit before the reduction | $7,500 |
| Reduced Roth contribution | $3,750 |
Why the rounding and the $200 floor matter
The two rules come from the code itself, section 408A(c)(3), and they always work in your favor. Rounding up means a result of $3,991 becomes $4,000. The floor protects people at the very top of the band: a single filer with $167,900 of MAGI would compute a few dollars, and is allowed $200 instead. Above $168,000, though, there is no floor: the limit is zero.
Many pages that rank for this question stop at "your contribution is reduced" and link to the IRS. Others still show the 2025 band. With the 2025 figures, the same $160,000 of income would have allowed only $2,340, so using last year's table understates what you may put in this year.
What counts as modified AGI
The figure tested is not your salary. It starts from adjusted gross income on Form 1040 and adds back a few items, listed in Worksheet 2-1 of Publication 590-A: a traditional IRA deduction, the student loan interest deduction, excluded foreign earned income and housing, excluded savings bond interest used for education, and employer adoption benefits. It then subtracts any income from a Roth conversion and from a rollover from a qualified plan to a Roth IRA. Pre-tax 401(k) deferrals have already reduced your AGI, which makes them the main lever: deferring an extra $5,000 through payroll lowers MAGI by the same amount and can bring you back inside the band.
When your income ends up above the band
Income is only known at year end, and a contribution made in January can turn into an excess contribution when the bonus arrives. The IRS gives you until the due date of the return, extensions included, to fix it: withdraw the excess with the earnings on it, or recharacterize it as a traditional IRA contribution. Left in place, an excess is taxed at 6 % for each year it stays. A traditional IRA contribution has no income limit, so one made above the band and later converted is the route people call a backdoor Roth; the pro rata rule on existing pre-tax IRA balances then decides how much of that conversion is taxed. The deduction calculator shows whether such a contribution is deductible, and the IRA limit page covers the compensation test.
Is the traditional IRA contribution deductible?
Deductible part of a 2026 IRA contribution
$4,300
| IRA limit | $8,600 |
| Deductible | $4,300 |
| Nondeductible (Form 8606) | $4,300 |
| Phase-out range | $81,000 to $91,000 |
The limit is shared with traditional IRAs
The $7,500 is one limit for all your IRAs. Whatever you put in a traditional IRA for 2026 reduces what you can put in a Roth, and the worksheet subtracts it at its last line. A 401(k) does not: maxing out the $24,500 deferral leaves the IRA limit untouched. Married couples filing jointly each have their own IRA limit, but the phase-out tests the couple's MAGI, and a spouse with no pay can contribute on the other's earnings (spousal IRA).