Spousal IRA contribution limit 2026: an IRA for the spouse without pay
A spouse who stays home or earns very little can still have a full IRA, funded on the working spouse's compensation. The calculator splits the couple's pay between the two accounts the way Publication 590-A does.
Two IRAs on a joint return
$16,100
Each IRA is in one name; the joint pay only has to cover both contributions.
| Your IRA | $8,600 |
| Spouse’s IRA | $7,500 |
| Joint compensation | $80,000 |
Worked out by Radif Partners · How we calculate · limits read on irs.gov · not personal financial advice
For 2026 a married couple filing jointly can contribute up to $7,500 to an IRA for each spouse, or $8,600 for a spouse who is 50 or older by December 31, even if one of them has no earnings at all. The only condition on income is that the two contributions together do not exceed the couple's combined taxable compensation. A household with one salary of $80,000, spouses aged 54 and 48, can therefore put $8,600 and $7,500 in two IRAs, $16,100 in all. With only $12,000 of pay the second IRA is capped at $4,500. Each account belongs to one spouse, can be traditional or Roth, and follows the usual rules: for a Roth, the joint phase-out from $242,000 to $252,000 of household MAGI; for a deduction, the $242,000 to $252,000 range when only the working spouse has a plan.
There is no "spousal IRA" account
The name describes a rule, not a product. The non-earning spouse opens an ordinary traditional or Roth IRA in his or her own name, and the custodian handles it like any other. What makes it spousal is only the source of the compensation that supports the contribution: section 219(c) lets a spouse filing jointly count the other spouse's taxable compensation as if it were his or her own, after subtracting what the other spouse contributes to his or her own IRAs (Publication 590-A, Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA limit).
The money in the account belongs to the spouse whose name is on it, including after a divorce, unless a court orders a transfer. Beneficiary designations and investment choices are that spouse's too.
The conditions
- A joint return. Married filing separately does not allow the transfer of compensation; each spouse is limited to his or her own pay.
- Enough combined pay. The two IRA contributions together cannot exceed the taxable compensation shown on the joint return: wages, self-employment earnings and the other items listed on the IRA contribution limits page.
- Each spouse's own limit. $7,500 per person, or $8,600 for a spouse who is 50 or older on December 31, 2026. Each limit counts traditional and Roth IRAs together.
There is no age limit for either spouse and no condition about which spouse is older. A couple can also use the rule in a year when the lower earner has a small part-time income: that spouse's own pay is simply added to what is left of the other's.
How the compensation test splits the pay
Publication 590-A computes the second spouse's limit from the couple's total compensation minus the first spouse's IRA contributions for the year. In practice it matters only when pay is modest.
| Household | Joint pay | IRA of the earner | IRA of the other spouse | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One earner, spouses 54 and 48 | $80,000 | $8,600 | $7,500 | $16,100 |
| One earner, both under 50 | $12,000 | $7,500 | $4,500 | $12,000 |
| Main earner and a small job, spouses 58 and 61 | $98,000 | $8,600 | $8,600 | $17,200 |
In the second household, the earner uses $7,500 and leaves $4,500 of compensation for the other IRA. The couple could choose a different split, for example $6,000 each, but never more than $12,000 in total. In the third, both spouses are over 50, so each IRA can reach $8,600: the older spouse does not get a larger catch-up, because IRAs have no extra amount between 60 and 63.
Two IRAs on a single modest salary
Two IRAs on a joint return
$12,000
| Your IRA | $7,500 |
| Spouse’s IRA | $4,500 |
| Joint compensation | $12,000 |
The catch-up belongs to each spouse
The $1,100 catch-up is tested on each person's own birthday. If the earner is 48 and the spouse at home is 52, the spouse's IRA can take $8,600 and the earner's $7,500. The older spouse cannot pass the catch-up to the younger, and a single IRA cannot receive both spouses' room. Born in 1976 or earlier means 50 or older at the end of 2026.
A spousal Roth IRA and the income test
For a Roth IRA, the couple's joint modified AGI decides the amount, and both spouses are reduced in the same proportion. With $246,000 of joint MAGI, the first household from the table would keep $5,160 for the 54-year-old and $4,500 for the 48-year-old. The full range is $242,000 to $252,000; the married filing jointly page has the details for couples near it.
Deducting a traditional spousal IRA
The spouse without a job has no workplace plan, but the working spouse may have one. In that case the non-covered spouse deducts the contribution in full up to $242,000 of joint MAGI, and the deduction phases out by $252,000. At $246,000 the spouse at home can deduct $4,500 of $7,500. The covered earner uses the lower range of $129,000 to $149,000: at $140,000 of joint MAGI the earner, aged 54, deducts only $3,870, while the spouse at home still deducts $7,500. If neither spouse has a plan, both contributions are deductible at any income (traditional IRA deduction limits).
Deduction for the spouse at home
Deductible part of a 2026 IRA contribution
$7,500
| IRA limit | $7,500 |
| Deductible | $7,500 |
| Nondeductible (Form 8606) | $0 |
| Phase-out range | $242,000 to $252,000 |
Practical points
The deadline is the same as for any IRA: contributions for 2026 can be made until April 15, 2027. The custodian sees only the account holder, so it cannot check whether the joint pay covers both deposits; you show the result on the joint return, where the deductions of both spouses appear on separate lines. If the earner loses a job late in the year, what counts is the compensation actually received in 2026, and contributions above it become excess contributions taxed at 6 % a year until removed. This page gives general information about the rules, not advice on whether a spousal IRA suits your household.