Traditional IRA Deduction Limits for 2026 With a Work Plan
Anyone with earned income can put money in a traditional IRA, but the tax deduction is not automatic. If you or your spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work, the deduction shrinks as income rises and can disappear. If neither of you has a workplace plan, there is no income limit on the deduction. The 2026 limits and ranges below are the figures the IRS announced in November 2025, as of October 2026. The IRS has not published a 2026 version of the reduced-deduction worksheet in the sources used here, so the worked examples are estimates (see below).
1. The 2026 limits
The IRA contribution limit is $7,500 for 2026, plus a $1,100 catch-up for people 50 and older, so $8,600 total. The deduction depends on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) and your situation:
| Situation | Deduction phases out between |
|---|---|
| Single, covered by a workplace plan | $81,000 and $91,000 |
| Married filing jointly, the contributing spouse is covered | $129,000 and $149,000 |
| Married filing jointly, contributor not covered but spouse is | $242,000 and $252,000 |
| Married filing separately, covered | $0 and $10,000 |
Below the bottom of the range you can deduct the full contribution (up to your limit or your earnings, whichever is smaller). At or above the top, you cannot deduct any of it.
"Covered" means you were covered by a retirement plan at work during the year, as the IRS puts it. If you are unsure, ask your employer or plan administrator, because the answer decides which row of the table applies.
2. How the reduced deduction works
Inside the range, the deduction scales down in proportion. Publication 590-A (2025 edition) has a worksheet that subtracts your MAGI from the top of the range, then multiplies the result by a percentage: 70% for a single filer under 50 (80% at 50 or older), and 35% for a joint filer covered by a plan (40% at 50 or older). Those percentages are the contribution limit divided by the width of the range: $7,000 / $10,000 = 70% and $7,000 / $20,000 = 35% for 2025. If the result is not a multiple of $10 it is rounded up to the next $10, and if it is under $200 (but above zero) the worksheet uses $200.
The examples below are estimates, not IRS figures. They apply the same method to the 2026 limit ($7,500, or $8,600 at 50 or older), which gives 75% and 86% for a single filer and 37.5% and 43% for a joint filer. The 2026 worksheet may differ, so use the one in the 2026 instructions when you file:
- Single, under 50, covered, MAGI $86,000. Distance to the top: $91,000 minus $86,000 = $5,000, which is half of the $10,000 range. Deduction: $7,500 x 50% = $3,750.
- Single, age 50 or older, covered, MAGI $86,000. Limit is $8,600. Deduction: $8,600 x 50% = $4,300.
- Married filing jointly, contributing spouse covered, MAGI $140,000. Distance to the top: $149,000 minus $140,000 = $9,000, out of a $20,000 range (45%). Deduction: $7,500 x 45% = $3,375.
Each spouse figures their own deduction separately.
3. What happens to the part you cannot deduct
You can still contribute the full amount, and the part you cannot deduct becomes a nondeductible contribution. Publication 590-A says you can leave the nondeductible amount in the IRA or withdraw it by the filing deadline (its example uses April 15). Because it was contributed with after-tax money, keep a record of it so it is not taxed a second time later.
4. Not covered by a plan, but your spouse is
The range is much higher: $242,000 to $252,000 for 2026 on a joint return. Because that range is $10,000 wide, the same estimate method applies as for a single filer: at a combined MAGI of $247,000, half the range is left, so the estimated deduction is $7,500 x 50% = $3,750 (or $4,300 if you are 50 or older).
5. Deduction vs. Roth eligibility
The Roth IRA has its own income ranges ($153,000 to $168,000 for single filers and $242,000 to $252,000 for joint filers in 2026). Notice that the deduction ranges and Roth ranges are different tests. Some people lose one and keep the other, which is why a nondeductible traditional contribution is sometimes discussed.
6. Key takeaways
- Without a workplace plan for you or your spouse, the traditional IRA deduction has no income limit.
- With a plan, 2026 phase-outs are $81,000 to $91,000 (single) and $129,000 to $149,000 (joint).
- The reduced deduction scales in proportion to where your MAGI falls in the range.
- Nondeductible contributions should be tracked so the same dollars are not taxed twice.
- The worked examples are estimates from the 2025 worksheet method; check the 2026 worksheet before filing.
This is general tax information, not tax advice.