IRA Limits 2026
"Can I still put money in a Roth?" is the question. This answers it with the 2026 dollar limits and the exact slice of Roth your income leaves you.
The limit is shared between Traditional and Roth, and it is the lesser of the 2026 cap and your earned income. MAGI is close to the AGI on your return plus a few add-backs (student-loan interest, IRA deductions, Social Security 85% rule).
How the math works
- 2026 limits: $7,500 base, plus $1,100 catch-up at age 50 or older, so $8,600. The cap is shared across Traditional and Roth and cannot exceed your earned income.
- Roth phase-out 2026 (MAGI): single / head of household get the full limit under $153,000, a partial slice from $153,000 to $167,999, and nothing at $168,000 and above.
- Married filing jointly: full under $242,000, partial from $242,000 to $251,999, ineligible at $252,000 and above.
- Married filing separately and living with your spouse: the range is $10,000 to $140,000, which is why this filing status is the hardest one for Roth.
- Partial funding: limit × (top − MAGI) ÷ (top − bottom), rounded to the nearest $10. Under the limit you get everything, above it you get zero.
- Traditional has no income limit for contributions. Deductibility is a separate test that depends on whether you have a workplace retirement plan, so the 2026 ranges for that are deliberately not guessed here.
What is the 2026 IRA contribution limit?
$7,500, plus a $1,100 catch-up if you are 50 or older by the end of 2026, so $8,600. There is no separate Roth allowance, one limit covers both accounts together, and you need earned income at least as large as what you contribute.
What happens if my income is in the Roth phase-out range?
You get a slice, not all or nothing. A single filer at $160,000 MAGI is 8,000 of the way through a $15,000 phase-out, so 53% of $7,500 ≈ $4,000 in Roth. The tool runs that interpolation and shows the remainder as Traditional room.
I am over the Roth limit. Is a backdoor Roth still open?
For 2026 the route is still there: contribute to a Traditional IRA and convert it to Roth. Two catches. The conversion is taxable income in 2026, and any pre-tax money in Traditional, SEP or SIMPLE IRAs triggers pro-rata math that can make the conversion far more expensive than the $7,500 you moved. Worth modelling before you file the form.