By Stang Gappa
Updated on June 6, 2024
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IRAs are a great retirement savings option with significant tax advantages. Most people open an IRA when they leave their job and roll over their 401(k) into a new retirement account. However, there are yearly IRA contribution limits that you need to know before making your contribution plan. These limits can change based on the type of IRA account and your income.
This guide will help answer the question, “How much can I contribute to an IRA?” for Traditional and Roth IRAs.
Contributions to your traditional IRA are made pre-tax. This means you don’t pay any taxes when you contribute, but will pay taxes when you withdraw later like in a standard 401(k). While this can be a great financial benefit, there are limits on how much you can contribute yearly.
In 2024, the IRS IRA contribution limit is $7,000. However, if you’re 50 or older, you can contribute up to $8,000 – the additional $1,000 is known as a catch-up contribution. This is your total IRA contribution limit—it applies to all your traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs combined. So, if you have multiple IRAs (traditional IRA and Roth IRA included), you can only contribute up to $7,000 (if you’re under 50), or $8,000 (if you’re 50 or older) across all accounts combined. We’ll cover some other limits on your Roth IRAs later in this guide.
To summarize, here are your contribution limits broken down by age group:
| Contribution limits across all traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Under age 50 | $6,500 total | $7,000 total |
| Age 50 and over | $6,500 + $1,000 = $7,500 total | $7,000 + $1,000 = $8,000 total |
There are no income restrictions that limit how much you can contribute to a traditional IRA, except that your income must be equal to or greater than your IRA contribution. In other words, you can’t contribute more than you earn to a traditional IRA.
Everyone likes to pay less in taxes! That brings us to an important question: are IRA contributions tax-deductible? Yes, but there are limits on how much you can deduct based on your filing status, income, and whether you have access to a retirement plan through your employer. Income restrictions use your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)—this is essentially your yearly income minus specific deductions (e.g. student loan interest payments).
Here’s a summary of your income limits if you or your spouse have access to a retirement plan at work:
| If your filing status is: | Your 2023 income is: | Your 2024 income is: | Then you can take: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single or head of household | $73,000 or less | $77,000 or less | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| More than $73,000 but less than $83,000 | More than $77,000 but less than $87,000 | A partial deduction | |
| $83,000 or more | $87,000 or more | No deduction | |
| Married filing jointly | $116,000 or less | $123,000 or less | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| More than $116,000 but less than $136,000 | More than $123,000 but less than $143,000 | A partial deduction | |
| $136,000 or more | $143,000 or more | No deduction | |
| Married filing separately | Less than $10,000 | Less than $10,000 | A partial deduction |
| $10,000 or more | $10,000 or more | No deduction |
The IRS provides further detail on calculating partial deductions if you fall into that category.
If neither you nor your spouse have access to a retirement plan at work, the limits are a bit different:
| If your filing status is: | Your 2023 income is: | Your 2024 income is: | Then you can take: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, head of household, or qualifying widow(er) | Any amount | Any amount | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| Married filing jointly or separately with a spouse who is not covered by a plan at work | Any amount | Any amount | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| Married filing jointly with a spouse who has coverage via a plan at work | $218,000 or less | $230,000 or less | A full deduction up to the amount of your contribution limit |
| More than $218,000 but less than $228,000 | More than $230,000 but less than $240,000 | A partial deduction | |
| $218,000 or more | $240,000 or more | No deduction | |
| Married filing separately with a spouse who has coverage via a plan at work | Less than $10,000 | Less than $10,000 | A partial deduction |
| $10,000 or more | $10,000 or more | No deduction |
No, rollovers from a 401(k) or IRA don’t contribute to your traditional IRA contribution limits and aren’t considered a new contribution. It can be helpful to first check your account balance to anticipate how much you will be consolidating into an IRA before you roll over.
That covers Traditional IRA contribution limits — now let’s look at some important considerations for Roth IRAs.
Your Roth IRA contributions are made post-tax. This means you pay taxes when you contribute but won’t owe taxes when you withdraw later. While some of the IRA contribution rules will be the same for traditional and Roth IRAs, there are some key differences about Roth IRAs.
Roth IRA contribution limits are based on two things:
The income limitations for contributing to a Roth IRA are determined by your filing status as well as your yearly income (measured in AGI). Check out this table to see where you fit in:
| If your filing status is: | Your 2023 income is: | Your 2024 income is: | Then you can contribute: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Married filing jointly | Less than $218,000 | $230,000 or less | Up to $7,000 (49 and under) or $8,000 (50 and older) |
| At least $218,000 but less than $228,000 | More than $230,000 but less than $240,000 | A reduced amount | |
| $228,000 or more | $240,000 or more | Zero | |
| Married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during the year | Less than $10,000 | Less than $10,000 | A reduced amount |
| $10,000 or more | $10,000 or more | Zero | |
| Single, head of household, or married filing separately and you did not live with your spouse at any time during the year | Less than $138,000 | $146,000 or less | Up to $7,000 (49 and under) or $8,000 (50 and older) |
| At least $138,000 but less than $153,000 | More than $146,000 but less than $161,000 | A reduced amount | |
| $153,000 or more | $161,000 or more | Zero |
The IRS provides more details on calculating a reduced contribution.
No, Roth contributions aren’t tax-deductible because you make Roth IRA contributions post-tax. The good news is when you withdraw from your account later, you won’t pay taxes. So, you could see significant tax advantages because you won’t pay taxes on your investment returns.
No. Like traditional IRAs, rollovers don’t contribute to your Roth IRA contribution limit. Additionally, you can use your Social Security Number to find a 401(k) if you’re looking to roll it over.
Like a lot of financial questions, the answer to this depends on your personal circumstances. Here’s are a few things to consider:
Contributing money to any type of IRA can be a productive way to save for retirement. How much you can contribute and deduct will depend on which type of IRA account(s) you have. You’ll always need to consider your age, but if you have a Roth IRA, you’ll also need to consider your filing status and yearly income. Importantly, in 2024 you can only contribute up to $7,000 (age 49 and under) or $8,000 (age 50 and over) across all your IRA accounts, even if they’re different types. If you keep these limits in mind, you should be in the clear on your path to retirement.
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