Are IRA Contributions Tax Deductible?
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One big advantage of contributing to an IRA, beyond accumulating savings for retirement: Your IRA contribution may be tax-deductible.
Whether it actually is depends on a few key factors, including the type of IRA you have, whether you're covered by a workplace retirement plan, your tax filing status, and your income.
If you want to make a tax-deductible IRA contribution — that is, you want to claim a deduction and lower your taxable income when you file your taxes — consider the traditional IRA. Contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax deductible.
Here’s how to figure out if you qualify to deduct your traditional IRA contributions.
If you don't have a work retirement plan
If you (and your spouse if you’re married) don’t have a retirement plan at work, and you want to open a traditional IRA, your contributions will be tax-deductible.
Keep in mind that you must have income from work to contribute to an IRA. (Spouses who don’t have their own income may be eligible for a spousal IRA.)
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If you do have a work retirement plan
If you do have a retirement plan at work, or if your spouse does, then your ability to deduct contributions depends on whether your income is above the traditional IRA income limits. For 2024, if you have a retirement plan at work, you cannot deduct your contributions to an IRA if you earn more than $87,000 as a single filer or more than $143,000 as a joint filer. If your spouse has a retirement plan at work but you don't, that joint filer limit is $240,000.
These income limits usually change each year, due to IRS inflation adjustments. Below, you'll find tables with the full 2024 deduction limits and the full 2025 deduction limits. A couple of important notes:
If your modified adjusted gross income is under the limits below, you’re eligible to claim a tax deduction for your contributions to a traditional IRA.
If you’re in the income phase-out range, you can deduct a portion of your contributions.
If your income is higher than the maximum income limit, then you can’t deduct your IRA contributions.
2024 IRA deduction limits
Filing status | 2024 traditional IRA income limit | Deduction limit |
|---|---|---|
Single or head of household (and covered by retirement plan at work) | $77,000 or less. | Full deduction. |
More than $77,000, but less than $87,000. | Partial deduction. | |
$87,000 or more. | No deduction. | |
Married filing jointly (and covered by retirement plan at work) | $123,000 or less. | Full deduction. |
More than $123,000, but less than $143,000. | Partial deduction. | |
$143,000 or more. | No deduction. | |
Married filing jointly (spouse covered by retirement plan at work) | $230,000 or less. | Full deduction. |
More than $230,000, but less than $240,000. | Partial deduction. | |
$240,000 or more. | No deduction. | |
Married filing separately (you or spouse covered by retirement plan at work) | Less than $10,000. | Partial deduction. |
$10,000 or more. | No deduction. |
2025 IRA deduction limits
Filing status | 2025 traditional IRA income limit | Deduction limit |
|---|---|---|
Single or head of household (and covered by retirement plan at work) | $79,000 or less. | Full deduction. |
More than $79,000, but less than $89,000. | Partial deduction. | |
$89,000 or more. | No deduction. | |
Married filing jointly (and covered by retirement plan at work) | $126,000 or less. | Full deduction. |
More than $126,000, but less than $146,000. | Partial deduction. | |
$146,000 or more. | No deduction. | |
Married filing jointly (spouse covered by retirement plan at work) | $236,000 or less. | Full deduction. |
More than $236,000, but less than $246,000. | Partial deduction. | |
$246,000 or more. | No deduction. | |
Married filing separately (you or spouse covered by retirement plan at work) | Less than $10,000. | Partial deduction. |
$10,000 or more. | No deduction. |
» Learn more about traditional IRA income limits
Even if you can’t deduct your IRA contributions, you can still make contributions to that account. With a nondeductible IRA, you don’t get to claim an immediate tax deduction, but your money grows tax-deferred. When it comes time to withdraw your money in retirement, you’ll owe taxes on the investment earnings in a nondeductible IRA, but not on the money you contributed, assuming you follow the IRA withdrawal rules.
» See our picks for the best IRA accounts
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