Traditional IRA Contribution Limits for 2024 and 2025

An individual retirement account (IRA) offers tax advantages for saving for retirement — knowing the rules around contributions, tax incentives and withdrawals can help you make the most of them.

What to keep in mind: The IRS imposes a combined limit for IRA contributions each year. That means you can have multiple types of IRAs (e.g., traditional, Roth, SEP, etc.) and contribute to each them every year, as long as your total contributions don't exceed the annual cap.

IRA contribution limits for 2024

For those younger than 50, the IRA contribution limit is $7,000. People 50 and older qualify for a $1,000 catch-up contribution, raising their limit to $8,000. The deadline for IRA contributions is tax day — typically April 15 — of the following calendar year. That means you have until April 2025 to contribute to your IRA for tax year 2024.

The contribution limit doesn’t apply to transfers from other retirement accounts, such as those used to create a rollover IRA.

IRA contribution limits for 2025

In 2025, the IRA contribution limit remains $7,000 for those below the age of 50. The contribution limit for those 50 and older also remains unchanged at $8,000.

Unlike the Roth IRA, the amount that you can contribute to your traditional IRA doesn't depend on your income. Instead, the amount you can deduct from your taxes depends on your income.

» For comparison: Read our guide on Roth IRA income and contribution limits

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How traditional IRA income and contribution limits work

Having earned income is a requirement for contributing to a traditional IRA, and your annual contributions to an IRA cannot exceed what you earned that year. If your taxable earned income for the year is $4,000, that’s also your IRA contribution limit.

Contributions to a traditional IRA may be tax-deductible in the year they're made, which could help lower your taxable income. That upfront tax deduction is one of the main things that differentiates traditional IRAs from Roth IRAs, which are instead funded with post-tax dollars, allow no tax deductions for contributions, and have income limits on who can contribute.

Investments in a traditional IRA account (including any earnings) grow tax-deferred until you make eligible withdrawals, which are then taxed as ordinary income.

There is no minimum required amount for opening an IRA and no rules about how much money you must deposit. Note that brokers set their own account minimums, but the requirement is often lower for IRAs versus taxable brokerage accounts. At some brokers, the account minimum for IRAs is $0.

If you’re a nonworking spouse, you can have what’s called a spousal IRA as long as your spouse earns enough to cover the contribution. That means if you both want to contribute the maximum to an IRA, and you’re both under 50, your spouse will need to earn at least $14,000 (to cover the $7,000 annual maximum for each of you).

» Ready to get started? See our top picks for best IRA accounts

Traditional IRA income limits for 2024 and 2025

The traditional IRA has no income limits for contributing, but your ability to deduct contributions may be reduced or eliminated depending on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI), your filing status, and whether you (or your spouse) have a workplace retirement plan.

2024 traditional IRA income 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 traditional IRA income 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: Read our step-by-step guide to opening an IRA

Frequently asked questions

How much can I contribute to my IRA?

You can contribute up to the IRS limit on IRA contributions every year. In 2024 and 2025, that means you can contribute $7,000, or up to $8,000 if you’re age 50 and older. However, if you’ve earned less than the annual limit, your contributions can’t exceed your earnings.

» Dive deeper: Here’s how to decide between a Roth or traditional IRA.

When should I contribute to my IRA?

You can contribute to your IRA any time up until the tax filing deadline of the following year. You can contribute only as much as you earn in any given year (up to the standard contribution limit). This could look like a lump sum at the beginning or end of the year, or smaller increments throughout the year.

What if I don’t have enough to max out an IRA?

For many people, contributing the annual maximum to their IRA all at once is difficult. If you can afford it, you can set up automatic payments that move money from your bank account to your brokerage account regularly, such as every two weeks or once a month.

Setting up periodic contributions has another benefit, too. You’re embracing the practice of “dollar-cost averaging.” That’s when you buy investments in small periodic payments, rather than in one big lump sum.

Doing that means you buy no matter what the market is doing, and over time the variations average out. This is in contrast to market timing, which is when you try to figure out the best time to buy (generally, when prices are low). The problem with market timing is it’s impossible to know what the market will do tomorrow, so you never know if you’ve timed it right.

» Learn more: See the average retirement savings by age