Traditional IRA Calculator

For 2026 you can contribute up to $7,500 if you are under age 50, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older (the $1,100 catch-up). The limit applies to your combined Traditional and Roth IRA contributions for the year, not to each account separately. Contributions for a tax year can be made up to the federal tax filing deadline of the following April, and you must have earned income at least equal to the amount you contribute.

It depends on your income and whether you (or your spouse) are covered by a workplace retirement plan. If neither spouse is covered at work, the full contribution is deductible at any income. If you are covered, the 2026 phase-out starts at $81,000 modified AGI for single and head of household filers and fully phases out at $91,000; for married filing jointly the range is $129,000 to $149,000. If only your spouse is covered, the phase-out is $242,000 to $252,000. Married filing separately remains a $0 to $10,000 phase-out range when the workplace-plan rule applies. Above the top of the range you can still contribute, but the deduction is zero (a non-deductible Traditional IRA).

The clean rule is to compare your marginal tax rate today against your expected rate in retirement. Traditional wins when your current bracket is higher than your retirement bracket, because you deduct contributions at a high rate and withdraw at a lower one. Roth wins when retirement income (and rates) will be higher, because you pay tax now at a lower rate in exchange for tax-free growth and withdrawals. If you cannot predict future rates, many savers split contributions to hedge both directions.

The applicable age depends on birth year. It is 73 for someone born from 1951 through 1959 and 75 for someone born in 1960 or later. Your first RMD generally has a one-time deadline of April 1 of the following year, while later RMDs are due by December 31. The amount is the prior year-end balance divided by an IRS life-expectancy factor. A missed amount can trigger a 25% excise tax, reduced to 10% if corrected within the applicable window.

Early withdrawals owe ordinary income tax plus a 10 percent IRS penalty on the amount taken. Exceptions waive the 10 percent (but not the income tax) for qualified first-time home purchase up to $10,000, higher education expenses, total and permanent disability, certain medical expenses, substantially equal periodic payments under Section 72(t), and a few SECURE 2.0 hardship categories. Use those exceptions sparingly because pulling tax-advantaged money early also costs decades of compounding growth.