IRA Calculator - Estimate 2026 Contribution Limits

An IRA calculator estimates how much annual contribution room remains for a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, or a mix of both accounts. It applies the selected tax year's combined IRA dollar limit, the age 50 catch-up amount, taxable compensation, prior IRA contributions, Roth income phaseouts, and traditional IRA deduction phaseouts. The result is a planning estimate, not a completed tax return.

The calculator is built for U.S. individual retirement arrangements. It is useful when a household needs to compare direct Roth IRA eligibility with a deductible or nondeductible traditional IRA contribution. It can also flag a possible excess contribution when existing and planned deposits exceed the annual cap. Rollovers, conversions, qualified reservist repayments, inherited IRA rules, SEP IRA employer contributions, and SIMPLE IRA limits are outside this calculation.

The most important distinction is that the annual contribution limit is shared. A dollar contributed to a traditional IRA reduces the room left for a Roth IRA, and a Roth contribution reduces the room left for a traditional IRA. Income rules do not change that combined cap; they affect whether the Roth contribution is allowed and whether a traditional contribution is deductible.

The output can also support a records check before a custodian transfer is submitted. Prior deposits are easy to overlook when contributions have been split across accounts or made early in the year. Showing remaining room and possible excess side by side makes the annual cap visible before a preventable correction process is needed.

For workplace-plan savings that use a separate annual limit, the 401K Calculator provides a related view of employee deferrals, employer match, and long-term balance assumptions.

The calculation starts with the statutory IRA limit for the selected tax year. The 2026 base limit is $7,500, and the age 50 catch-up amount is $1,100. The 2025 base limit is $7,000, and the age 50 catch-up amount is $1,000. Taxable compensation can lower either amount because the contribution limit cannot exceed compensation for the year.

The Roth IRA contribution limit is then tested against modified AGI. When modified AGI falls inside the Roth phaseout band, the calculator reduces the annual limit by the phaseout fraction, rounds the reduced result up to the nearest $10, and applies the IRS minimum partial amount rule. Existing IRA contributions are subtracted so the output reflects remaining room rather than a fresh-account maximum.

According to IRS retirement topics on IRA contribution limits, 2026 total contributions to all traditional and Roth IRAs cannot exceed $7,500, or $8,600 at age 50 or older, unless taxable compensation is lower.

The traditional IRA side uses the same remaining contribution room, then separately estimates how much may be deductible. If neither spouse is covered by a workplace retirement plan, the deduction is modeled as full. If the contributor or spouse is covered, the deduction is reduced across the applicable modified AGI phaseout range and becomes zero above the upper threshold.

The deduction estimate is intentionally separate from the contribution estimate. A nondeductible traditional IRA contribution can still be a valid contribution when annual room exists, but the tax reporting is different. The calculator therefore labels contribution room, Roth room, and deductible amount as separate outputs instead of blending them into one recommendation.

When the planning question moves from annual contribution room to retirement income progress, the Retirement Savings Calculator can show how deposits, balances, returns, and years interact over time.

The calculator separates these ideas because a single contribution decision can produce several different answers. There may be room to contribute, no room for a direct Roth contribution, and only a partial traditional IRA deduction at the same time. The outputs should therefore be read together, not as interchangeable labels.

Another important concept is timing. A contribution is assigned to a specific tax year, and the custodian records that designation. A household reviewing prior deposits should compare the selected tax year in the calculator with account confirmations, because a calendar-year deposit is not always the same thing as a contribution for that same tax year.

For comparing the compounding effect of contributions that remain invested, the Compound Interest Calculator can translate recurring deposits and assumed returns into a future balance.

For 2026, direct Roth IRA contributions phase out from $153,000 to $168,000 for single filers and heads of household, from $242,000 to $252,000 for married filing jointly, and from $0 to $10,000 for married filing separately when the spouses lived together during the year. These ranges are built into the calculator's Roth output.

Traditional IRA deduction phaseouts depend on workplace plan coverage. For 2026, a covered single filer phases out from $81,000 to $91,000, and a covered married joint filer phases out from $129,000 to $149,000. A contributor who is not covered but has a covered spouse phases out from $242,000 to $252,000 on a joint return.

As published in IRS Notice 2025-67, the 2026 IRA deductible amount is $7,500 and the additional amount for individuals age 50 or older is $1,100, with updated phaseout ranges for Roth and traditional IRA rules.

The page includes 2025 as a comparison year because many contributions for a tax year can be made up to the original return due date for that year. In 2025, the general limit is $7,000, with a $1,000 catch-up amount at age 50 or older. The 2025 Roth phaseout ranges are $150,000 to $165,000 for single filers and $236,000 to $246,000 for married filing jointly.

The same year-specific approach applies to deduction phaseouts. A value that is correct for one tax year should not be carried into another year without checking the IRS inflation-adjusted limits. The tax-year selector keeps the dollar caps and phaseout bands aligned with the contribution year shown in the form.

If the contribution plan is part of a broader retirement-date review, the Early Retirement Calculator can connect savings rate assumptions with an estimated financial independence timeline.

• •
  Contribution planning: The results show whether the selected planned contribution fits within the combined traditional and Roth IRA limit after prior deposits.
• •
  Roth screening: The Roth output identifies whether modified AGI appears below, inside, or above the direct Roth contribution phaseout band.
• •
  Deduction review: The deductible traditional IRA estimate helps separate contribution eligibility from possible current-year tax deduction treatment.
• •
  Excess contribution check: The planned-contribution field compares the intended deposit with the annual cap and prior contributions before money is moved.

This type of review is most helpful before year-end contributions, before the tax-filing deadline for the prior year, or before choosing between Roth and traditional IRA funding. It is also useful when income sits near a phaseout threshold and a small change in modified AGI can change the direct Roth contribution amount or deductible traditional IRA amount.

A second benefit is documentation. The calculator shows which inputs drive the result, so a preparer, adviser, or household recordkeeper can compare compensation, modified AGI, plan coverage, and contribution history against tax documents. That review can uncover whether the issue is contribution room, deductibility, Roth eligibility, or a simple data-entry mismatch.

For a related account-growth scenario with contributions, returns, inflation, and withdrawals, the Investment Calculator can place IRA funding inside a wider portfolio projection.

According to IRS Publication 590-A, Roth IRA contribution limits are reduced when modified AGI enters the applicable phaseout range, and traditional IRA deductions may be limited when workplace plan coverage and income thresholds apply.

The calculator cannot determine modified AGI from raw income records. Some deductions, exclusions, and IRA-related adjustments can change the number used for phaseout testing. When the result sits close to a threshold, the modified AGI value should come from a tax worksheet or a completed return estimate rather than a rough gross-income figure.

Because expenses inside investments can reduce long-run account growth, the Investment Fees Calculator can help review fee drag after contribution room has been estimated.

Consider a 45-year-old single filer in 2026 with $100,000 of taxable compensation, $100,000 of modified AGI, no workplace coverage, and no prior IRA contributions. The combined annual IRA limit is $7,500, the direct Roth IRA limit is also $7,500, and the modeled traditional IRA deduction is $7,500 if the contribution is made to a traditional IRA.

A different result appears for a married joint filer age 52 with $9,000 of taxable compensation, $245,000 of modified AGI, contributor workplace coverage, and $1,000 already contributed. The compensation cap and catch-up rule create an $8,600 annual limit, leaving $7,600 of remaining room. The Roth phaseout reduces the direct Roth amount, while the traditional deduction is modeled as zero because the income is above the covered-contributor phaseout range.

These examples show why one IRA result rarely answers the whole planning question. Contribution room, Roth eligibility, deductible traditional IRA treatment, and excess contribution risk can all differ. A tax return, plan records, and IRA custodian records should be reconciled before final contribution instructions are submitted.

A third case involves low taxable compensation. If a person age 55 has no taxable compensation for the selected year, the catch-up amount does not create contribution room by itself. The calculator returns a zero annual IRA limit and treats any planned deposit as possible excess because the compensation cap is the binding rule.