IRA Deductibility Phaseouts by Filing Status
Whether your IRA contribution is deductible — and whether you can contribute to a Roth IRA at all — depends on three numbers: your filing status, whether you (or your spouse) are covered by a workplace retirement plan, and your modified AGI. Here is the full 2025 phaseout map.
Traditional IRA deduction phaseouts (2025)
| Filing status / coverage | Full deduction | Partial | No deduction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, covered by workplace plan | ≤ $79,000 | $79,000–$89,000 | ≥ $89,000 |
| MFJ, you covered | ≤ $126,000 | $126,000–$146,000 | ≥ $146,000 |
| MFJ, spouse covered (you not) | ≤ $236,000 | $236,000–$246,000 | ≥ $246,000 |
| MFS, covered (lived with spouse) | $0 | $0–$10,000 | ≥ $10,000 |
| Either status, no one covered | Full deduction at any income | ||
"Covered" is defined by Box 13 of your W-2 — the "Retirement plan" box. If it is checked, you are an active participant for the year.
Roth IRA contribution phaseouts (2025)
| Filing status | Full contribution | Partial | No contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single / Head of Household | ≤ $150,000 | $150,000–$165,000 | ≥ $165,000 |
| MFJ | ≤ $236,000 | $236,000–$246,000 | ≥ $246,000 |
| MFS (lived with spouse) | $0 | $0–$10,000 | ≥ $10,000 |
The MFS trap
Married Filing Separately is the only filing status where the IRA phaseout starts at zero. A single dollar of MAGI starts the phaseout; $10,000 of MAGI eliminates both deductibility and direct Roth contribution. The exception: MFS spouses who lived apart from each other for the entire year are treated as single for IRA purposes. The arithmetic is one of several reasons MFS is rarely the right filing status when retirement saving is on the line.
The "spouse-covered" rule
If you are not covered by a workplace plan but your spouse is, your deduction phases out at a much higher range ($236,000–$246,000) than if you were covered yourself. This is one of the few places in the tax code where being the non-participating spouse is mechanically favorable. The reverse — you covered, spouse not — gives your spouse the full deduction at any income.
Modified AGI definition
"Modified" for IRA purposes means AGI plus the student loan interest deduction, the foreign earned income exclusion, and a few other less common items. It does not add back the IRA deduction you are testing — so the calculation is not circular. See IRS Publication 590-A for the full list.
What to do if you are phased out
- Traditional, deduction phased out: contribute non-deductible, file Form 8606, and either (a) leave it as basis or (b) immediately convert to Roth (the "backdoor Roth"). The backdoor only works cleanly if you have no other pre-tax IRA balance — see our pro-rata rule article.
- Roth, contribution phased out: use the backdoor Roth path above.
- Both phased out: the backdoor Roth still works regardless of income. There is no income limit on conversions, only on direct Roth contributions.
Common mistakes
- Overlooking the spouse's W-2 Box 13. A spouse who participates in any employer plan during the year — even briefly — triggers the lower spouse-covered threshold.
- Treating an inactive 401(k) as "not covered." If you receive an employer contribution any time during the year, you are covered for the whole year, even if you defer nothing.
- Filing MFS to avoid spouse's debt. The IRA phaseout collapse is one of several costs. Innocent-spouse relief and injured-spouse allocation are usually better tools.
- Forgetting to refile Form 8606 after a backdoor Roth. The basis tracking on Form 8606 is mandatory; missing years require amended returns or you risk the IRS taxing the conversion twice.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Code §219, IRA deduction and active-participant rule (Cornell LII): law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/219
- Internal Revenue Code §408A(c)(3), Roth IRA income limits: law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/408A
- IRS Publication 590-A, Contributions to IRAs: irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-590-a
- IRS Notice 2024-80, 2025 IRA contribution and phaseout amounts: irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-24-80.pdf
- IRS Form 8606 instructions: irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8606
RetirementCheck101 calculates your exact phaseout position and shows the backdoor Roth path if you are above the cap. Explore the free educational tool.