What IRAs Are Eligible?
You can claim a deduction for traditional IRA contributions, but not for Roth IRA contributions. Roth accounts are treated differently for tax purposes. Withdrawals from Roths are tax free after retirement, because you don’t get a tax break on the money at the time you contribute it. SEP, SIMPLE, and SARSEP IRA contributions are deductible, but these plans can be subject to slightly different rules. The guidelines cited here apply only to traditional IRAs.
The Basics
You must have earned income to make IRA contributions. Interest, dividend income, and earnings from property, such as rental income, don’t count. You and your spouse can take an IRA deduction regardless of how much you earn. There are no caps on income, but your IRA deduction is subject to income limitations if you or your spouse are also participants in an employer-sponsored retirement plan. The deadline for making deductible contributions is Tax Day of the year following the tax year in which you’re claiming them. This is usually April 15, but it’s April 18 in 2022, because April 15 falls on a holiday.
Annual Contribution Caps
You can take an IRA deduction for up to $6,000 in contributions in 2021 and 2022 if you’re age 49 or under. This increases to $7,000 if you’re age 50 or older. You can’t contribute more than your annual earnings. These limits apply to all IRA accounts that you hold. They’re not $6,000 or $7,000 for each IRA. They’re $6,000 or $7,000 for all of your accounts collectively.
Spousal IRA Contributions
You can make a contribution for your non-working spouse if you have enough earned income to cover these contributions in addition to your own. And yes, you can claim an IRA deduction for doing so. You’d be entitled to $7,000 in deductible contributions for each of you for a total of $14,000 if you and your unemployed spouse are age 50 and older.
If You Have an Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan
Your IRA deduction can be limited if you also contribute to a company-sponsored retirement plan. It depends on the amount and the type of income you report. A taxpayer is considered to be a participant in a company-sponsored retirement plan if their account balance receives any contributions at all in a given year, even if all the contributions were made by the employer. In this case, your ability to deduct your IRA contribution breaks down like this:
The IRA deduction is phased out if you have between $66,000 and $76,000 in modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) as of 2021 if you’re single or filing as head of household. This increases to $68,000 and $78,000 in 2022. You’re entitled to less of a deduction if you earn $68,000 or more, and you’re not allowed a deduction at all if your MAGI is over $78,000 in 2022. The IRA deduction is phased out between $109,000 and $129,000 in 2022 if you’re married and filing jointly, or if you’re a qualifying widow(er). Those with MAGIs over $129,000 aren’t allowed a deduction. These thresholds are up from $105,000 and $125,000 in 2021.
You can calculate your MAGI for purposes of claiming the IRA deduction by adding certain other deductions you might have taken back to your adjusted gross income (AGI), including the student loan interest deduction, the domestic production activities deduction, and the tuition and fees deduction. You must also add back certain income exclusions when you’re calculating your MAGI, including foreign earned income and housing, employer adoption benefits, and savings bond interest.
If Your Spouse Has a Company Retirement Plan
The IRS allows a full deduction up to the contribution limits in 2021 and 2022 if you’re not a participant in an employer-sponsored plan but your spouse is, and if your household income falls below certain ranges. The deduction is phased out between $198,000 and $208,000 of adjusted gross income in 2021 for taxpayers who are married and filing jointly when one spouse is a company retirement plan participant. A modified AGI over $208,000 allows for no deduction. These thresholds increase to $204,000 and $214,000 in 2022.
How to Claim the Deduction
The IRA deduction is an “above the line” adjustment to income, which means you don’t have to itemize your tax deductions to claim it. You can take this deduction and itemize, too, or you can take it and claim the standard deduction. Enter the amount on line 16 of Schedule 1 of the 2021 Form 1040, the return you’ll file in 2022. Submit the schedule with your tax return. Schedule 1 covers numerous adjustments to income. You’ll transfer the total of all of them to line 10 of Form 1040.
Non-Deductible IRA Contributions
You can still make contributions even if you’re not eligible for the IRA deduction. This is called a “non-deductible IRA contribution.” The funds inside the account will grow tax deferred until a distribution occurs.
