How Much Can You Contribute to a Traditional IRA in 2022 and 2023?

Contribution Limits and How Much You Can Deduct

Updated on December 12, 2022

Fact checked by

Woman sits at a dining table using a calculator to determine her traditional IRA contribution percentage — Photo:
PeopleImages / Getty Images

An individual retirement account (IRA) is a tax-advantaged investment account that you can use to save for retirement. It comes with certain tax breaks. It also comes with rules about how much you can contribute to your IRA and when you can start withdrawing from it.

There are a few different types of IRAs, including the traditional IRA. Learn how much you can contribute to a traditional IRA and how this affects your tax deductions.

Key Takeaways

You can contribute up to $6,000 to your IRAs in 2022, or $7,000 if you are at least 50 years old.
These limits are indexed for inflation so they can increase annually. They're $6,500 and $7,500 respectively in 2023.
Contributions to a traditional IRA are tax deferred, but they can get you a tax deduction when you file your tax return for the year you make them.
You can deduct your contributions up to the contribution limit if you aren't covered by a retirement plan at work.
How much of your contributions you can deduct is based on your filing status and your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) if you are covered by a retirement plan at work.

IRA Contribution Limits

You can contribute $6,000 to your IRA in the 2022 tax year. You're allowed to make an additional "catchup contribution" of $1,000 for an annual total of $7,000 if you're age 50 or older. These limits increase to $6,500 and $7,500 in 2023.

Contributions to a traditional IRA are tax deferred. This means you won't pay income tax on the money you invest until you withdraw it and its earnings. You can begin withdrawing from retirement accounts without penalty once you reach age 59½.

You must have earned income throughout the year to qualify to make IRA contributions. These sources of income include:

Wages reported on a W-2
Self-employment income from a business or farm
Commissions
Bonuses
Alimony
Nontaxable combat pay

People with low levels of taxable income may not be able to contribute the full $6,000 or $6,500 limit. your total taxable income becomes your IRA contribution limit if it falls below these limits.

Note

The contribution limit is an annual total across all your IRAs if you have more than one, such as a traditional IRA and a Roth. You can contribute to a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA, or both, but the total annual contributions to all your traditional and Roth IRAs cannot be more than $6,000 or $6,500, depending on the year, or $7,000 or $7,500 if you're age 50 or older.

Deadlines for Making Contributions

You can contribute funds to your traditional IRA at any time from the start of the calendar year up until the first deadline for your tax return. Any personal extensions you might take to file your tax return won't affect your window of time for contributing to your IRA.

You can make 2022 contributions up until April 18, 2023 because April 15 (the usual tax deadline) falls on a Saturday in 2023 and April 17 is a holiday.

IRA Deduction Limits

Depending on your annual income and workplace retirement plan options (such as a 401(k) plan), your IRA deduction limits may be lower than your contribution limits. Contributions to a traditional IRA can be fully deductible, partially deductible, or entirely nondeductible.

Note

How much you can deduct doesn't impact how much you can contribute to a traditional IRA. Even if you can't deduct anything, you can still contribute up to your annual limit. This is different from Roth IRAs, which limit how much you can contribute based on your income.

If you aren't covered by a retirement plan at work (and you are not married to someone who is covered by a retirement plan), your contributions are fully deductible up to your contribution limit.

If you are covered by a retirement plan, how much you can deduct is based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) and filing status. These income and deduction limits are frequently adjusted to account for inflation and cost of living changes. In 2022 and 2023 these limits are:

2022 Traditional IRA Deduction Limits If You Are Covered by a Retirement Plan at Work
Filing Status	MAGI	Deduction
Single or Head of household	$68,000 or less	full deduction up to your contribution limit
	more than $68,000 but less than $78,000	partial deduction
	$78,000 or more	no deduction
Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)	$109,000 or less	full deduction up to your contribution limit
	more than $109,000 but less than $129,000	partial deduction
	$129,000 or more	no deduction
Married filing separately	less than $10,000	partial deduction
	$10,000 or more	no deduction

2023 Traditional IRA Deduction Limits If You Are Covered by a Retirement Plan at Work
Filing Status	MAGI	Deduction
Single of Head of Household	$73,000	full deduction up to your contribution limit
	more than $73,000 but less than $83,000	partial deduction
	$83,000 or more	no deduction
Married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er)	$116,000 or less	full deduction up to your contribution limit
	more than $116,000 but less than $136,000	partial deduction
	$136,000 or more	no deduction
Married filing separately	less than $10,000	partial deduction
	$10,000 or more	no deduction

You can determine your MAGI by adding your adjusted gross income (AGI) to any deductions you took for student loan interest, foreign earned income and housing exclusions, savings bond interest, and employer adoption benefits.

Your spouse might be covered by a retirement plan at work even if you're not. In this case, your deduction is phased out if your MAGI is more than $204,000 but less than $214,000 for tax year 2022 if you live together or file a joint tax return. These limits increase to $218,000 but less than $228,000 in 2023.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What's the difference between traditional IRA and Roth IRA contributions?

Unlike traditional IRAs that are funded with pre-tax dollars, Roth IRA contributions are made with after-tax dollars. You won't have to pay income taxes on this money when you withdraw it (including capital gains) because it was already taxed before you made your contributions.

How do I claim the tax deduction for contributing to an IRA?

You can report your tax-deductible IRA contribution on Schedule 1 of Form 1040. You don't have to itemize to claim this IRA deduction. It's an adjustment to income, so you can take it in addition to itemizing or claiming the standard deduction for your filing status.

Was this page helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!

Tell us why!

Sources

The Balance uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.