The income limit for a spousal IRA depends on which tax break you want: there is no income limit to make a traditional spousal IRA contribution, only an income limit that decides whether you can deduct it or use a Roth instead. A spousal IRA is not a special account type. It is an ordinary traditional or Roth IRA owned by the lower earning or non working spouse, made possible by the joint return provision the IRS calls the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA Limit (Source: IRS Publication 590-A).
The income limit for a spousal IRA applies to Roth eligibility and to traditional IRA deductibility, not to whether you can contribute at all. For 2026, a married couple filing jointly can fund a Roth spousal IRA until modified adjusted gross income reaches the $242,000 to $252,000 phase-out, while a traditional spousal IRA contribution is always allowed regardless of income (Source: IRS Notice 2025-67).
What a spousal IRA actually is
A spousal IRA is an ordinary IRA, traditional or Roth, owned by a spouse who has little or no taxable compensation of their own. The account is titled in that spouse’s name; eligibility to contribute is what comes from the other spouse’s income. The IRS names this rule the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA Limit (Source: IRS Publication 590-A).
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Contributing to an IRA normally requires your own taxable compensation. The spousal rule creates an exception so a household with one earner, or one much higher earner, can fund two separate IRAs. Each spouse keeps a separate account owned solely by that spouse; there is no joint IRA (Source: IRS Retirement Topics, IRA Contribution Limits). Because it is a standard IRA, a spousal IRA can be traditional or Roth under the same annual limits, and the choice between them is where income limits enter (Source: IRS Publication 590-A).
Is there an income limit for a spousal IRA?
There is no income limit to contribute to a traditional spousal IRA; any married couple filing jointly can contribute at any income level. The income limits people ask about govern two other things: whether a traditional contribution is tax deductible, and whether the couple can fund a Roth spousal IRA at all. Confusing these two is the most common error in spousal IRA guidance.
The distinction matters in practice. A high income couple can always put money into a traditional spousal IRA, but that contribution may be nondeductible and a Roth may be off limits. A lower or middle income couple can usually deduct a traditional contribution and fund a Roth directly (Source: IRS Publication 590-A; IRS Notice 2025-67).
| Question | Is there an income limit? | 2026 detail |
|---|---|---|
| Can you contribute to a traditional spousal IRA? | No income limit | Allowed at any income if filing jointly |
| Can you deduct a traditional spousal IRA contribution? | Yes, a deduction phase-out | Depends on workplace-plan coverage (see phase-out table) |
| Can you fund a Roth spousal IRA? | Yes, an eligibility phase-out | MFJ phases out $242,000 to $252,000 MAGI |
2026 spousal IRA contribution limits
For 2026, the spousal IRA contribution limit is $7,500 per spouse, or $8,600 if that spouse is age 50 or older, letting a couple set aside up to $15,000 across two IRAs (Source: IRS Notice 2025-67). The base limit rose from $7,000 for 2025, and the age 50 catch-up rose to $1,100 from $1,000.
| 2026 IRA limit | Under age 50 | Age 50 or older |
|---|---|---|
| Base contribution | $7,500 | $7,500 |
| Catch-up | $0 | $1,100 |
| Maximum per spouse | $7,500 | $8,600 |
| Maximum per couple (both 50+) | $17,200 | |
The catch-up became subject to annual cost-of-living adjustment under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, which is why it rose to $1,100 for 2026 (Source: IRS Notice 2025-67). A spousal contribution counts against that person’s single annual limit; there is no separate, larger cap for spousal accounts.
Traditional vs Roth spousal IRA: 2026 income phase-outs
A spousal IRA can be traditional or Roth, and 2026 income limits affect each differently. A traditional contribution is always allowed, but its deductibility phases out based on workplace-plan coverage. A Roth phases out at higher income. One range is spousal-specific: when the contributing spouse has no workplace plan but the other does, the deduction phase-out runs $242,000 to $252,000 MAGI for joint filers (Source: IRS Notice 2025-67).
| 2026 phase-out (MAGI) | Filing status | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional deduction, contributor covered by a workplace plan | Married filing jointly | $129,000 to $149,000 |
| Traditional deduction, contributor not covered but spouse is | Married filing jointly | $242,000 to $252,000 |
| Roth contribution eligibility | Married filing jointly | $242,000 to $252,000 |
| Roth contribution eligibility | Married filing separately | $0 to $10,000 |
The married-filing-separately Roth range of $0 to $10,000 is fixed by statute and not adjusted for inflation (Source: IRS Notice 2025-67). Couples above the Roth phase-out sometimes look at a Roth conversion as a separate path to Roth money, where the tax treatment differs and how much to convert is its own analysis.
How the combined compensation rule works
The spousal IRA depends on combined compensation, not the recipient spouse’s own pay. IRA compensation means wages, salaries, tips, professional fees, and bonuses; it excludes rental income, interest, and dividends. The lower earning spouse’s contribution is the lesser of the annual limit for their age or the couple’s combined taxable compensation reduced by the working spouse’s own IRA contributions (Source: IRS Publication 590-A).
A worked example makes the math concrete. One spouse earns $90,000, the other has no compensation, both are under 50, and they file jointly. The working spouse contributes $7,500. Combined compensation of $90,000, minus that $7,500, leaves $82,500, which covers a full $7,500 spousal contribution. Across both accounts, total contributions cannot exceed the taxable compensation on the joint return (Source: IRS Retirement Topics, IRA Contribution Limits).
How to fund a spousal IRA: the steps
Funding a spousal IRA follows the same mechanics as any IRA, with the joint return condition doing the eligibility work. A married couple filing jointly can fund an IRA for the lower earning or non working spouse, contributing up to the 2026 per-spouse limit of $7,500, or $8,600 at age 50 or older, as long as the couple’s combined taxable compensation covers the total put into both accounts (Source: IRS Publication 590-A; IRS Notice 2025-67).
- Confirm the couple files a joint return and the recipient spouse’s taxable compensation is less than the working spouse’s (Source: IRS Publication 590-A).
- Open an IRA, traditional or Roth, titled in the recipient spouse’s name.
- Check that combined taxable compensation, reduced by the working spouse’s own IRA contributions, covers the amount being contributed.
- For 2026, contribute up to $7,500, or $8,600 if the recipient spouse is age 50 or older (Source: IRS Notice 2025-67).
- For a traditional IRA, apply the deduction phase-out; for a Roth, apply the income eligibility range.
The combined limit often interacts with other retirement-tax items, such as future required minimum distributions and, for higher income households, the net investment income tax, which are separate rules from the contribution itself.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the income limit for a spousal IRA?
There is no income limit to contribute to a traditional spousal IRA at any income. For 2026, the income limits apply to a Roth spousal IRA, which phases out at $242,000 to $252,000 MAGI for married filing jointly, and to deducting a traditional contribution, which phases out based on workplace-plan coverage (Source: IRS Notice 2025-67).
Can I contribute to a spousal IRA if I make too much money?
Yes, to a traditional spousal IRA. A traditional contribution is allowed at any income for a couple filing jointly, though it may be nondeductible above the phase-out. A Roth spousal IRA is different: for 2026, married couples filing jointly cannot contribute once MAGI reaches $252,000 (Source: IRS Publication 590-A; IRS Notice 2025-67).
Is there an income limit for a traditional spousal IRA?
No, there is no income limit to contribute to a traditional spousal IRA. The only income limit affecting a traditional contribution is the deduction phase-out. For 2026, when the contributing spouse is covered by a workplace plan, the married-filing-jointly deduction phases out at $129,000 to $149,000 of MAGI (Source: IRS Notice 2025-67).
Who is not eligible for a spousal IRA?
A couple that does not file a joint return generally cannot use the spousal IRA rule, since the provision is written as a joint-return rule. A household where the recipient spouse already earns as much as or more than the other spouse does not need it, because that spouse can contribute on their own compensation (Source: IRS Publication 590-A).
Do you have to file jointly for a spousal IRA?
Yes. The spousal IRA applies specifically when a married couple files a joint return (Source: IRS Publication 590-A; IRS Retirement Topics, IRA Contribution Limits). Married couples filing separately generally cannot use it, and separate filers also face a restrictive Roth range of $0 to $10,000 MAGI for 2026 (Source: IRS Notice 2025-67).
What is the downside of a spousal IRA?
A spousal IRA is subject to the same limits as any IRA: a $7,500 per-spouse cap for 2026 ($8,600 if age 50 or older), traditional withdrawals taxed as ordinary income, and future required minimum distributions on traditional balances starting at age 73. It also requires enough combined compensation to cover the contribution (Source: IRS Notice 2025-67).
Can each spouse contribute $7,000 to a Roth IRA?
For 2026 the per-spouse limit is $7,500, not $7,000, so each spouse can contribute up to $7,500 to a Roth IRA ($8,600 if age 50 or older) if the couple files jointly and MAGI is below the $242,000 to $252,000 phase-out. Combined contributions cannot exceed the couple’s taxable compensation (Source: IRS Notice 2025-67).
Can a stay-at-home spouse contribute to an IRA?
Yes. A stay-at-home spouse with little or no taxable compensation can contribute to their own IRA under the spousal rule when the couple files jointly and the working spouse earns enough to cover it. For 2026, the limit is up to $7,500, or $8,600 if age 50 or older (Source: IRS Notice 2025-67; IRS Publication 590-A).
Sources
IRS Notice 2025-67, 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs (released Nov. 13, 2025): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-25-67.pdf
IRS Newsroom, IR-2025-111, 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026; IRA limit increases to $7,500: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-limit-increases-to-24500-for-2026-ira-limit-increases-to-7500
IRS Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs): https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a
IRS Retirement Topics, IRA Contribution Limits: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-ira-contribution-limits
