2026 tax year
Roth vs traditional IRA
Deduct it now, or never pay tax on it again. Two gates decide whether you get the choice at all.
This year's contribution
Updated for 2026 rules50 or over adds the catch-up.
Both phase-outs are tested against MAGI, not gross pay.
An assumption, not a figure. Nobody knows 2050's brackets, so try it both ways.
Which account this year
Enter your income, coverage and the two rates, then press Compare.
Both IRAs take the same $7,500 in 2026, $8,600 from the year you turn 50. What differs is when the tax lands: a traditional contribution may cut this April's bill and is taxed on the way out, a Roth contribution does nothing for this April and comes out untaxed. Before that comparison is worth running, two separate income tests decide which doors are open to you, and they do not move together.
Two gates, and they close at different incomes
Traditional deductibility only phases out if you or your spouse are covered by a workplace plan. Covered single filers lose it between $79,000 and $89,000 of MAGI; covered joint filers between $126,000 and $146,000. A joint filer with no plan of their own whose spouse has one gets a far longer runway, $242,000 to $252,000. With no workplace plan in the household at all, the deduction survives at any income.
The Roth test ignores workplace coverage entirely and looks only at MAGI: $153,000 to $168,000 for single filers, $242,000 to $252,000 for joint. Married filing separately is the outlier, a band of $0 to $10,000, which shuts the direct Roth for practically everyone who files that way.
Worked example, one earner, five incomes
A single filer aged 35 with a 401(k) at work, contributing the full $7,500, in the 22.0% bracket and assuming 12.0% in retirement. Nothing changes down the table except income:
| MAGI | Deductible | Worth this April | Roth allowed | Better door |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $70,000 | $7,500 | $1,650 | $7,500 | Traditional |
| $84,000 | $3,750 | $825 | $7,500 | Roth, barely |
| $95,000 | $0 | $0 | $7,500 | Roth |
| $160,000 | $0 | $0 | $4,000 | Roth, capped |
| $175,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | Backdoor only |
At $70,000 the deduction is whole and worth $1,650, which carries the traditional side by $3,219 after 25 years. Halfway up the band at $84,000 only $3,750 of the same contribution is deductible, the April saving halves to $825, and that alone flips the answer, by $322. Past $89,000 the deduction is gone while the Roth door is still wide open, and it stays open for another $64,000 of income. Only at $175,000 are both shut.
The rate test, once the deduction is intact
Hold income at $70,000, where the whole $7,500 is deductible, and move only the rate you expect to pay in retirement. Same contribution, same market, same 22.0% today:
| Rate you assume in retirement | Traditional, after tax | Roth, tax-free | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12.0%, lower than today | $28,326 | $25,107 | Traditional by $3,219 |
| 22.0%, the same as today | $25,107 | $25,107 | Dead heat |
| 32.0%, higher than today | $21,889 | $25,107 | Roth by $3,218 |
Both columns cost the same out of pocket: the traditional row spends $7,500 and gets $1,650 of it back in April, so the Roth row is funded with that smaller net figure. Holding cost equal is what makes the middle row an exact tie, and the tie is not an artefact of the growth assumption, which cancels out of both sides. Whether the market returns 4% or 9% over the 25 years changes the size of the gap, never who wins it.
The tie is where the quieter advantage shows up. Both accounts stop at the same $7,500, but $7,500 of Roth money is already taxed. Fill each to the cap and the Roth ends with $32,189 you can spend against $25,107 from the traditional, a spread of $7,082 in exchange for the $1,650 refund you took this April. If you are hitting the cap rather than picking a comfortable number, matched rates favour the Roth.
Questions
Does a workplace 401(k) stop me contributing to an IRA?
No. It only affects whether the traditional contribution is deductible, and only through the $79,000 to $89,000 single band ($126,000 to $146,000 joint). You can still put the full $7,500 into an IRA at any income; above the band it goes in as non-deductible money. The Roth test does not look at your 401(k) at all.
I earn too much for a Roth and get no deduction. What now?
That is the backdoor route: contribute to a traditional IRA with no deduction, then convert it to Roth. Converting has no income limit. The catch is the pro-rata rule, which treats all your traditional IRAs as a single pot, so an existing pre-tax balance makes the conversion partly taxable instead of free. Price that conversion before you start it, because the tax lands in the year you convert.
Where does the catch-up contribution kick in?
From the year you turn 50, adding $0 to the $7,500 base for a $8,600 ceiling. That catch-up rose in 2026 for the first time since 2006, when SECURE 2.0 indexing finally reached it. It lifts the combined total across both IRA types, not each one separately.
My spouse has a 401(k) and I don't. Which band applies to me?
Yours is the $242,000 to $252,000 joint band, not the $126,000 one. At $240,000 of joint MAGI you are still under it: $7,500 of a $7,500 contribution stays deductible, worth $1,800 at 24.0%. Your Roth is already being squeezed at that income, capped at $7,500, because the joint Roth band happens to start in the same place.
Can I split the contribution between both?
Yes, $7,500 is a combined ceiling across every IRA you own, so $4,000 traditional plus $3,500 Roth is allowed. Splitting earns its keep when you have no confidence in the retirement rate, since it hedges the guess rather than betting the contribution on it. It earns nothing once the deduction has phased out to zero, at which point the traditional half is doing no work at all.
Related tools
- Retirement withdrawal calculator what a Roth conversion costs
- Saver's credit calculator a credit either IRA can earn
- Self-employed retirement solo 401(k) and SEP limits
- Paycheck calculator find your marginal rate now
- When can I retire the balance these contributions build
Contribution-year estimate for 2026. The retirement rate is your assumption, not a published figure, and the comparison is only as good as that guess. State tax, employer matching and the $0 to $10,000 married-filing-separately band can all change the answer. Not tax or investment advice.