November 05, 2017

2018 Roth IRA Contribution and Income Limits

BOTTOM LINE — The maximum contribution to a Roth IRA is unchanged from 2017. The income limit however has gone up a few thousand dollars across filing types.

In late October, the IRS published the Roth IRA rules for 2018. Here’s what you can expect for the upcoming tax year:

Maximum contribution limit

If you are eligible based on your income, you can contribute:

$5,500 if you are under 50 years old
$6,500 if you are older than 50 (as a “catch up” privilege)

The contribution is your total across all IRA accounts, not only your Roth. If you have a Traditional IRA or multiple Roth accounts, you can contribute to all provided the sum does not exceed the limits described above.

Income limits

There are two large factors at play factoring into your income limit, and the amount you can contribute as a result: your income (specifically your modified adjusted gross income or MAGI) and your filing status.

The table below shows the income limit breakdown:

Marital Status	Income	Contribution
Single, head of household, or married filing separately	Less than $120,000	Full amount
	Between $120,000 and $135,000	Partial amount
	Greater or equal to $135,000	Zero. Use Backdoor Roth IRA
Married filing jointly	Less than $189,000	Full amount
	Between $189,000 and $199,000	Partial amount
	Greater or equal to $199,000	Zero. Use Backdoor Roth IRA
Married filing separately (lived with spouse)	Less than $10,000	Partial amount
Married filing separately (lived with spouse)	Greater than or equal to $10,000	Zero

If you are single, head of household, or married filing separately (you did not live with spouse during tax year), you can contribute:

Full amount if your income is less than $120,000
Partial amount if your income is between $120,000 and $135,000
No amount if your income is greater than or equal to $135,000. However, you can use the Backdoor Roth IRA method

If you are married filing jointly, you can contribute:

Full amount if your income is less than $189,000
Partial amount if your income is between $189,000 and $199,000
No amount if your income is greater than or equal to $199,000. However, you can use the Backdoor Roth IRA method

If you are married filing separately and lived with your spouse during the tax year, your contribution is highly limited. You can only contribute a partial amount if your income is less than or equal $10,000.

Use the 2017 Roth IRA rules for reference to see changes from the previous tax year.

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