Roth IRA Contribution Calculator for Married Couples (2026)

Enter your combined MAGI to see exactly how much each spouse can contribute to a Roth IRA — full, partial, or zero with a backdoor Roth option. Includes spousal IRA rules and per-spouse pro-rata analysis for the backdoor strategy.

The Roth IRA income limit looks different for married couples

As a single filer, you can contribute to a Roth IRA up to $153,000 MAGI in 2026 (phase-out $153,000–$168,000).¹ As a married couple filing jointly, the phase-out is $242,000–$252,000 — not twice the single limit, not twice the single income. This creates both a marriage bonus and a marriage penalty on Roth IRA eligibility depending on where each spouse's income falls.

Marriage bonus scenario: Each spouse earns $160,000 ($320,000 combined). As single filers, both would be above the $153,000–$168,000 single phase-out and couldn't contribute directly. As married filers, their combined MAGI of $320,000 is above the $252,000 MFJ ceiling — still no direct contribution. But a couple where one earns $200,000 and the other earns $0 might actually see a bonus: combined $200,000 MAGI is below the $242,000 threshold and can contribute in full, while the $200K earner as a single filer would be in the phase-out range.

Marriage penalty scenario: Each spouse earns $130,000 ($260,000 combined). As single filers, both could contribute the full $7,500 each (below the $153,000 single limit). As married filers, combined MAGI of $260,000 is above the $252,000 ceiling — neither can contribute directly. Marriage effectively eliminated their Roth IRA access, costing the household $15,000/year in Roth contributions.

Spousal IRA: the non-working spouse can still contribute

Under IRC § 219(c), a spouse with no earned income can contribute to a Roth IRA — as long as you file a joint return and the working spouse has enough earned income to cover both contributions.² The non-working spouse's contribution is subject to the same $242,000–$252,000 MFJ phase-out and the same annual limit ($7,500, or $8,600 if age 50 or older in 2026).

Practical example: Spouse A earns $200,000. Spouse B left the workforce to raise kids and has no earned income. Combined MAGI is $200,000 — below the $242,000 threshold. Both spouses can each contribute $7,500 to their Roth IRA. The household contributes $15,000 total to Roth accounts this year. Spouse A's earned income of $200,000 far exceeds the combined $15,000 required. The non-working spouse's Roth IRA grows identically to the working spouse's, with no difference in withdrawal rules.

The constraint: both must file jointly. If for any reason you file married filing separately, the Roth IRA phase-out for the non-working spouse is not the generous MFJ range — it starts at $0, meaning the first dollar of income phases out the contribution.

The backdoor Roth for both spouses: the per-spouse pro-rata rule

When your combined MAGI exceeds $252,000, no direct Roth contribution is allowed. The backdoor Roth — contribute to a nondeductible traditional IRA, then convert to Roth — is the standard workaround. But it has a complexity that matters especially for couples: the pro-rata rule applies per spouse, not per household.

If you have a large rollover IRA and your spouse has zero IRA balance, you have completely different situations:

• Spouse with no pre-tax IRA balance: Contribute $7,500 nondeductible → convert $7,500 → 100% tax-free. Clean backdoor Roth. The fact that the other spouse has IRA money is irrelevant — the IRS aggregates each person's IRAs separately.
• Spouse with a large pre-tax IRA balance: Contribute $7,500 nondeductible → conversion is subject to pro-rata rule. If they have $200,000 in a rollover IRA, the $7,500 contribution brings their total to $207,500, of which $7,500 (3.6%) is nondeductible basis. Converting $7,500 → only $270 is tax-free; $7,230 is taxable. The strategy is still "worth doing" in isolation but is much less efficient than the clean backdoor.

The standard fix for the polluted spouse is to roll their pre-tax IRA money into their employer 401(k) before year-end, leaving zero IRA balance for the pro-rata calculation. Not all 401(k) plans accept rollovers — check the plan document first. If the 401(k) doesn't allow it, the taxable conversion may still be worth doing depending on expected future bracket.

The spouse with no IRA balance should execute their backdoor Roth independently, regardless of the other spouse's situation. Don't let one spouse's pro-rata problem prevent the other from making a clean, fully tax-free conversion.

Contribution limits per spouse in 2026

Each spouse has their own IRA limit — contributions are not split or shared across a married couple.

The catch-up contribution increases from $1,000 (2025) to $1,100 (2026) under SECURE 2.0's annual inflation adjustment provision.¹ If both spouses are age 50 or older, the household maximum Roth contribution is $17,200/year — assuming both are eligible at the full amount.

Note: the contribution limit applies across all IRAs — traditional and Roth combined. If Spouse A contributes $3,000 to a traditional IRA, they can add at most $4,500 to a Roth IRA (total $7,500). This matters when some of a contribution is deductible and some is not.

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