Anyone with taxable earned income can open an IRA. That is the whole eligibility test at its simplest: no age floor, no age ceiling, and no citizenship requirement in the tax code itself. The IRA eligibility requirements that actually matter in practice are the type of income you earn, how much of it you earn, whether a workplace retirement plan covers you, and which flavor of IRA you pick. For 2026, the annual contribution limit is $7,500, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older.
You Need Earned Income
To contribute to any IRA, you need taxable compensation for the year. The IRS counts wages, salaries, tips, bonuses, commissions, and professional fees. Net self-employment income counts too, so freelancers, gig workers, and sole proprietors qualify.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-A (2025), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
What does not count: rental income, interest, stock dividends, pension payments, annuity income, and Social Security benefits. The IRS treats IRA contributions as a reward for active labor, not a shelter for passive earnings.1Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-A (2025), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
Your contribution can never exceed your actual earned income for the year. If you made $4,000 from a part-time job, $4,000 is your ceiling regardless of the general limit. This is the rule that trips up people with small side incomes who assume they can contribute the full $7,500.
2026 Contribution Limits
For the 2026 tax year, the standard IRA contribution limit is $7,500, up from $7,000 in 2025. If you are 50 or older by the end of the year, you can add $1,100 in catch-up contributions, bringing your total to $8,600.2Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500 The catch-up amount is now inflation-adjusted each year under the SECURE Act 2.0, which is why it moved off the flat $1,000 that had been in place for years.
These limits apply across all your IRAs combined. If you have both a Traditional and a Roth, your total contributions to both cannot exceed $7,500 (or $8,600 with catch-up). You can split the money however you like, but the combined cap is firm.
You have until April 15, 2027, to make contributions that count toward the 2026 tax year. Plenty of people fund their IRAs in the early months of the following year, once their income and tax picture is clearer.
Roth IRA Income Limits
Traditional IRAs have no income ceiling for contributions. Roth IRAs do. Your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) determines whether you can contribute to a Roth, and how much. For 2026, the phase-out ranges are:2Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
- Single or head of household: full contributions below $153,000 MAGI, reduced between $153,000 and $168,000, none above $168,000.
- Married filing jointly: full contributions below $242,000, reduced between $242,000 and $252,000, none above $252,000.
- Married filing separately: the phase-out range is $0 to $10,000, which effectively eliminates Roth contributions for most people who file separately.
If your income falls inside the phase-out range, calculate the reduced amount using the worksheets in IRS Publication 590-A.
Traditional IRA Deduction Phase-Outs
Anyone with earned income can contribute to a Traditional IRA, regardless of income. The income limits for Traditional IRAs only affect whether your contribution is tax-deductible, not whether you can make it.
If neither you nor your spouse is covered by a workplace retirement plan such as a 401(k) or 403(b), your Traditional IRA contributions are fully deductible at any income level.3Internal Revenue Service. IRA Deduction Limits When a workplace plan is in the picture, the 2026 phase-outs are:2Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
- Single filer covered by a workplace plan: full deduction below $81,000, partial between $81,000 and $91,000, none above $91,000.
- Married filing jointly, contributor covered by a workplace plan: full deduction below $129,000, partial between $129,000 and $149,000, none above $149,000.
- Married filing jointly, contributor not covered but spouse is: full deduction below $242,000, partial between $242,000 and $252,000, none above $252,000.
- Married filing separately, covered by a workplace plan: partial deduction between $0 and $10,000, none above $10,000.
Losing the deduction does not mean skipping the Traditional IRA. A nondeductible contribution still grows tax-deferred, and only the earnings are taxed on withdrawal.
Spousal IRAs for Non-Working Partners
A spouse with no earned income can still contribute to their own IRA based on the working spouse’s compensation. The couple must file a joint return, and total contributions across both spouses’ IRAs cannot exceed the taxable compensation on that return.4Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits If one spouse earns $60,000 and the other earns nothing, both can still contribute up to $7,500 each (or $8,600 with catch-up), as long as the working spouse’s income covers the combined total.
This arrangement, formally called the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA, gives stay-at-home parents and caregivers a way to build their own retirement savings. The non-working spouse owns the account outright. Both Roth and Traditional spousal IRAs are available, subject to the same income limits and deduction rules that apply to everyone else.4Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits
Age Rules
There is no minimum or maximum age for IRA contributions. The SECURE Act, enacted in late 2019, eliminated the old rule that barred Traditional IRA contributions after age 70½. Starting with the 2020 tax year, anyone with earned income can contribute to a Traditional or Roth IRA at any age.4Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits
Minors qualify if they have legitimate earned income. A teenager with a summer job or a child actor with W-2 wages is eligible. Most brokerages will not open accounts for minors directly, so a parent or guardian typically opens a custodial IRA and manages it until the child reaches the age of majority in their state, at which point control transfers to the child.
One boundary for older savers: you can keep contributing to a Traditional IRA indefinitely, but you must start taking required minimum distributions once you turn 73. The IRS forces withdrawals, and income tax on them, even if you are still working and contributing. Roth IRAs have no RMD requirement during the owner’s lifetime.5Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs
What You Need to Open an Account
Federal anti-money-laundering rules require financial institutions to verify your identity before opening any account, including an IRA. You will need to provide your full legal name, date of birth, residential address, and a taxpayer identification number (typically your Social Security number).6eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program Requirements for Banks Most brokerages also ask for your employment status and the names of your designated beneficiaries.
The practical steps are short. Most people open IRAs online through a brokerage, bank, or robo-advisor in a matter of minutes. You link a checking or savings account for funding, choose between a Traditional and Roth IRA (or open both), and select your investments. There is no government approval process. If you have earned income and valid identification, you are eligible.