Can I Contribute to a SIMPLE IRA and a Roth IRA?

Yes, you can contribute to a SIMPLE IRA and a Roth IRA in the same year. The two accounts sit in different sections of the tax code and have separate contribution limits, so participating in your employer’s SIMPLE IRA does not reduce what you can put into a Roth IRA. For 2026, that means up to $17,000 of salary deferrals into the SIMPLE IRA and up to $7,500 into the Roth IRA, before any catch-up contributions or employer match. The one real gatekeeper is income: if your modified adjusted gross income is too high, your direct Roth IRA contribution shrinks or disappears.

Why the Two Limits Don’t Overlap

A SIMPLE IRA is an employer-sponsored plan under 26 U.S.C. § 408(p). A Roth IRA is an individual account you open on your own under 26 U.S.C. § 408A.¹² The IRS treats them as independent contribution buckets, so what you defer through work has no effect on what you can put into your own Roth account.³

The tax treatment runs in opposite directions. SIMPLE IRA deferrals come out of your paycheck before tax, lowering your taxable income now, and you pay income tax when you withdraw in retirement. Roth IRA contributions come from money you’ve already paid tax on, and qualified withdrawals in retirement are tax-free.⁴ Funding both gives you a tax break today and a pool of tax-free money later.

The deadlines are also different. Roth IRA contributions for a given tax year can be made up to that year’s tax filing deadline, typically April 15 of the following year.⁵ That extra window lets you look at your final income before you decide how much to add.

2026 SIMPLE IRA Contribution Limits

For 2026, the maximum employee salary deferral into a SIMPLE IRA is $17,000.⁶ SECURE 2.0 layered catch-up contributions on top based on age:

Age 50 or older: an extra $4,000, for a total deferral of $21,000.
Ages 60 through 63: an extra $5,250 instead of the standard catch-up, for a total deferral of $22,250.

Your employer must also contribute. Each year, the employer picks one of two formulas: a dollar-for-dollar match on your contributions up to 3% of your compensation, or a flat 2% non-elective contribution for every eligible employee whether they contribute or not.⁷

Some plans qualify as an “applicable SIMPLE” plan and use a higher deferral ceiling of $18,100 for 2026, available at employers with 25 or fewer employees or at larger employers that provide enhanced matching.⁸ Ask your plan administrator whether yours qualifies.

2026 Roth IRA Contribution Limits

The 2026 Roth IRA contribution limit is $7,500 if you are under 50, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older (a $1,100 catch-up).⁶ This ceiling covers your combined traditional and Roth IRA contributions. Put $3,000 into a traditional IRA and the most you can add to a Roth IRA that year is $4,500.⁹

Your SIMPLE IRA deferrals do not count toward the Roth IRA limit. The $17,000 workplace ceiling and the $7,500 individual ceiling are tracked separately.

The Roth IRA Income Limits That Actually Matter

Participation in a SIMPLE IRA doesn’t block a Roth IRA contribution, but your income can. The IRS uses your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) to phase out direct Roth IRA contributions. For 2026:⁶

Single or head of household: full contribution below $153,000 MAGI; partial from $153,000 to $168,000; none at $168,000 or above.
Married filing jointly: full contribution below $242,000 MAGI; partial from $242,000 to $252,000; none at $252,000 or above.
Married filing separately (lived with spouse during the year): partial contribution up to $10,000 MAGI; none at $10,000 or above.

If your MAGI falls inside a phase-out range, you’ll need to calculate a reduced contribution. If you contribute more than the rules allow, the IRS charges a 6% excise tax on the excess for every year it stays in the account.⁹ To avoid the penalty, withdraw the excess and any earnings on it before your tax filing deadline, including extensions.

If Your Income Is Too High: The Backdoor Roth

Since 2010, there has been no income cap on converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.¹⁰ That opens a two-step workaround known as the backdoor Roth:

Make a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA. There is no income limit on this step.
Convert the traditional IRA to a Roth IRA and report it on IRS Form 8606.³

One catch matters especially if you have a SIMPLE IRA. If you hold any pre-tax balance in a traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA, the IRS applies a pro-rata rule and treats the conversion as coming proportionally from all your traditional IRA balances. Part of the conversion becomes taxable as a result. Any earnings that accrue between contribution and conversion are also taxable when converted.

You Need Earned Income to Contribute

Both accounts require taxable compensation from work: wages, salaries, bonuses, commissions, professional fees, tips, and net self-employment income.¹¹ Taxable alimony from a divorce agreement executed on or before December 31, 2018 also counts.

Interest, dividends, capital gains, rental income, pension payments, and annuity distributions don’t qualify. If those are your only income sources, neither account is available to you. Your total IRA contributions for the year also cannot exceed your total taxable compensation.

Self-employed workers use net earnings from self-employment, which is business income minus deductible business expenses and the deductible half of self-employment tax.¹² A net loss for the year means no compensation to support a contribution.

Spousal Roth IRA

If one spouse doesn’t work or earns very little, the working spouse can fund a Roth IRA for the other on a joint return. The working spouse’s compensation must at least equal the total IRA contributions for both spouses. In 2026, a working spouse earning $15,000 or more can contribute $7,500 to their own IRA and $7,500 to a spousal IRA.¹³ The Roth income phase-outs still apply to the couple’s joint MAGI.

A Roth Option Inside the SIMPLE IRA

For tax years after 2022, SECURE 2.0 lets employers add a Roth feature to a SIMPLE IRA plan. If your employer offers it, you can elect to have some or all of your salary deferrals treated as Roth contributions, meaning they come from after-tax dollars and grow tax-free.¹⁴

The feature is voluntary for employers. If it’s offered, you have to affirmatively elect Roth treatment before a contribution is made; the employer cannot make the election for you. Roth SIMPLE IRA deferrals appear on your W-2 and don’t reduce your gross income. Employer matching or non-elective contributions stay pre-tax regardless of what you elect.

Using this feature does not change what you can contribute to a separate Roth IRA. The $17,000 SIMPLE IRA deferral cap applies whether your deferrals are traditional or Roth, and the $7,500 individual Roth IRA limit stays intact alongside it.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408A – Roth IRAs
3
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plans FAQs Regarding IRAs
4
Internal Revenue Service. Roth IRAs
5
Internal Revenue Service. Traditional and Roth IRAs
6
Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
7
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – SIMPLE IRA Contribution Limits
8
Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs, as Adjusted for Changes in Cost-of-Living
9
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408A – Roth IRAs
11
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-A (2025), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) – Section: What Is Compensation?
12
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plans for Self-Employed People
13
Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-A (2025), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
14
Internal Revenue Service. Miscellaneous Changes Under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022