Am I Eligible to Contribute to a Roth IRA?
Determine if you qualify for a Roth IRA. This guide explains how your income, tax filing status, and other key factors affect your contribution eligibility.
A Roth Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) is a retirement savings account that allows for tax-free growth and withdrawals in retirement. Contributions are made with money that has already been taxed. This means that when you withdraw funds in retirement, both your contributions and any investment earnings are tax-free, provided certain conditions are met. This benefit provides a source of tax-exempt income during your retirement years, which can be a valuable component of a long-term financial strategy.
The Earned Income Requirement
The primary rule for contributing to a Roth IRA is having earned income. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) defines this as taxable income and wages from employment or self-employment. This includes salaries, tips, commissions, bonuses, and net earnings from your own business.
It is also important to understand what does not count as earned income. Passive income sources are excluded, meaning money from interest and dividends, rental property income, pension or annuity payments, and unemployment benefits do not qualify. Child support and disability benefits received after you reach retirement age are also not considered earned income.
The total amount you can contribute to a Roth IRA in a given year cannot exceed your total earned income for that year. For example, if you earn $4,000 in a year, your maximum contribution is limited to $4,000, even if the official contribution limit is higher. This rule ensures that contributions are funded by work-related activities.
Income and Contribution Limits
Your eligibility to contribute to a Roth IRA is also determined by your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI). MAGI is your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) from your tax return with certain deductions added back, such as student loan interest. The IRS sets annual income thresholds that dictate whether you can contribute the full amount, a reduced amount, or nothing at all.
For the 2025 tax year, the maximum contribution is $7,500. Individuals age 50 and over can make an additional “catch-up” contribution of $1,000, for a total of $8,500. These limits apply to the total contributions made to all of your IRAs, including both Traditional and Roth accounts, in a single year.
The ability to make these contributions is phased out as income rises. Below are the 2025 MAGI phase-out ranges:
| Filing Status | Full Contribution Permitted | Partial Contribution Permitted | No Contribution Permitted |
| — | — | — | — |
| Single, Head of Household | Less than $146,000 | $146,000 to $160,999 | $161,000 or more |
| Married Filing Jointly | Less than $230,000 | $230,000 to $245,999 | $246,000 or more |
| Married Filing Separately | Not Applicable | $0 to $9,999 | $10,000 or more |
Data sourced from Fidelity and Vanguard for the 2025 tax year.
If your MAGI falls within the phase-out range, your contribution limit is reduced. For instance, a single filer with a MAGI of $153,500 in 2025 is halfway through the $15,000 phase-out range ($146,000 to $161,000). This individual would be able to contribute 50% of the maximum, or $3,750.
Navigating Special Eligibility Scenarios
One frequent question is whether participation in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, such as a 401(k) or 403(b), affects your ability to contribute to a Roth IRA. Your participation in a workplace plan has no bearing on your eligibility; you can contribute to both, provided you meet the earned income and MAGI requirements.
There is no upper age limit for contributing to a Roth IRA. As long as you have sufficient earned income, you can continue to make contributions indefinitely. This offers a way for those working later in life to continue saving for retirement.
A spousal IRA allows non-working or low-earning spouses to save for retirement. If a couple files a joint tax return, the spouse with earned income can contribute to a Roth IRA on behalf of the other spouse. The total combined contributions for both spouses cannot exceed their joint earned income or double the annual IRA limit. For example, in 2025, a working spouse can contribute up to $7,500 to their own Roth IRA and another $7,500 to a spousal Roth IRA, provided their combined income is at least $15,000 and they are within the MAGI limits.
The Backdoor Roth IRA Strategy
For individuals whose income exceeds the MAGI limits, a “Backdoor Roth IRA” may be an option. The process involves two steps: first, you make a non-deductible contribution to a Traditional IRA, which has no income limits. Second, you promptly convert the funds from the Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.
This process can be complicated by the “pro-rata rule.” This IRS rule requires that when you convert funds, the conversion is considered a proportional mix of your pre-tax and after-tax (non-deductible) IRA assets. All of your Traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs are aggregated for this calculation.
If you have existing pre-tax funds in other IRAs, a portion of the conversion will be taxable. For example, if you have $90,000 in pre-tax IRA funds and make a new $10,000 non-deductible contribution, 10% of your total IRA balance is after-tax. If you then convert $10,000 to a Roth IRA, 90% of that conversion ($9,000) is taxable income. This makes the strategy most straightforward for those with no other pre-tax IRA assets.