Can I Contribute to a 403(b) and an IRA?
Understand the relationship between your 403(b) and personal IRA. While you can fund both, your workplace plan affects the tax benefits of your IRA.
Yes, you can contribute to both a 403(b) retirement plan and an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) in the same year. A 403(b) plan is a retirement savings plan available to employees of public schools and certain tax-exempt organizations, similar to a 401(k). An IRA is a personal retirement account that anyone with earned income can open.
While you can fund both accounts, your participation in a 403(b) can affect the tax benefits of your IRA contributions. The rules governing this interaction depend on your income and filing status.
Separate Contribution Limits for 403(b)s and IRAs
The contribution limits for 403(b) plans and IRAs are determined independently by the IRS. For 2025, an employee can contribute up to $23,500 to their 403(b) plan. This figure represents the amount you can defer from your salary into the plan.
Individuals age 50 or over can make additional “catch-up” contributions. For 2025, the standard catch-up amount is $7,500. A separate provision allows participants ages 60 through 63 to make a higher catch-up contribution of $11,250. This means an employee age 60 could contribute a total of $34,750 in 2025. These limits apply to your contributions, not any matching funds from your employer.
For 2025, you can contribute a maximum of $7,000 to all of your IRAs combined, whether they are Traditional or Roth. The IRA catch-up contribution for those age 50 and over is an additional $1,000, making the total possible IRA contribution $8,000. Funding your 403(b) does not impact your ability to contribute the maximum amount to your IRA.
How a 403(b) Affects Traditional IRA Deductions
When you actively participate in a 403(b) plan, the IRS considers you “covered by a retirement plan at work.” This status determines whether you can deduct your contributions to a Traditional IRA. The ability to deduct these contributions is phased out based on your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI).
For the 2025 tax year, if you are single and covered by a workplace plan, your ability to deduct Traditional IRA contributions phases out with a MAGI between $79,000 and $89,000. For those who are married and filing a joint tax return, that phase-out range is between $123,000 and $143,000.
If your income falls within the applicable phase-out range, you can only take a partial deduction. Should your MAGI exceed the upper limit of that range, you cannot deduct any of your contribution. For example, a single filer with a MAGI of $95,000 in 2025 would not be able to deduct their IRA contribution.
Even if your income prevents you from taking a tax deduction, you can still make nondeductible contributions to a Traditional IRA. You must report these on IRS Form 8606, Nondeductible IRAs. This form tracks your after-tax money in the IRA to ensure you are not taxed on it again when you take distributions.
Roth IRA Contribution Eligibility
Contributions to a Roth IRA are never tax-deductible, so your participation in a 403(b) does not affect your eligibility. The only factor that determines your ability to contribute to a Roth IRA is your income.
The ability to make a direct contribution to a Roth IRA is subject to MAGI phase-out ranges. For the 2025 tax year, a single filer’s ability to contribute is phased out with a MAGI between $150,000 and $165,000.
For married couples filing a joint return, the 2025 income phase-out range for Roth IRA contributions is between $236,000 and $246,000. If your income falls within this range, you can make a reduced contribution. If your income exceeds the top end of the range, you cannot make a direct contribution to a Roth IRA.
Special Considerations for Spouses
A unique set of rules applies when one spouse is covered by a workplace retirement plan, like a 403(b), but the other is not. The non-covered spouse may be able to fully deduct their Traditional IRA contributions, subject to a higher income limit. This is often called a “Spousal IRA,” though it is a standard Traditional IRA with special deduction rules.
For 2025, if you are covered by a 403(b) but your spouse is not, your spouse’s IRA deduction is only limited if your joint MAGI is between $236,000 and $246,000. If your joint income is below this threshold, the non-covered spouse can take a full deduction for their IRA contribution up to the annual limit.
The covered spouse’s deduction is still subject to the standard, lower MAGI limits. Only the non-covered spouse benefits from the higher income threshold for deductibility.