Roth IRA contribution limits
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
The headline number is easy. What catches people out is that three separate ceilings apply at once, and the lowest of them wins. Here is the annual limit, then the two rules that can pull your personal limit below it.
The 2026 limits
| Your age | 2026 limit | 2025 limit | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 50 | $7,500 | $7,000 | +$500 |
| 50 and over | $8,600 | $8,000 | +$600 |
| Catch-up portion | $1,100 | $1,000 | +$100 |
The catch-up applies for the whole year if you turn 50 at any point during it, so someone with a December birthday gets the full amount for that year.
Ceiling one: the limit is shared across all your IRAs
The $7,500 is not per account. It is your total across every IRA you own. Put $4,000 into a Roth and you have $3,500 left for a Traditional IRA, not another $7,500. Opening more accounts does not create more room.
Workplace plans are separate. A 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) has its own much larger limit, $24,500 for 2026, and contributing the maximum there does not reduce what you can put into an IRA.
Ceiling two: you cannot contribute more than you earned
Contributions must come from taxable compensation: wages, salary, tips, bonuses, commissions, or net self-employment income. If you earned $4,000 in a year, your limit is $4,000.
What does not count is the part people miss. Investment income, dividends, interest, capital gains, rental income, pension income and Social Security are not compensation. A retiree living entirely on investments generally cannot contribute to an IRA at all, however much money they have.
The exception is the spousal IRA. On a joint return, a working spouse can fund an IRA for a non-working spouse, up to the full limit each, as long as combined compensation covers both.
Ceiling three: the income phase-out
Above certain incomes the Roth limit shrinks and then disappears. For 2026 the phase-out runs from $153,000 to $168,000 for single filers and $242,000 to $252,000 for married couples filing jointly. Inside the range your limit is reduced proportionally; above it you cannot contribute directly at all.
This is a separate rule with real detail to it, covered on the Roth IRA income limits page.
The deadline, and the year you assign it to
You have until the tax filing deadline of the following year, normally April 15, to make a contribution for the prior year. An extension to file does not extend it.
The practical trap: when you contribute between January and April, your provider will assume the current year unless you say otherwise. If you meant it for the prior year you have to select that explicitly, and once the deadline passes it cannot be reassigned.
Try it in Walnut
Walnut reads the holdings in the brokerage account where your IRA sits, so you can check the money you contributed is actually invested rather than sitting in cash.
If you contribute too much
Excess contributions are penalized 6% per year, every year they remain. Three ways out:
Withdraw it before your filing deadline. Take out the excess plus whatever it earned. The earnings are taxable, but the 6% penalty is avoided entirely.
Apply it to next year. If you will have room, leave it and count it toward the following year. You pay the 6% once, for the year it was excess.
Recharacterize it. Move it to a Traditional IRA, which has no income limit for contributions, and it is treated as though it went there originally.
Sources
2026 figures are from IRS Notice 2025-67. Compensation definitions, the spousal rule and excess-contribution corrections are in IRS Publication 590-A. Walnut is informational and is not an investment adviser. This guide is educational and not personalized tax or investment advice; anything with a tax consequence is worth confirming with a tax professional.
FAQ
How much can I contribute to a Roth IRA in 2026?
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$7,500 if you are under 50, and $8,600 if you are 50 or older, which is the $7,500 base plus a $1,100 catch-up. That figure is the combined total across every IRA you own, Roth and Traditional together, not a separate allowance for each account.
Can I contribute more than I earned?
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No. Your contribution cannot exceed your taxable compensation for the year. If you earned $4,000, that is your limit, not $7,500. The one exception is a spousal IRA, where a working spouse can fund an account for a non-working spouse on a joint return.
What is the deadline for a Roth IRA contribution?
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Tax filing day of the following year, usually April 15, and filing an extension does not extend it. That means until April 2027 you can still make a 2026 contribution, but you have to tell your provider which tax year it counts toward or it will default to the current one.
What happens if I contribute too much to a Roth IRA?
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The excess is charged a 6% penalty for every year it remains in the account. You can avoid it by withdrawing the excess plus any earnings it generated before your tax deadline, or by applying it to the following year's contribution if you have room.