2024 IRA Contribution Limit
For 2024, the IRA Contribution Limit figures are $7,000 (Annual contribution limit) and +$1,000 (Catch-up contribution limit, age 50 and over).
Effective 2024-01-01Source: Notice 2023-75 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-04
Compared with 2023
| Item | 2023 | 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual contribution limit | $6,500 | $7,000 | +$500 (+7.7%) |
| Catch-up contribution limit, age 50 and over | +$1,000 | +$1,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Individuals who contribute to a traditional IRA or Roth IRA for the 2024 tax year.
What changed this year, and why
For 2024, the IRS increased the annual contribution limit for traditional and Roth IRAs (in aggregate). The new limit is $7,000. The catch-up contribution for individuals age 50 and over remains $1,000.
Common questions
- What is the maximum IRA contribution for 2024?
- For 2024, the annual contribution limit for traditional and Roth IRAs (combined) is $7,000. Individuals who are age 50 or older by the end of 2024 may contribute an additional $1,000 as a catch-up contribution.
- Does the catch-up contribution amount change for 2024?
- No. The catch-up contribution for individuals age 50 and over remains $1,000, the same as in prior years.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The IRA contribution planner takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
The extra amount once you reach 50
Publication 590-A does not use the phrase catch-up contribution. It states the limit as a pair of amounts wherever it states it at all, here in setting the deduction available where no workplace plan covers either spouse: $7,000, or $8,000 if you are age 50 or older. The difference is the $1,000 extra, and it is available in the year you reach 50 rather than after your birthday, so someone turning 50 in December has it for that whole year. Nothing needs to be elected and no plan permission is involved - an IRA is your own account. The compensation test still applies on top, so the higher amount is available only to someone who earned at least that much.
Full deduction. If neither you nor your spouse was cov- ered for any part of the year by an employer retirement plan, you can take a deduction for total contributions to one or more of your traditional IRAs of up to the lesser of: • $7,000 ($8,000 if you are age 50 or older), or • 100% of your compensation.
Publication 590-A (2024), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
You cannot contribute more than you earned
You cannot contribute more to your IRA than you earned in taxable compensation during the year. For 2024, your contribution is limited to the smaller of $7,000 (or $8,000 if you are age 50 or older) or your taxable compensation for the year. This rule applies whether your contributions are deductible or nondeductible, and whether you contribute to a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA. If you earned less than the maximum limit, your contribution cap is reduced to match your earnings. Taxable compensation generally includes wages, salaries, tips, professional fees, bonuses, and self-employment income. The rule prevents individuals with little or no earned income from making large IRA contributions based solely on investment returns or other non-compensation sources.
General Limit For 2024, the most that can be contributed to your tradi- tional IRA is generally the smaller of the following amounts. • $7,000 ($8,000 if you are age 50 or older). • Your taxable compensation (defined earlier) for the year.
Publication 590-A (2024), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
Why a workplace plan can take the deduction away
If you - or your spouse - are covered by an employer retirement plan, your deduction for a traditional IRA contribution may be reduced or eliminated entirely based on your modified AGI and filing status. The phaseout is a gradual reduction: as your modified AGI rises above a certain threshold, your deduction decreases proportionally until it reaches zero at a higher threshold. These thresholds vary by filing status and are adjusted annually for inflation. The IRS provides tables in Publication 590-A that show the specific income ranges for each filing status. For example, if you are covered by a plan at work and file as single or head of household, there is a phaseout range that determines whether you get a full deduction, partial deduction, or no deduction. If you file as married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse, different thresholds apply. If only your spouse is covered, still different ranges apply. If you file as married filing separately and lived with your spouse at any time during the year, there is a very low phaseout threshold. The key point is that coverage at work does not bar the contribution itself; it only affects whether that contribution is deductible. The contribution may still be made as a nondeductible contribution, and the taxpayer may also consider a Roth IRA if otherwise eligible.
The amount of any reduction in the limit on your IRA de- duction (phaseout) depends on whether you or your spouse was covered by an employer retirement plan. Covered by a retirement plan. If you are covered by an employer retirement plan and you didn’t receive any social security retirement benefits, your IRA deduction may be reduced or eliminated depending on your filing status and modified AGI, as shown in Table 1-2.
Publication 590-A (2024), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
How late you can still contribute for a year
Contributions to a traditional IRA for a tax year can be made at any time during that year or after it ends, up until the filing deadline for that year's tax return. The deadline does not include extensions. For example, contributions for 2024 can be made from January 1, 2024 through April 15, 2025 (or the next business day if the 15th falls on a weekend or holiday). You can file your return claiming a traditional IRA contribution before the contribution is actually made, but generally the contribution must be made by the due date of your return, not including extensions. This means if you file early in March but haven't yet contributed for the prior year, you still have until mid-April to make the contribution and report it on that return. Contributions made after the deadline are treated as having been made for the year in which they are actually deposited, not the prior year.
You can file your return claiming a traditional IRA contribution before the contribution is actually made. Generally, the contribution must be made by the due date of your return, not including extensions.
Publication 590-A (2024), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
The 6% tax on contributing too much
If you contribute more than the annual limit to your IRA, the excess amount is subject to a 6% excise tax each year it remains in the account. For 2024, the regular contribution limit is $7,000, with an additional catch-up amount of $1,000 available to individuals age 50 or older. You can avoid paying the 6% tax if you withdraw the excess contribution by the deadline, which for 2024 excess contributions is April 15, 2025, including extensions. If you do not remove the excess by that date, the 6% tax applies each year the excess remains in your account until it is eliminated or absorbed by a later year's contribution room. The tax is reported on Form 5329 alongside your federal income tax return. Because contributions to traditional and Roth IRAs share the same annual limit, track your total across all IRA accounts to ensure you stay within the cap.
If any part of these contributions is an excess contribution for 2023, it is subject to a 6% excise tax. You won’t have to pay the 6% tax if any 2023 excess contribution was with- drawn by April 15, 2024 (including extensions), and if any 2024 excess contribution is withdrawn by April 15, 2025 (including extensions). See Excess Contributions under What Acts Result in Penalties or Additional Taxes, later.
Publication 590-A (2024), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
Where the deduction actually gets entered
The 2024 annual contribution limit for an IRA is $7,000. If you are age 50 or older, you can make an additional catch-up contribution of $1,000 on top of the regular limit. When you are eligible to deduct your IRA contribution on your federal tax return, the deduction is reported on Schedule 1 (Form 1040). This schedule is used to report additional income and adjustments to income that are not entered directly on Form 1040. The IRA deduction is an adjustment to income, which means it reduces your adjusted gross income (AGI) even if you do not itemize deductions. You must complete Schedule 1 and attach it to your Form 1040 when you file your return. The instructions specify that you enter your IRA deduction on line 20 of Schedule 1, ensuring it flows correctly to your Form 1040 and reduces your taxable income for the year.
If you file Schedule 1 (Form 1040), enter your IRA deduc- tion on line 20 of that form.
Publication 590-A (2024), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
An excess contribution you don't withdraw can count against a later year instead
An excess IRA contribution you do not withdraw does not just sit there: you can deduct it against a later year's contribution room instead of an earlier one. The excess cannot be applied backward to a year before it happened, even if that earlier year's contributions were below the maximum, but it can be carried forward to a later year in which your actual contributions come in under that year's maximum. In the year you use the carryover, the amount you can deduct is the smaller of two amounts: your maximum IRA deduction for that year minus what you actually contributed for it, or the total excess still sitting in your IRA at the start of that year. Using this carryover method lets you avoid withdrawing the excess, but it does not by itself remove the excise tax that keeps applying to any excess still in the account at the end of a tax year; that tax keeps accruing until the excess is either withdrawn or absorbed by unused room in a later year.
You can deduct excess contributions for previous years that are still in your traditional IRA. The amount you can deduct this year is the lesser of the following two amounts. • Your maximum IRA deduction for this year minus any amounts contributed to your traditional IRAs for this year. • The total excess contributions in your IRAs at the be- ginning of this year.
Publication 590-A (2024), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Notice 2023-75 (IRS)
- Annual contribution limit
The deductible amount under section 219(b)(5)(A), which limits the amount of an individual’s deductible qualified retirement contributions for a taxable year, is increased from $6,500 to $7,000.
- Catch-up contribution limit, age 50 and over
The increase in the deductible amount pursuant to section 219(b)(5)(B)(ii) for individuals who have attained age 50 before the close of the taxable year remains $1,000.