2022 Roth IRA Income Limit
For 2022, the Roth IRA Income Limit figures are $129,000 (Phase-out start, single filers), $144,000 (Phase-out end, single filers), $204,000 (Phase-out start, joint filers) and 4 more figures below.
| Item | Single filers | Joint filers | Separate filers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase-out start | $129,000 | $204,000 | $0 |
| Phase-out end | $144,000 | $214,000 | $10,000 |
Effective 2022-01-01Source: Notice 2021-61 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-03
Compared with 2021
| Item | 2021 | 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase-out start, single filers | $125,000 | $129,000 | +$4,000 (+3.2%) |
| Phase-out end, single filers | $140,000 | $144,000 | +$4,000 (+2.9%) |
| Phase-out start, joint filers | $198,000 | $204,000 | +$6,000 (+3.0%) |
| Phase-out end, joint filers | $208,000 | $214,000 | +$6,000 (+2.9%) |
| Annual IRA contribution limit | $6,000 | $6,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
| Phase-out start, separate filers | $0 | $0 | +$0 |
| Phase-out end, separate filers | $10,000 | $10,000 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Phase-out start
Phase-out end
$10,000$214,000
One dot per column of the table, on a scale running from the smallest of these amounts to the largest. The scale is logarithmic - each faint line is ten times the one before it, so that the amounts crowded at the low end stay far enough apart to read. The table states which dot is which.
Who it applies to
Taxpayers who want to contribute to a Roth IRA in 2022. The limits are based on filing status and modified adjusted gross income (MAGI).
What changed this year, and why
For 2022, the IRS adjusted the Roth IRA income limits for cost-of-living increases. For single filers and heads of household, the income phase-out range is $129,000 to $144,000. For married couples filing jointly and qualifying widow(er)s, the phase-out range is $204,000 to $214,000. These ranges determine whether a taxpayer can make a full contribution, a reduced contribution, or no contribution to a Roth IRA.
Common questions
- What happens if my income falls within the phase-out range?
- If your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) falls within the phase-out range for your filing status, you may contribute a reduced amount to a Roth IRA. If your income is below the phase-out start, you may contribute the full amount. If your income is at or above the phase-out end, you may not contribute to a Roth IRA at all.
- What about married filing separately?
- For married individuals filing separately, the Roth IRA contribution phase-out range is very narrow and is not subject to annual cost-of-living adjustments: it runs from $0 to $10,000 of modified adjusted gross income for 2022, so a separate filer with income above $10,000 can make no direct Roth IRA contribution.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Roth IRA limit left for a single filer takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
How a high modified AGI reduces the limit
For 2022, if your modified adjusted gross income (modified AGI) exceeds certain thresholds, the maximum amount you can contribute to a Roth IRA is gradually reduced rather than eliminated all at once. For single filers, the phase-out range is $129,000 to $144,000. For married couples filing jointly, the phase-out range is $204,000 to $214,000. If your modified AGI falls below the phase-out start, you can contribute the full annual limit. If it falls at or above the phase-out end, you cannot make any Roth IRA contribution for the year. If your modified AGI falls between the start and end of the range, your contribution limit is reduced proportionally.
Contribution limit reduced. If your modified AGI is above a certain amount, your contribution limit is gradually reduced.
Publication 590-A (2022), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
Figuring the reduced limit, and how it is rounded
Once the initial reduction calculation has been performed, the resulting figure must be rounded. The rule is to round your reduced contribution limit up to the nearest $10. However, if that rounding would reduce the limit below $200 - in other words, if the limit is more than $0 but less than $200 - it is increased to $200 instead. This $200 floor prevents an extremely small contribution limit from being rounded down to nothing. The rounding step is the final arithmetic stage before the figure becomes your enforceable ceiling for Roth IRA contributions for the year.
Round your reduced contribution limit up to the nearest $10. If your reduced contribution limit is more than $0, but less than $200, increase the limit to $200.
Publication 590-A (2022), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
The income the test uses is modified AGI
Modified AGI. Your modified AGI for Roth IRA purposes is your adjusted gross income (AGI) as shown on your return with some adjustments. The starting point is the AGI reported on your federal income tax return, but certain items are added back or subtracted to arrive at the modified AGI figure that the Roth IRA phase-out tests. A key adjustment involves Roth conversion income: conversion income is subtracted from AGI only for the purpose of determining modified AGI for Roth IRA purposes; it must not be subtracted when figuring other AGI-based phase-outs and taxable income, such as the deduction for medical and dental expenses. The IRS provides a specific worksheet to compute this figure, and taxpayers should follow that worksheet rather than rely on the AGI line from their return alone. The resulting modified AGI is the number compared against the phase-out thresholds to determine whether and by how much the contribution limit is reduced.
Modified AGI. Your modified AGI for Roth IRA purposes is your adjusted gross income (AGI) as shown on your re- turn with some adjustments.
Publication 590-A (2022), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
Traditional and Roth contributions share one annual limit
Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs. If contributions are made to both Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs established for your benefit, your contribution limit for Roth IRAs is generally the same as your limit would be if contributions were made only to Roth IRAs, but then reduced by all contributions for the year to all IRAs other than Roth IRAs. In other words, the annual dollar cap applies across all of an individual's IRAs combined, not separately to each account type. A taxpayer who has already contributed to a traditional IRA during the year must subtract those traditional IRA contributions from the overall limit before determining how much may still go into a Roth IRA. This shared limit rule means that maximizing contributions to one type of IRA directly reduces the room available for the other within the same tax year.
Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs. If contributions are made to both Roth IRAs and traditional IRAs established for your benefit, your contribution limit for Roth IRAs is generally the same as your limit would be if contributions were made only to Roth IRAs, but then reduced by all con- tributions for the year to all IRAs other than Roth IRAs.
Publication 590-A (2022), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
Contributions for a year can be made up until the filing deadline
In the United States, contributions to a Roth IRA for a given tax year can be made at any point during that calendar year or up until the filing deadline for that year's federal tax return, without counting any extension of time to file. For 2022, the deadline for most taxpayers was April 18, 2023. This rule gives taxpayers extra months after the close of the year to arrange and fund their Roth IRA, but no further grace period is available once the filing due date has passed.
You can make contributions to a Roth IRA for a year at any time during the year or by the due date of your return for that year (not including extensions). You can make contributions for 2022 by the due date (not including extensions) for filing your 2022 tax return. This means that most people can make contributions for 2022 by April 18, 2023.
Publication 590-A (2022), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
There is no line on your return for a Roth contribution
In the United States, taxpayers do not report Roth IRA contributions on their federal tax return. Unlike deductible traditional IRA contributions, which reduce adjusted gross income and must be claimed on Form 1040, Roth IRA contributions are made with after-tax dollars and generate no deduction. As a result, there is no line on the return to enter them, and no associated tax benefit is calculated at filing. The IRS tracks Roth IRA basis through information returns filed by the account custodian (Form 5498) rather than through the taxpayer's own return.
You don’t report Roth IRA contributions on your return.
Publication 590-A (2022), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
An excess contribution can be soaked up by a later year's room
In the United States, if a taxpayer contributes more than the annual limit to a Roth IRA, the unused excess does not simply vanish. The IRS allows the taxpayer to apply the excess contribution made in one year toward a later year's contribution limit, provided the later year's actual contributions fall below the maximum allowed for that year. In effect, the unused room in the later year absorbs the prior excess, preventing it from remaining outstanding and continuing to be subject to penalty. This rule gives taxpayers a way to correct an over-contribution without having to withdraw the funds, as long as future contribution room is available to soak up the difference.
If contributions to your Roth IRA for a year were more than the limit, you can ap- ply the excess contribution in 1 year to a later year if the contributions for that later year are less than the maximum allowed for that year.
Publication 590-A (2022), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (IRS)
Contributing more than the limit costs a 6% excise tax
In the United States, contributing more than the annual limit to a Roth IRA triggers a 6% excise tax on the excess amount. The tax applies each year the excess remains in the account, meaning it compounds annually until the over-contribution is corrected by withdrawal or by being absorbed into a later year's available contribution room. For 2022, the phase-out range for single filers began at $129,000 of modified adjusted gross income and ended at $144,000; for joint filers it began at $204,000 and ended at $214,000. Taxpayers whose income falls within those ranges have a reduced contribution limit, and those above the top of the range cannot contribute at all. Exceeding the applicable limit in any of those situations gives rise to the excise tax.
A 6% excise tax applies to any excess contribution to a Roth IRA.
Publication 590-A (2022), 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 2021-61 (IRS)
- Phase-out start, single filers
For singles and heads of household, the income phase-out range is $129,000 to
- Phase-out end, single filers
$144,000, increased from $125,000 to $140,000.
- Phase-out start, joint filers
the adjusted gross income phase-out range for taxpayers making contributions to a Roth IRA is $204,000 to $214,000
- Phase-out end, joint filers
$214,000 for married couples filing jointly, increased from $198,000 to $208,000.
- Annual IRA contribution limit
The deductible amount under sections 219(b)(5)(A) for an individual making qualified retirement contributions remains unchanged at $6,000.
- Phase-out start, separate filers
For a married individual filing a separate return, the phase-out range is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains $0 to $10,000.
- Phase-out end, separate filers
For a married individual filing a separate return, the phase-out range is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains $0 to $10,000.