Saver's Credit Income Limit 2026
Current year
For 2026, the Saver's Credit Income Limit is $80,500 (Maximum adjusted gross income, married taxpayers filing a joint return), $60,375 (Maximum adjusted gross income, taxpayers filing as head of household) and $40,250 (Maximum adjusted gross income, all other taxpayers).
| Item | Married taxpayers filing a joint return | Taxpayers filing as head of household | All other taxpayers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum adjusted gross income | $80,500 | $60,375 | $40,250 |
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Notice 2025-67 (IRS)Verified 2026-08-29
Compared with 2025
| Item | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum adjusted gross income, married taxpayers filing a joint return | $79,000 | $80,500 | +$1,500 (+1.9%) |
| Maximum adjusted gross income, taxpayers filing as head of household | $59,250 | $60,375 | +$1,125 (+1.9%) |
| Maximum adjusted gross income, all other taxpayers | $39,500 | $40,250 | +$750 (+1.9%) |
Who it applies to
Taxpayers who make eligible contributions to a qualified retirement plan or IRA and claim the retirement savings contributions credit (Saver's Credit) on their federal income tax return for tax year 2026.
What changed this year, and why
For 2026, the maximum adjusted gross income a taxpayer may have and still qualify for any Saver's Credit (the retirement savings contributions credit under section 25B) is $80,500 for married taxpayers filing a joint return, $60,375 for taxpayers filing as head of household, and $40,250 for all other taxpayers. In 2025, the corresponding limits were $79,000, $59,250, and $39,500.
Common questions
- What happens if a taxpayer's income exceeds the applicable limit?
- Taxpayers whose adjusted gross income exceeds the limit for their filing status do not qualify for any Saver's Credit at all.
- Are there different income tiers within the Saver's Credit?
- Yes. The income limit cited here is the highest threshold. Below that ceiling, lower tiers determine the applicable credit rate, with the credit shrinking as income rises toward the maximum.
Every amount on this page is a published figure rather than yours. The Saver's Credit income headroom takes the number you enter and works it out against them, showing which published figure it used.
Three things that disqualify you even under the income limit
Even if your income falls below the maximum adjusted gross income limit, you cannot take the saver's credit if any of three conditions applies to the person who made the qualified contribution. First, that person was born after January 1, 2008. Second, that person is claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2025 tax return. Third, that person was a student during the tax year. The student rule applies if you were enrolled full-time at a school or took a full-time on-farm training course during any part of several calendar months of 2025. Schools include technical, trade, and mechanical schools but exclude correspondence schools, on-the-job training, and internet-only schools. If any one of these disqualifying conditions applies, you are ineligible for the credit regardless of how much you contributed to a retirement account.
The person(s) who made the qualified contribution or elective deferral (a) was born after January 1, 2008; (b) is claimed as a dependent on someone else’s 2025 tax return; or (c) was a student (see instructions).
Form 8880 (2025), Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions (IRS)
The credit rate falls in steps as income rises
The saver's credit rate is not a fixed percentage. Instead, Form 8880 uses a table to determine an applicable decimal amount based on your adjusted gross income and filing status. The maximum adjusted gross income is $80,500 for married taxpayers filing a joint return, $60,375 for taxpayers filing as head of household, and $40,250 for all other taxpayers. As your income rises toward the limit for your filing status, the applicable decimal amount falls in steps, meaning the percentage of your contributions that counts as a credit decreases. Once your income exceeds the maximum for your filing status, the decimal amount drops to nothing and you cannot take the credit. The applicable decimal amount is then multiplied by your eligible contributions to produce the tentative credit before the tax-liability limitation.
9 Enter the applicable decimal amount from the table below.
Form 8880 (2025), Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions (IRS)
Only the first $2,000 of contributions counts
The saver's credit is based on your qualified retirement savings contributions, but only up to a cap. On Form 8880, you first total your IRA, ABLE, employer plan, and other qualifying contributions, then subtract any recent distributions to arrive at a net contribution amount. The form then instructs you to enter the smaller of that net amount or $2,000 in each column, one for you and one for your spouse if filing jointly. This means that even if you contributed much more than $2,000 to retirement accounts, only $2,000 per person counts toward the credit. The capped amounts from both columns are added together and then multiplied by the applicable decimal amount from the income table to determine your credit. This $2,000 per-person cap ensures that the credit is based on a limited amount of contributions regardless of how much you actually saved.
6 In each column, enter the smaller of line 5 or $2,000 . . . . . . . . . . 6
Form 8880 (2025), Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions (IRS)
Recent withdrawals cut the contributions you can count
Recent withdrawals from retirement accounts can reduce the contributions that count toward the saver's credit. Form 8880 requires you to report certain distributions received after 2022 and before the due date, including extensions, of your 2025 tax return. These distributions are subtracted from your total contributions to arrive at a net amount that feeds into the credit calculation. If married filing jointly, you must include both spouses' distribution amounts. This means that if you took money out of your retirement accounts in the recent past, those withdrawals reduce the contribution base used to figure your credit. In some cases, the distributions could reduce your net contributions to nothing, which would eliminate the credit entirely. The purpose of this rule is to prevent taxpayers from making contributions just to claim the credit while simultaneously withdrawing funds. Certain exceptions apply, such as rollovers and returned contributions.
4 Certain distributions received after 2022 and before the due date (including extensions) of your 2025 tax return (see instructions). If married filing jointly, include both spouses’ amounts in both columns. See instructions for an exception . . . 4
Form 8880 (2025), Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions (IRS)
The credit cannot exceed the tax you owe
The saver's credit is limited by your tax liability. After calculating the tentative credit amount on Form 8880, you must complete the Credit Limit Worksheet found in the instructions. The worksheet determines how much tax you owe after accounting for other credits. The final credit you can claim is the smaller of the tentative credit or the amount from this worksheet. This means the credit cannot reduce your tax below nothing. If your tax liability is low relative to the tentative credit, your actual credit will be reduced accordingly. The income limits for the credit are $80,500 for married taxpayers filing jointly, $60,375 for head of household, and $40,250 for all other taxpayers, but even if your income is well below these amounts, the credit you receive is still constrained by what you owe in tax.
11 Limitation based on tax liability. Enter the amount from the Credit Limit Worksheet in the instructions 11
Form 8880 (2025), Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions (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 2025-67 (IRS)
- Maximum adjusted gross income, married taxpayers filing a joint return
The adjusted gross income limitation under section 25B(b)(1)(A) for determining the retirement savings contributions credit for married taxpayers filing a joint return is increased from $47,500 to $48,500; the limitation under section 25B(b)(1)(B) is increased from $51,000 to $52,500; and the limitation under sections 25B(b)(1)(C) and 25B(b)(1)(D) is increased from $79,000 to $80,500.
- Maximum adjusted gross income, taxpayers filing as head of household
The adjusted gross income limitation under section 25B(b)(1)(A) for determining the retirement savings contributions credit for taxpayers filing as head of household is increased from $35,625 to $36,375; the limitation under section 25B(b)(1)(B) is increased from $38,250 to $39,375; and the limitation under sections 25B(b)(1)(C) and 25B(b)(1)(D) is increased from $59,250 to $60,375.
- Maximum adjusted gross income, all other taxpayers
The adjusted gross income limitation under section 25B(b)(1)(A) for determining the retirement savings contributions credit for all other taxpayers is increased from $23,750 to $24,250; the limitation under section 25B(b)(1)(B) is increased from $25,500 to $26,250; and the limitation under sections 25B(b)(1)(C) and 25B(b)(1)(D) is increased from $39,500 to $40,250.
By year
Every published year
11 years on record, 2026 back to 2016. Each year links to its own page, its own document and its own verification date.
| Year | Maximum adjusted gross income, married taxpayers filing a joint return | Maximum adjusted gross income, taxpayers filing as head of household | Maximum adjusted gross income, all other taxpayers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $80,500 | $60,375 | $40,250 |
| 2025 | $79,000 | $59,250 | $39,500 |
| 2024 | $76,500 | $57,375 | $38,250 |
| 2023 | $73,000 | $54,750 | $36,500 |
| 2022 | $68,000 | $51,000 | $34,000 |
| 2021 | $66,000 | $49,500 | $33,000 |
| 2020 | $65,000 | $48,750 | $32,500 |
| 2019 | $64,000 | $48,000 | $32,000 |
| 2018 | $63,000 | $47,250 | $31,500 |
| 2017 | $62,000 | $46,500 | $31,000 |
| 2016 | $61,500 | $46,125 | $30,750 |