For 2026, you can put up to $7,500 into IRAs, or $8,600 if you’re 50 or older, per IR-2025-111. A Roth IRA gives you no deduction now, but qualified withdrawals later are tax-free. As a freelancer, your business profit counts as the compensation that lets you contribute, and you can have a Roth IRA alongside a SEP IRA or Solo 401(k). Whether Roth or traditional is better comes down to your tax rate now versus your tax rate when you withdraw.
2026 limits and income ranges
| Item | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Contribution limit (all IRAs combined) | $7,500 |
| Additional catch-up, age 50+ | $1,100 |
| Roth phase-out: single, head of household | $153,000 – $168,000 MAGI |
| Roth phase-out: married filing jointly | $242,000 – $252,000 MAGI |
| Roth phase-out: married filing separately | $0 – $10,000 MAGI |
| Traditional deduction phase-out, single, covered by a plan | $81,000 – $91,000 MAGI |
| Traditional deduction phase-out, joint, contributor covered | $129,000 – $149,000 MAGI |
| Traditional deduction phase-out, joint, only spouse covered | $242,000 – $252,000 MAGI |
Contribution limit (all IRAs combined)
- 2026
- $7,500
Additional catch-up, age 50+
- 2026
- $1,100
Roth phase-out: single, head of household
- 2026
- $153,000 – $168,000 MAGI
Roth phase-out: married filing jointly
- 2026
- $242,000 – $252,000 MAGI
Roth phase-out: married filing separately
- 2026
- $0 – $10,000 MAGI
Traditional deduction phase-out, single, covered by a plan
- 2026
- $81,000 – $91,000 MAGI
Traditional deduction phase-out, joint, contributor covered
- 2026
- $129,000 – $149,000 MAGI
Traditional deduction phase-out, joint, only spouse covered
- 2026
- $242,000 – $252,000 MAGI
Source: IR-2025-111 and Notice 2025-67. Contribution limits also can't exceed your taxable compensation. Traditional IRA deduction phase-outs apply only if you (or your spouse) are covered by a retirement plan.
How your self-employment income counts
You can only contribute up to your taxable compensation for the year. Publication 590-A says that for a self-employed person, compensation is the net earnings from the business, reduced by your deduction for contributions to retirement plans on your behalf and by the deductible part of your self-employment tax. A loss year means no compensation from the business, and freelancers with a small profit can reach this cap before the $7,500 limit.
The Roth income limit
Above the phase-out range, you can’t contribute to a Roth IRA directly. Within it, your limit shrinks proportionally, following Worksheet 2-2 in Publication 590-A. For example, a single freelancer under 50 with $160,500 of 2026 modified AGI is halfway through the $15,000 range ($153,000–$168,000), so their Roth limit is $7,500 × 50% = $3,750. Publication 590-A rounds the reduced limit up to the nearest $10 and never below $200 while you’re still in the range.
| Modified AGI | Under 50 | Age 50 or older |
|---|---|---|
| $153,000 or less | $7,500 | $8,600 |
| $156,000 | $6,000 | $6,880 |
| $160,500 | $3,750 | $4,300 |
| $165,000 | $1,500 | $1,720 |
| $168,000 or more | $0 | $0 |
$153,000 or less
- Under 50
- $7,500
- Age 50 or older
- $8,600
$156,000
- Under 50
- $6,000
- Age 50 or older
- $6,880
$160,500
- Under 50
- $3,750
- Age 50 or older
- $4,300
$165,000
- Under 50
- $1,500
- Age 50 or older
- $1,720
$168,000 or more
- Under 50
- $0
- Age 50 or older
- $0
Publication 590-A, Worksheet 2-2: (MAGI − $153,000) ÷ $15,000, rounded to three decimals, times the limit, subtracted from the limit and rounded up to the next $10. The 2026 range and limits are from IR-2025-111 and Notice 2025-67; Publication 590-A (2025) shows the same method for 2025. Assumes enough compensation to reach the limit.
Roth vs. traditional
- Traditional IRA: deductible now (subject to the phase-outs above), and withdrawals are taxed as income later.
- Roth IRA: no deduction now, and qualified withdrawals are tax-free. According to Publication 590-B, a qualified distribution is one made after the 5-year period and at 59½ or later, on disability, to a beneficiary, or for a first home (up to $10,000). Its ordering rules treat withdrawals as coming from your regular contributions first.
If you have a SEP or Solo 401(k), the IRS counts you as covered by a retirement plan when contributions go to your 401(k) or SEP IRA for the year. The IRS SEP FAQ notes that SEP participation can reduce or eliminate your traditional IRA deduction, so a single freelancer who funds a SEP and has MAGI over $81,000 starts to lose it. That often makes the Roth the IRA to pair with a self-employed plan. The Roth has its own income limits, but coverage by another plan doesn’t affect it. For every combination of a SEP with a 401(k) or an IRA, see Can You Have a SEP IRA and a 401(k) at the Same Time?
Worked example: what the traditional deduction is worth
A single freelancer has $80,000 of net profit, no retirement plan, and takes the standard deduction. They’re choosing between a $7,500 traditional IRA contribution and a $7,500 Roth.
- 1$74,348
AGI before any IRA
$80,000 − $5,652 half of SE tax
- 2$5,344
Federal income tax, no deduction (Roth)
Taxable income $46,598
- 3$66,848
AGI with a traditional IRA deduction
$74,348 − $7,500
- 4$40,598
Taxable income after standard and QBI deductions
$66,848 − $16,100 − $10,150 QBI
- 5$4,624
Federal income tax with the deduction
$1,240 + 12% × ($40,598 − $12,400)
- 6$720
Tax saved now by going traditional
- 79.6%
Effective tax rate of the deduction
$720 ÷ $7,500
Illustrative. Single filer, 2026 standard deduction and tax rate schedule. The deduction also lowers taxable income before the QBI deduction, which is why it saves 12% × 80% = 9.6% rather than 12%. Rounded to the dollar.
In this example, the traditional IRA saves 9.6% today. The rest is arithmetic, not IRS rules: with the same investment growth, a traditional and a Roth account end up equal after tax if the withdrawal is taxed at the same rate as today’s saving. So:
- If you expect your tax rate on withdrawals to be higher than 9.6%, the Roth comes out ahead. Retirement withdrawals don’t come with a QBI deduction, so even the 10% or 12% bracket would do it.
- If you expect it to be lower, the traditional IRA wins.
For a freelancer whose income is modest this year, possibly higher later, and unpredictable in between, low-income years are often good Roth years. In a high-profit year in the 22% or 24% bracket, the traditional deduction (or a bigger SEP or Solo 401(k) contribution) is usually worth more. The retirement contribution calculator shows how much room a SEP or Solo 401(k) gives you at your profit.
| Net profit | Taxable income before the IRA | Federal income tax saved | Saved per dollar |
|---|---|---|---|
| $30,000 | $9,425 | $600 | 8.0% |
| $50,000 | $24,294 | $720 | 9.6% |
| $80,000 | $46,598 | $720 | 9.6% |
| $100,000 | $61,468 | $1,320 | 17.6% |
| $150,000 | $98,642 | $1,320 | 17.6% |
$30,000
- Taxable income before the IRA
- $9,425
- Federal income tax saved
- $600
- Saved per dollar
- 8.0%
$50,000
- Taxable income before the IRA
- $24,294
- Federal income tax saved
- $720
- Saved per dollar
- 9.6%
$80,000
- Taxable income before the IRA
- $46,598
- Federal income tax saved
- $720
- Saved per dollar
- 9.6%
$100,000
- Taxable income before the IRA
- $61,468
- Federal income tax saved
- $1,320
- Saved per dollar
- 17.6%
$150,000
- Taxable income before the IRA
- $98,642
- Federal income tax saved
- $1,320
- Saved per dollar
- 17.6%
Income tax with and without the deduction; 2026 standard deduction and rates, no retirement plan, no other income, QBI deduction limited by taxable income as in the worked example. Same function as our calculators. A Roth saves nothing now, so the last column is the future tax rate at which the two come out even (see the reasoning above). Federal only.
Two IRAs, one limit
The $7,500 is shared. Publication 590-A says that if you contribute to both Roth and traditional IRAs, your Roth limit is the usual limit reduced by everything you put into IRAs other than Roth IRAs that year. As a hypothetical, a freelancer under 50 who puts $3,000 into a traditional IRA can contribute at most $4,500 to a Roth. Employer contributions under a SEP arrangement are the exception: Publication 590-A says they don’t affect the limit, and the IRS SEP FAQ says the same about the amount you can contribute to an IRA on your own. One trap in that FAQ is that if the SEP-IRA accepts regular contributions, any dollars you put in yourself do reduce what you can contribute to other IRAs, including Roth IRAs.
Income limits work separately from the plan question. The IRS says you can contribute to a Roth IRA if you have taxable compensation and your modified AGI is below the limit, with no age limit. Being covered by a Solo 401(k) or SEP matters for the traditional IRA deduction. The IRS says you are covered when contributions or forfeitures were allocated to your 401(k) account for the plan year, or when an amount was contributed to your SEP for the year, and it adds that the deduction limits don’t affect how much you can contribute.
A spouse can have a Roth too
Each spouse figures their own IRA limit from their own compensation, even in community property states. The exception is the Kay Bailey Hutchison spousal limit. If you file jointly and one of you has less compensation, that spouse’s limit is the smaller of the regular limit or the couple’s combined compensation minus the other spouse’s IRA contributions. In 2025 the IRS put the combined ceiling at $14,000, or $16,000 if both are 50 or older. Applying the same formula to the 2026 limits gives up to $7,500 each, plus $1,100 at 50 or older. The IRS adds that a Roth IRA can be funded for a spouse on that basis if you file jointly and your modified AGI is under the limit. For a freelancer whose spouse has no income, that can double the Roth room. Our guide to a spouse in a Solo 401(k) covers the plan side.
Which income counts, and which doesn’t
For a self-employed person, Publication 590-A defines compensation as net earnings from the business reduced by the deduction for contributions made for you to retirement plans and the deductible part of self-employment tax. The first reduction is why a large SEP or Solo 401(k) contribution can shrink the base for an IRA, and the second links back to how self-employment tax is figured. A net loss from the business doesn’t reduce wages or salaries you also have when figuring total compensation.
Modified AGI for Roth purposes is the AGI on your return with some adjustments, figured on Worksheet 2-1 of Publication 590-A. The practical effect is that every deduction that lowers AGI, such as the half of self-employment tax and retirement plan contributions, can also move you down the phase-out range, so check where you land before choosing an amount.
If you put in too much
A 6% excise tax applies to any excess contribution to a Roth IRA, and an excess from a prior year that is still there counts again in the next year. The usual causes for freelancers are a profit that ends the year lower than expected, so compensation is below what you contributed, or income that lands above the phase-out. As a hypothetical, you put in $7,500 in March and finish the year with a net loss and no other compensation. The whole $7,500 is an excess and the tax is 6% of it, or $450, for each year it stays.
Publication 590-A gives two ways out. A contribution withdrawn by the due date of your return for the year, including extensions, is treated as never made, provided you also withdraw the earnings on it. Or you can apply the excess to a later year in which your contributions are below the maximum. Our irregular income guide suggests waiting until profit is clear before funding.
Taking money out
A Roth IRA distribution is qualified if it comes after the 5-year period that begins with the first tax year for which you made a Roth contribution, and also at 59½ or later, on disability, to a beneficiary or estate, or for a first home up to $10,000 lifetime. Anything else is not a qualified distribution, and the earnings part may be taxable and may carry the 10% additional tax.
For a non-qualified withdrawal the order matters. Publication 590-B treats withdrawals as coming first from regular contributions, then from conversion and rollover amounts, oldest first, then from earnings. So a freelancer who needs cash in a lean year can usually reach contributions without tax. A separate 5-year period applies to each conversion. If you take a distribution within 5 years of converting a traditional IRA, you may owe the 10% additional tax on the part that was included in income. The IRS also lets you move money into a Roth IRA by converting from a traditional IRA or a traditional SIMPLE IRA, and by rolling over from a qualified plan.
Deadline
You can contribute for 2026 any time during 2026 or up to the due date of your 2026 return, not including extensions, per Publication 590-A. For 2025 contributions, that was April 15, 2026. Unlike with a SEP, an extension doesn’t give you extra time. If your income is uneven, the window after year-end lets you see how the year went before choosing Roth or traditional, and how much. See How to Save for Retirement With Irregular Income.
How we got these figures
The $7,500 limit, the $1,100 catch-up and the phase-out ranges come from IR-2025-111 and Notice 2025-67; the compensation rule, Worksheet 2-2 and the deadline from Publication 590-A (2025 edition); the withdrawal rules from Publication 590-B. We opened them all on October 15, 2026 and quote the passages in our research file. Publication 590-A and 590-B are the 2025 editions, so their dollar examples are for 2025; we use the 2026 amounts from IR-2025-111 and Notice 2025-67. The tables are our own arithmetic with the same function our calculators use, rounded to the dollar. For how we pick and check sources, see How We Research.
