Factors Affecting Deductibility

The factors that affect whether traditional IRA contributions are deductible include:

• Whether the taxpayer (or spouse, if Married Filing Jointly) is covered by a retirement plan at work, and
• The taxpayer's Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) before taking the deduction.

If the taxpayer or spouse is covered by a retirement plan, the deduction amount will be reduced or eliminated if the MAGI on the tax return is above a certain limit.

Table 1 Effect of Modified AGI on Traditional IRA Deduction (if taxpayer is covered by employer retirement plan)
Filing Status	A full deduction is allowed:	A partial deduction is allowed:	No deduction is allowed:
Single or Head of Household	$56,000 or less	More than $56,000 but less than $66,000	$66,000 or more
Married Filing Jointly or Qualifying Widow(er)	$90,000 or less	More than $90,000 but less than $110,000	$110,000 or more
Married Filing Separately*		Less than $10,000	$10,000 or more
* If the taxpayers did not live with their spouse at any time during the year, their filing status is considered Single for this purpose.

Different MAGI limits apply if the taxpayer or spouse is not covered by a retirement plan.

Table 2 Effect of Modified AGI on Traditional IRA Deduction (if taxpayer is not covered by employer retirement plan)
Filing Status	A full deduction is allowed:	A partial deduction is allowed:	No deduction is allowed:
Single or Head of Household	Any amount
Married Filing Jointly or separately with a spouse who is not covered by a plan at work	Any amount
Married Filing Jointly with a spouse who is covered by a plan at work	$169,000 or less	More than $169,000 but less than $179,000	$179,000 or more
Married Filing Separately with a spouse who is covered by a plan at work*		Less than $10,000	$10,000 or more
* Taxpayers are entitled to the full deduction if they did not live with their spouse at any time during the year.