Guide · 6 min read
Roth IRA Income Limits Explained
Two numbers define the Roth IRA: the income where the contribution starts shrinking and the income where it disappears. In between, the permitted amount slides.
Between the phase-in and phase-out thresholds the Roth limit shrinks in a straight line. Below the first number you get the full amount; above the second you get nothing directly — which is what the backdoor is for.
Below the lower threshold — $153,000 of modified adjusted gross income for a single filer — the full contribution is allowed. At $90,000 you get $7,500, the annual limit for someone under 50.
Above the upper threshold — $168,000 — no direct contribution is allowed at all. Between the two, the limit falls in proportion to how far into the range you are.
The middle of the range
At $160,000, you are $7,000 into a $15,000-wide range. The permitted contribution is $4,000 rather than $7,500.
This is the part people get wrong. The limit does not switch off at a single income; it ramps. Someone earning $159,000 and someone earning $167,000 have very different permitted amounts, and both are above the threshold where people assume the door has shut.
Above the top of the range
Above $168,000 for a single filer, the direct contribution is zero. The route that remains is the backdoor: contribute to a traditional IRA on a non-deductible basis, then convert it to a Roth.
At $200,000 the calculator reports a $0 limit and flags that the backdoor applies. The conversion itself has no income limit; only the direct contribution does.
The catch in the backdoor
The conversion is taxed pro rata across all your traditional IRA balances, not just the amount you are converting. If you have $60,000 in a traditional IRA from earlier deductible contributions and convert a $7,500 non-deductible contribution, most of that conversion is taxable.
This is why the backdoor works cleanly for people with no pre-existing traditional IRA balance, and gets messy for people who have one. The step that cleans it up — rolling existing balances into a 401(k) first — is worth knowing about before the year you need it.
Filing status changes the numbers
Married filing jointly has a much wider range than single, and the thresholds are roughly double. The calculator switches the range based on the filing status you select, because using the single range on a joint return understates how much room you have.
The contribution limit itself is per person, so a married couple can each contribute the full amount — the income test applies to the couple, but the limit does not.
Frequently asked questions
Does a Roth conversion count as income for the limit?
A conversion increases your taxable income in the year you do it, which can push you deeper into the phase-out. Converting in a year when your ordinary income is already high compounds the problem.
Is the backdoor legal?
Yes. Congress has repeatedly considered closing it and has not. It relies on the fact that the conversion step has no income limit while the contribution step does — a gap in the rules, not a loophole that violates them.
What if I contribute too much by mistake?
Correct it before the filing deadline for that year. The excess plus its earnings must come out, and the earnings are taxable — and if you are under 59½, potentially subject to the 10% early-withdrawal penalty. The earlier it is caught, the smaller that taxable part is.