How does a spousal IRA work?

What the spousal IRA actually is

The label “spousal IRA” is shorthand. Publication 590-A calls the rule the Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA limit, and it changes only the amount of compensation used to cap a contribution. The account itself is a normal IRA owned by one person; you cannot both participate in the same IRA. What the rule does is let a spouse with little or no compensation count the other spouse’s compensation, so that a household with one earner can fund two IRAs.

The formula

For 2025, if you file a joint return and your taxable compensation is less than your spouse’s, the most that can be contributed to your IRA is the smaller of two numbers. The first is $7,000, or $8,000 if you are 50 or older. The second is the total compensation of both spouses includible in gross income, reduced by your spouse’s traditional IRA contribution and by any Roth IRA contribution made for your spouse. The publication adds that combined contributions can reach $14,000, or $15,000 if only one spouse is 50 or older, or $16,000 if both are. For 2026 the publication’s What’s New section raises the cap to $7,500, or $8,600 at 50 or older. The traditional IRA limit is also reduced by contributions to a section 501(c)(18) plan.

Example one: no compensation

A student with no compensation marries during 2025, and the spouse earns $30,000 and puts $7,000 in their own traditional IRA. Combined compensation less the spouse’s contribution is $30,000 − $7,000 = $23,000. The smaller of $23,000 and $7,000 is $7,000, so the student can contribute $7,000. Both IRAs are funded, $14,000 in total, from one $30,000 paycheck.

Example two: a lower earner age 53

You and your spouse are both 53 and both have traditional IRAs. You earned $3,800 and your spouse earned $48,000 in 2025. Because of the spousal limit you can contribute up to $8,000 even though you earned less, if you file jointly, and your spouse can also contribute $8,000. If you file separate returns, your limit falls back to your own compensation of $3,800. The calculator above shows both outcomes: untick the joint-return box and it returns $3,800.

Deductions and the phase-out

Being allowed to contribute is a separate question from deducting. Under the publication, if you are covered by a plan at work, your deduction is limited by Table 1-2; if you are not covered but your spouse is, your deduction is limited by Table 1-3, which starts at a much higher income. Each spouse figures their own deduction separately. The publication’s example has a couple filing jointly in 2025: the salary earner ($45,500, covered by a plan) puts $7,000 in an IRA and puts $7,000 in the non-working spouse’s IRA, and combined modified AGI is $238,500 because of a large capital gain. The covered spouse cannot deduct any of the contribution because combined modified AGI is $146,000 or more; they can leave the $7,000 as a nondeductible contribution or withdraw it by April 15, 2026. The non-working spouse’s deduction is figured separately on Worksheet 1-2, because that spouse is not covered. Use the traditional IRA deduction phase-out calculator to see where a household falls.

Roth version

The same limit applies to a Roth IRA for a non-working spouse if you file jointly and your modified AGI is below the Roth threshold. The publication’s Roth chapter confirms contributions must satisfy the Kay Bailey Hutchison limit, and the combined traditional and Roth contributions for a person may not exceed the cap. See the Roth IRA contribution calculator.

Common mistakes

Three errors recur. First, filing separately and assuming the rule still applies: it does not. Second, forgetting to subtract the working spouse’s own IRA contributions from the pool, which matters when household compensation is small. Third, contributing for a year after the due date: contributions for 2025 had to be made by April 15, 2026, and a shortfall cannot be made up later. If a contribution turns out to be too large, withdraw it with its earnings by the due date, including extensions, to avoid the 6% excise tax described in the publication.

Sources

• IRS Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (2025): Kay Bailey Hutchison Spousal IRA Limit; Filing Status; Roth IRA contributions. Read November 2, 2026.

Edition read: Publication 590-A (2025), for use in preparing 2025 returns, including its What’s New for 2026 note. Dollar limits and dates are for the year stated; check the current publication and form instructions for your tax year. This page summarizes the publication and does not replace it.