Updated October 19, 2026. Quick answer: Publication 590-A is the IRS guide to putting money into an IRA, and the web edition on irs.gov is for 2025 returns. For 2025 it says the IRA contribution limit is $7,000, or $8,000 for individuals age 50 or older. Withdrawals are covered in Publication 590-B.
Quick reference
| Item | As the IRS publication states it |
|---|---|
| IRA contribution limit for 2025 (What’s New for 2025) | $7,000 ($8,000 for individuals age 50 or older) |
| IRA contribution limit increased for 2026 (What’s New for 2026) | $7,500 ($8,600 for individuals age 50 or older) |
| Roth IRA, single, head of household, or married filing separately and living apart, 2025 phaseout begins (What’s New for 2025) | $150,000 |
| Roth IRA, same group, no contribution at this 2025 modified AGI | $165,000 or more |
| Excise tax on an excess Roth IRA contribution (chapter 2) | 6% |
| Saver’s Credit, maximum eligible contributions per person (chapter 3) | $2,000 |
What the publication covers
The introduction says “This publication discusses contributions to individual retirement arrangements (IRAs).” It adds that “For information about distributions (including rollovers) from an IRA, see Pub. 590-B.” The cover line on the IRS page reads “For use in preparing 2025 Returns”.
The page also carries a section called What’s New for 2026. This is where the 2026 figures below come from. They sit inside the 2025 edition of the publication.
Chapters in plain words
- Chapter 1, Traditional IRAs: who can open one, what counts as compensation, how much can be put in, when, and how much can be deducted.
- Chapter 2, Roth IRAs: who can contribute, how the modified AGI reduces the limit, converting and rolling money into a Roth IRA.
- Chapter 3, the Retirement Savings Contributions Credit, also called the Saver’s Credit.
Inside chapter 1 the source also covers nondeductible contributions, inherited IRAs, and moving retirement plan assets by transfer or rollover.
Worksheets and tables inside it
- Worksheet 1-1, Figuring Your Modified AGI
- Worksheet 1-2, Figuring Your Reduced IRA Deduction for 2025
- Table 1-2 and Table 1-3, the effect of modified AGI on the traditional IRA deduction
- Table 1-4, Rollover Chart
- Worksheet 2-1, Modified Adjusted Gross Income for Roth IRA Purposes
- Table 2-1, Effect of Modified AGI on Roth IRA Contribution
- Worksheet 2-2, Determining Your Reduced Roth IRA Contribution Limit
On this site, the IRA deduction worksheet page goes with the deduction worksheets, and Form 8606 goes with nondeductible contributions.
The figures that matter
For the 2025 contribution limit, the IRA contribution section says “For 2025, the IRA contribution limit remains $7,000 ($8,000 for individuals age 50 or older).”
For the traditional IRA deduction, the What’s New for 2025 section says that if you are covered by a retirement plan at work, the deduction is reduced when modified AGI is “More than $79,000 but less than $89,000 for a single individual or head of household, or”
For a married couple filing jointly, the same list reads “More than $126,000 but less than $146,000 for a married couple filing a joint return or a qualifying surviving spouse,”
For Roth IRAs, the 2025 text says “Your filing status is single, head of household, or married filing separately and you didn’t live with your spouse at any time in 2025 and your modified AGI is at least $150,000.” It continues “You can’t make a Roth IRA contribution if your modified AGI is $165,000 or more.”
For 2026, the What’s New for 2026 section says “Beginning in 2026, the IRA contribution limit is increased to $7,500 ($8,600 for individuals age 50 or older) from $7,000 ($8,000 for individuals age 50 or older).”
On excess amounts in a Roth IRA, chapter 2 says “A 6% excise tax applies to any excess contribution to a Roth IRA.”
For the credit, chapter 3 says “After your contributions are reduced, the maximum annual contribution on which you can base the credit is $2,000 per person.”
Where it points elsewhere
For withdrawals, the introduction sends readers to Publication 590-B. The traditional IRA section adds “You must start receiving distributions by April 1 of the year following the year in which you reach age 73.” The Saver’s Credit has its own page here: Saver’s Credit, and the matching form is Form 8880.
Where this comes from
The IRS page About Publication 590-A opens with “Publication 590-A discusses contributions to individual retirement arrangements (IRAs).” It links the PDF and eBook editions and the earlier revisions of the publication.
This page describes the web edition of Publication 590-A (2025), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), as served on irs.gov on October 19, 2026. The IRS can revise a publication after we read it, and the IRS page controls. General information, not tax or legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Treating the 2026 figures in this page as the main edition. The IRS title says 2025, and the 2026 amounts appear in a separate What’s New for 2026 section.
- Reading the phaseout ranges for a deduction and for Roth contributions as the same thing. The source gives them in separate lists, one for the traditional IRA deduction and one for Roth IRA contributions.
- Looking in this publication for how withdrawals are taxed. The introduction says “For information about distributions (including rollovers) from an IRA, see Pub. 590-B.”
- Assuming contributions stop at age 70 and a half. The IRS page says “the rule that you are not able to make contributions to your traditional IRA for the year in which you reach age 70½ and all later years has been repealed.”
Related: IRS publications by number, IRA deduction worksheet, Traditional IRA deduction limits for 2026, Roth IRA income limits for 2026, Saver’s Credit, Form 8606, and Schedule 1 line 20, IRA deduction.
Sources
- IRS, Publication 590-A (2025), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs) (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a
- IRS, About Publication 590-A (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-590-a
Read from the IRS pages linked above on October 19, 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice. The IRS publication and the instructions for your own form control, and your own facts decide the outcome.