Updated October 28, 2026. Quick answer: Worksheet 2-1 in Publication 590-A figures modified AGI for Roth IRA purposes: start from AGI, subtract income from a conversion or rollover to a Roth IRA, then add back the IRA deduction, student loan interest and a few other items. Line 10 is the number you carry to the reduction worksheet.
What this worksheet is for
Roth IRA eligibility depends on modified AGI, and the Roth definition differs from the traditional IRA one: a Roth conversion does not count against you. Line 10 goes to Worksheet 2-2, the reduced contribution limit.
The worksheet line by line
| Line | What the worksheet says |
|---|---|
| Purpose | “Use this worksheet to figure your modified adjusted gross income for Roth IRA purposes.” |
| Line 1 | “Enter your adjusted gross income from Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 11a” |
| Line 2 | “Enter any income resulting from the conversion of an IRA (other than a Roth IRA) to a Roth IRA (included on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 4b) and a rollover from a qualified retirement plan to a Roth IRA (included on Form 1040, 1040-SR, or 1040-NR, line 5b)” |
| Line 3 | “Subtract line 2 from line 1” |
| Line 4 | “Enter any traditional IRA deduction from Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 20” |
| Line 5 | “Enter any student loan interest deduction from Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 21” |
| Lines 6 to 9 | The foreign income and housing items, savings bond interest and adoption benefits, as on the traditional IRA worksheet. |
| Line 10 | “Add the amounts on lines 3 through 9” |
| Line 11, 2025 | “$246,000 if married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse”; “$10,000 if married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during the year”; “$165,000 for all others” |
Example: a conversion year
Illustration, not an IRS example. Every input is invented and each result is computed from them.
| Item | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Line 1: AGI on Form 1040 line 11a (invented) | $160,000 |
| Line 2: income from a Roth conversion (invented) | $30,000 |
| Line 3, computed: line 1 minus line 2 | $130,000 (computed) |
| Line 5: student loan interest deduction (invented) | $2,500 |
| Line 10, computed: line 3 plus line 5 | $132,500 (computed) |
The $30,000 conversion is taken out on line 3, so it does not push modified AGI up. The result of $132,500 is below the 2025 line 11 amount of $165,000 for a single filer.
What to do when line 10 is more than line 11
“If the amount on line 10 is more than the amount on line 11 and you have other income or loss items, such as social security income or passive activity losses, that are subject to AGI-based phaseouts, you can refigure your AGI solely for the purpose of figuring your modified AGI for Roth IRA purposes.”
The 2026 ranges
For 2026, Notice 2025-67 states that “the adjusted gross income phase-out range for taxpayers making contributions to a Roth IRA is between $242,000 and $252,000 for married couples filing jointly, increased from between $236,000 and $246,000. For singles and heads of household, the income phase-out range is between $153,000 and $168,000, increased from between $150,000 and $165,000.” These are the IRS’s published figures, read from the notice and not recomputed here.
Edition and line numbers
This page reads Publication 590-A (2025), the current file irs.gov served on 2026-10-28 (sha256 in the kit data). The Worksheet 2-1 in it is for the tax year 2025 return, filed in 2026. Check the tax year printed on the worksheet in your own copy and use that year’s line numbers and dollar amounts, because a different year’s worksheet can word its lines differently.
Common mistakes
- Counting the conversion or rollover income. Line 2 removes both the IRA conversion (Form 1040 line 4b) and a rollover from a qualified retirement plan to a Roth IRA (line 5b) before the add-backs.
- Forgetting the traditional IRA deduction on line 4: it is added back for Roth purposes.
- Using the 2025 line 11 amounts for a 2026 contribution. The 2026 ranges in the notice are higher.
Related: Worksheet 2-2, backdoor Roth pro rata calculator, and IRA contribution limit.
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Answer againSources
- Publication 590-A (2025), Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs): https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590a.pdf
- Notice 2025-67, 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-25-67.pdf
Read from the IRS documents linked above on October 28, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer, the account provider or the IRS is the right place to confirm anything consequential.