Updated October 28, 2026. Quick answer: Worksheet 1-1 in Publication 590-A starts from your AGI figured without the IRA deduction itself, adds back the student loan interest deduction and four smaller items, and gives the modified AGI that decides whether a covered-by-a-plan IRA deduction is reduced. It has seven lines.
What this worksheet is for
If you or your spouse are covered by a workplace retirement plan, the size of your traditional IRA deduction depends on modified AGI. Worksheet 1-1 is the IRS’s way to find that number. It feeds the reduction test on the IRA deduction worksheet and the deduction on Schedule 1 line 20. If you took traditional IRA distributions this year, made traditional IRA contributions for the year and some of those contributions may be nondeductible, the publication sends you to a different route: “you must figure the taxable part of the traditional IRA distribution before you can figure your modified AGI.”
The worksheet line by line
| Line | What the worksheet says |
|---|---|
| Purpose | “Use this worksheet to figure your modified AGI for traditional IRA purposes.” |
| Line 1 | “Enter your adjusted gross income (AGI) from Form 1040, 1040-SR, or Form 1040-NR, line 11a, figured without taking into account the amount from Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 20” |
| Line 2 | “Enter any student loan interest deduction from Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 21” |
| Line 3 | “Enter any foreign earned income exclusion and/or housing exclusion from Form 2555, line 45” |
| Line 4 | “Enter any foreign housing deduction from Form 2555, line 50” |
| Line 5 | “Enter any excludable savings bond interest from Form 8815, line 14” |
| Line 6 | “Enter any excluded employer-provided adoption benefits from Form 8839, line 30” |
| Line 7 | “Add lines 1 through 6. This is your modified AGI for traditional IRA purposes” |
Example: a filer with a student loan interest deduction
Illustration, not an IRS example. Every input is invented and each result is computed from them.
| Item | Illustration |
|---|---|
| Line 1: AGI figured without Schedule 1 line 20 (invented) | $118,000 |
| Line 2: student loan interest deduction (invented) | $2,500 |
| Lines 3 to 6: none | 0 |
| Line 7, computed: line 1 plus line 2 | $120,500 (computed) |
The student loan interest deduction is added back, so modified AGI is higher than the AGI shown without the IRA deduction.
Where the 2026 ranges sit
The same modified AGI is compared with the deduction phase-out range for the year. For 2026, Notice 2025-67 states:
| Situation | What the notice says |
|---|---|
| Single or head of household, covered by a workplace plan | “between $81,000 and $91,000, increased from between $79,000 and $89,000” |
| Married filing jointly, the spouse who contributes is covered | “the income phase-out range is between $129,000 and $149,000, increased from between $126,000 and $146,000” |
| Contributor not covered, spouse covered | “the deduction is phased out if the couple’s income is between $242,000 and $252,000, increased from between $236,000 and $246,000” |
These ranges are the IRS’s published 2026 figures, read from the notice. This page does not recompute them from the price index.
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 1-1 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
- Starting from the final AGI on the return. Line 1 is the AGI “figured without taking into account the amount from Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 20”, so the IRA deduction cannot reduce its own limit.
- Leaving out the student loan interest add-back on line 2.
- Using this worksheet when all three apply: you took traditional IRA distributions this year, you made traditional IRA contributions for the year and some of those contributions may be nondeductible. Then the publication points you to Worksheet 1-1 in Pub. 590-B first. If at least one of the three does not apply, Worksheet 1-1 in Pub. 590-A is the one to use.
Related: IRA deduction worksheet, IRA contribution limit, and Publication 590-A.
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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.