The IRS Pub 590A defines "compensation" for IRA purposes as: "Generally, compensation is what you earn from working."
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a#en_US_2018_publink1000230355
Generally, any money earned from working is subject to FICA (Medicare & SS) tax- jury duty is not.
Generally compensation from working can be used for the Earned Income Credit - Jury duty pay cannot. Generally, work for compensation is something you do for the specific purpose if earning money - jury duty pay is not something that you can choose to do or not.
Generally any compensation for working must comply with minimum wage laws - jury duty does not.
All in all, I find it hard to support jury duty pay as compensation for IRA contributions as defined by the IRS.
If the IRS denies the claim then you would probably need a tax attorney and go to tax court for a decision that very well could go against you.
**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**
