dmertz
Level 15

Retirement tax questions

An AGI of $81,000 is well above the $65,000 AGI limit for being eligible to receive a Retirement Savings Contributions Credit.  Even if you meant that you made a $5,000 deductible contribution that reduces your AGI to $76,000, that's still well above the $65,000 limit.

 

Your standard or itemized deductions are not a factor in determining your eligibility for this credit.  The limit is based on AGI, not taxable income.

 

Roth IRA contributions are not deductible.  If your AGI is $81,000 without any IRA contributions, deductible traditional IRA contributions of $6,000 each would still only bring your AGI down to $69,000 which is above the $65,000 limit for 2020.  If you had above-the-line deductions in addition to a $12,000 IRA deduction that would bring your AGI down to $65,000 or below (but still over $48,750), your credit would likely be $400, but no more.