dmertz
Level 15

Retirement tax questions

The results seem to suggest that you net earnings are low enough that, if you are maxing out the permissible deductible elective deferrals to the solo 401(k), not only are you ineligible to make IRA contributions, you are also ineligible to make Roth and traditional after-tax contributions to the solo 401(k) because all of your net earnings have been consumed by the deductible portion of SE taxes and the elective deferrals.

 

Note that Roth and traditional after-tax contributions to the 401(k) do not reduce the compensation available to contribute to an IRA, only deductible contributions to the solo 401(k) do.  It seems that maximum retirement contributions would result from each contributing at least $7,000 as a Roth 401(k) contribution (assuming that each of you have at least $7,000 in net earnings) and $7,000 each to IRAs, then contributing the remaining net earnings as either traditional elective deferrals or Roth contributions to the solo 401(k).