@jm789op wrote:
i turned 70and a half this past year so my question is if i am still working and my spouse is in retirement and receives a pension can we claim a deduction for an IRA, if so how much?
You should be aware that the SECURE Act signing into law in December that went into effect on Jan 1 2020 raised the age to take the first RMD from 70 1/2 to 72 AND removed the upper age limit to contribute to an IRA as long as you have sufficient taxable compensation to contribute.
The legislation itself covered many unrelated things and is lengthy to read, but Fidelity gave a simplified breakdown
https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/personal-finance/retirement/understanding-the-secure-act-an...
The maximum IRA contributions for 2019 is $6,000, or $7,000 if you’re age 50 or older by the end of the year; or your taxable compensation for the year which ever is less.
(Taxable compensation is generally wages that you worked for - W-2 or net self-employed income minus the deducible part of the SE tax, but can include commissions, alimony and separate maintenance, and nontaxable combat pay ).
See IRS Pub 590A "What is compensation" for details:
https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a#en_US_2018_publink1000230355
See this IRS link for Traditional IRA deduction limits when covered by a retirement plan at work.
https://www.irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/IRA-Deduction-Limits
**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.**
