I took a hardship withdrawal from my 401K to buy a home. I’m trying to find out how much we should contribute to my spouses IRA to keep from paying so much in taxes.

[macuser_22]

@xmasbaby0 - see the link I posted above that describes a hardship as " immediate and heavy financial need ".
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-hardship-distributi...>

[xmasbaby0]

Thanks--I did not know it was that lax--I thought it could only be for medical, funeral, or education expenses from a 401k.  But whew...the tax consequences.

[TaxGuyBill]

As macuser's link and the Regulation show, a purchase of a home is an automatic "safe harbor" situation to allow a Hardship.
<a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/1.401(k)-1#d_3_iii">https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/...>

[SweetieJean]

I’m trying to find out how much we should contribute to my spouses IRA to keep from paying so much in taxes.

His total contributions to all of his traditional and Roth IRA's cannot be more than: $5,500 ($6,500 if he's age 50 or older), or his taxable compensation for the year, if that is less.

Also see:

• IRA Deduction if You ARE Covered by a Retirement Plan at Work - 2018
• 
  
• IRA Deduction if You Are NOT Covered by a Retirement Plan at Work - 2018 (deduction is limited only if your spouse IS covered by a retirement plan)

[Anonymous]

Roth IRA contributions are not dedcutible.