My wife and I are both over 70. Can we open a new IRA and contribute 7,000 each to lower our tax bill?

Are you still working and earning income?

Yes, but you must have that much in earned income to contribute. For 2020 and later, there is no age limit on making regular contributions to traditional or Roth IRAs.

Our AGI is about 120,000, not participating in a corporate 401(k), but I thought I had read that a NEW ira had to be from a rollover, not a new contribution..  Did I read that incorrectly?

• You stated you're not covered by a retirement plan at work.
• Your AGI will not trigger a limit. There is no limit if work doesn't have a retirement account.
• For 2020 and later, there is no age limit on making regular contributions to traditional or Roth IRAs.
• However,  in 2019, if you were 70 ½ or older, you couldn't make a regular contribution to a traditional IRA. However, you could have contributed to a Roth IRA and made rollover contributions to a Roth or traditional IRA regardless of your age.
• You must have earned income.  "Earned income" for IRA purposes includes wages, salaries, commissions, self-employment income, alimony, maintenance, and tax-exempt combat pay. If you have income from other sources, such as rental property income or pension income, you can't contribute those funds to an IRA.