topic Married Filing Jointly: Can spouse deduct Traditional IRA if only one spouse has a 401(k) and income is over $500k? in Deductions & credits

Married Filing Jointly: Can spouse deduct Traditional IRA if only one spouse has a 401(k) and income is over $500k?

techynld — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 20:52:30 GMT

I want to confirm whether a Traditional IRA contribution for my spouse is deductible.

Facts:

Filing status: Married Filing Jointly
Household income: ~$500,000+
I am covered by a 401(k) at work
My spouse is not covered by any retirement plan
My spouse has earned income (~$40k)
My spouse does not have any existing IRAs

Question: Can my spouse take a deduction for a Traditional IRA contribution in this situation?

The IRS table seems to show:

Full deduction if “married filing jointly with a spouse who is not covered by a plan at work”
No deduction if MAGI ≥ $240,000 when “married filing jointly with a spouse who is covered by a plan at work”

Since only one spouse (me) is covered, which rule applies?

Thanks for clarifying.

Re: Married Filing Jointly: Can spouse deduct Traditional IRA if only one spouse has a 401(k) and income is over $500k?

dmertz — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 21:13:36 GMT

"Can spouse deduct Traditional IRA if only one spouse has a 401(k) and income is over $500k?"

No. In this case, neither spouse's traditional IRA contribution for 2025 is permitted to be deducted if filing jointly and MAGI is above $246,000. ($240,000 is the MAGI limit that applies to traditional IRA contributions made for 2024.)

Re: Married Filing Jointly: Can spouse deduct Traditional IRA if only one spouse has a 401(k) and income is over $500k?

techynld — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 21:39:34 GMT

But what about the second row of the images, there is no income limit

Re: Married Filing Jointly: Can spouse deduct Traditional IRA if only one spouse has a 401(k) and income is over $500k?

SteamTrain — Mon, 15 Dec 2025 23:28:30 GMT

Yeah, that can get confusing as to which spouse they are referring to

Spouse1: You....working with contributions to a 401k plan.

Spouse2: working wife/husband/partner with no retirement plan coverage at work.

I read it as:

MFJ Spouse2 can make a full contribution to a deductible IRA, if Spouse1 is not covered by a retirement plan at work.

But Spouse1 does have a plan (401k) that was contributed to in 2025

Re: Married Filing Jointly: Can spouse deduct Traditional IRA if only one spouse has a 401(k) and income is over $500k?

dmertz — Tue, 16 Dec 2025 04:49:57 GMT

SteamTrain provides a good clarification. The one reading this particular chart is your spouse and the spouse referred to in the second row is you. Since you are covered by a workplace retirement plan, the second row does not apply. With regard to your spouse's contribution, the fifth row applies.