Two Individually Roth-Eligible Partners Can Lose $15,000/Year in Contribution Room by Marrying

Two full Roth contributions become zero, purely from filing jointly

We ran a $140,000 MAGI partner against a $130,000 MAGI partner through the calculator — each individually well under the $153,000 single phase-out floor, so each could contribute the full $7,500 to a Roth IRA as a single filer, $15,000 combined. Married filing jointly, their combined MAGI is $270,000 — above the $252,000 MFJ ceiling entirely, so BOTH lose their full Roth eligibility. Neither partner’s income changed by a dollar; the marriage itself is what triggered the cliff.

How the math works

Below the floor, the full $7,500 limit applies; at or above the ceiling, $0; in between, reducedLimit = $7,500 × (ceiling − MAGI) ÷ (ceiling − floor), rounded up to the next $10, with a $200 minimum for anyone not fully phased out. The single band is $153,000-$168,000 (a $15,000 range); the MFJ band is $242,000-$252,000 (only a $10,000 range) — narrower in absolute terms even though it’s meant to cover TWO people’s combined income, which is exactly why the math doesn’t simply double.

What this tool doesn’t model: catch-up contributions for savers 50 and older (an extra $1,100 in 2026), or the backdoor Roth conversion strategy (contributing to a traditional IRA, then converting to Roth), which sidesteps this income limit entirely for most people and is the standard workaround once the direct-contribution eligibility cliff is hit.

Math runs locally. Inputs never leave your browser. Source on github.

Where this doesn’t apply

• Your combined MAGI is comfortably under $242,000. Below the MFJ floor, marriage doesn’t reduce Roth eligibility at all — the cliff only bites couples whose combined income lands in or above the phase-out band.
• You’re already doing backdoor Roth contributions. The backdoor strategy (traditional IRA contribution, then conversion) has no income limit, so a couple already using it isn’t affected by this direct-contribution cliff at all.
• Your employer offers a Roth 401(k). Roth 401(k) contributions have no MAGI-based income limit, unlike a Roth IRA — a real alternative unaffected by this cliff.
• You file married filing separately. MFS has its own, much harsher phase-out band (effectively $0-$10,000) not modeled by this tool’s single-vs-MFJ comparison.

What to actually do

1. Estimate your combined MAGI for the year you’ll file jointly — not just your current individual incomes.
2. If the cliff applies, set up backdoor Roth contributions (non-deductible traditional IRA contribution, converted to Roth) instead of a direct Roth contribution.
3. Check for existing pre-tax traditional IRA balances first — the pro-rata rule can make a backdoor conversion less clean if you have them.
4. Confirm whether your employer plan offers a Roth 401(k) option, which has no income-based eligibility limit at all.
5. Revisit this calculation each year — the MAGI phase-out ranges are adjusted annually for inflation.