The Roth IRA contribution limit for 2026 is $7,500, plus a $1,100 catch-up if you are 50 or older. It started at $2,000 when Roth IRAs launched in 1998 and has risen in steps since. The limit is shared with traditional IRAs, and it shrinks to zero once modified adjusted gross income passes that year's phase-out range.
What were the IRA and Roth IRA contribution limits each year?
The annual limit applies to all of your traditional and Roth IRAs combined. The catch-up column is the extra amount allowed if you were 50 or older by the end of the year. Figures for 2002–2025 come from the IRS cost-of-living table; 2026 from IR-2025-111; 1998–2001 from the IRS publications listed in the sources.
| Year | Contribution limit | Catch-up (age 50+) | Total at 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $7,500 | $1,100 | $8,600 |
| 2025 | $7,000 | $1,000 | $8,000 |
| 2024 | $7,000 | $1,000 | $8,000 |
| 2023 | $6,500 | $1,000 | $7,500 |
| 2022 | $6,000 | $1,000 | $7,000 |
| 2021 | $6,000 | $1,000 | $7,000 |
| 2020 | $6,000 | $1,000 | $7,000 |
| 2019 | $6,000 | $1,000 | $7,000 |
| 2018 | $5,500 | $1,000 | $6,500 |
| 2017 | $5,500 | $1,000 | $6,500 |
| 2016 | $5,500 | $1,000 | $6,500 |
| 2015 | $5,500 | $1,000 | $6,500 |
| 2014 | $5,500 | $1,000 | $6,500 |
| 2013 | $5,500 | $1,000 | $6,500 |
| 2012 | $5,000 | $1,000 | $6,000 |
| 2011 | $5,000 | $1,000 | $6,000 |
| 2010 | $5,000 | $1,000 | $6,000 |
| 2009 | $5,000 | $1,000 | $6,000 |
| 2008 | $5,000 | $1,000 | $6,000 |
| 2007 | $4,000 | $1,000 | $5,000 |
| 2006 | $4,000 | $1,000 | $5,000 |
| 2005 | $4,000 | $500 | $4,500 |
| 2004 | $3,000 | $500 | $3,500 |
| 2003 | $3,000 | $500 | $3,500 |
| 2002 | $3,000 | $500 | $3,500 |
| 2001 | $2,000 | none | $2,000 |
| 2000 | $2,000 | none | $2,000 |
| 1999 | $2,000 | none | $2,000 |
| 1998 | $2,000 | none | $2,000 |
Added up, the limits from 1998 through 2026 total $139,000 for someone under 50 the whole time. Someone who qualified for every catch-up since it began in 2002 could have put in $162,100 across those 29 years.
What were the Roth IRA income limits each year?
Direct Roth contributions phase out over a band of modified AGI. Below the first number you can contribute the full limit; at or above the second you cannot contribute at all. "Single" also covers head of household and married filing separately if you did not live with your spouse at any time during the year.
| Year | Single / head of household | Married filing jointly | Married filing separately (lived with spouse) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $153,000–$168,000 | $242,000–$252,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2025 | $150,000–$165,000 | $236,000–$246,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2024 | $146,000–$161,000 | $230,000–$240,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2023 | $138,000–$153,000 | $218,000–$228,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2022 | $129,000–$144,000 | $204,000–$214,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2021 | $125,000–$140,000 | $198,000–$208,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2020 | $124,000–$139,000 | $196,000–$206,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2019 | $122,000–$137,000 | $193,000–$203,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2018 | $120,000–$135,000 | $189,000–$199,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2017 | $118,000–$133,000 | $186,000–$196,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2016 | $117,000–$132,000 | $184,000–$194,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2015 | $116,000–$131,000 | $183,000–$193,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2014 | $114,000–$129,000 | $181,000–$191,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2013 | $112,000–$127,000 | $178,000–$188,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2012 | $110,000–$125,000 | $173,000–$183,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2011 | $107,000–$122,000 | $169,000–$179,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2010 | $105,000–$120,000 | $167,000–$177,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2009 | $105,000–$120,000 | $166,000–$176,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2008 | $101,000–$116,000 | $159,000–$169,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 2007 | $99,000–$114,000 | $156,000–$166,000 | $0–$10,000 |
| 1998–2006 | $95,000–$110,000 | $150,000–$160,000 | $0–$10,000 |
Sources by year: 2016–2026 from the annual IRS notices and IR-2025-111; 2012–2015 from IRS news releases IR-2012-77, IR-2013-86 and IR-2014-99 (each also states the prior year); 2007–2011 from Publication 590 for 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and IR-2007-171. The 1998–2006 figures are the fixed amounts in the final Roth IRA regulations (T.D. 8816, effective for tax years beginning in 1998), which the IRS repeated for 2001 in AT-2001-54; the IRS first announced an increase for 2007.
For the full 2026 rules, including how the reduced amount is worked out, see the guide to Roth IRA income limits for 2026.
How have the rules changed since 1998?
- 1998: Roth IRAs begin. The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 created the Roth IRA for tax years starting in 1998, with the same $2,000 annual limit as a traditional IRA and fixed income limits.
- 2002: first increase and a new catch-up. The limit rose to $3,000 and people 50 or older could add $500. Further scheduled steps followed: $4,000 in 2005 and $5,000 in 2008, with the catch-up rising to $1,000 in 2006.
- 2007: income limits indexed. From 2007 the Roth phase-out ranges have been adjusted for inflation each year. The married-filing-separately range has stayed at $0–$10,000 throughout; the IRS notices state it is not subject to the annual adjustment.
- 2009 onward: limit adjusted for inflation. Since reaching $5,000 the limit has only ever moved in $500 increments, which is why it sat at $5,500 for six years (2013–2018) and at $6,000 for four (2019–2022).
- 2026: catch-up indexed. The age-50 catch-up was a flat $1,000 from 2006 through 2025. SECURE 2.0 added inflation indexing, and for 2026 it rose to $1,100 per IR-2025-111.
Worked example: a partial contribution in a past year
The reduction formula has stayed the same: the allowed amount is the year's limit multiplied by the share of the phase-out band still remaining above your MAGI. A single filer under 50 with a 2010 MAGI of $110,000 was $10,000 below the $120,000 cut-off in a $15,000 band:
$5,000 × ($120,000 − $110,000) ÷ $15,000 = $3,333.33
IRS rules round a reduced limit up to the next multiple of $10, so the allowed 2010 Roth contribution was $3,340. The same filer in 2026 with a MAGI of $160,000 gets $7,500 × ($168,000 − $160,000) ÷ $15,000 = $4,000.
Can you still contribute for a past year?
Only for the most recent tax year, and only until that year's tax filing deadline (generally April 15, without extensions). A missed year's limit does not carry forward: there is no way to go back and use the 2015 or 2020 room today. That is why the historical table is mostly useful for checking old Form 5498s, reconstructing a Roth basis, or estimating how much a steady saver could have accumulated.
How much could maxing out every year have grown to?
Contributing the full limit every January from 1998 through 2026 adds up to $139,000 of contributions. What that became depends entirely on investment returns, which this table cannot tell you. The Roth IRA calculator projects a balance from your own contribution and return assumptions.
This guide is educational and is not tax or investment advice. Check the current IRS figures, or a tax professional, before contributing.