Tax Question for Clarification of IRA Contributions (1 Viewer)

Can I contribute to an IRA if I participate in a retirement plan at work?

You can contribute to a traditional or Roth IRA whether or not you participate in another retirement plan through your employer or business. However, you might not be able to deduct all of your traditional IRA contributions if you or your spouse participates in another retirement plan at work. Roth IRA contributions might be limited if your income exceeds a certain level.

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Jayrok said:

Quick tax question for tax professionals or anyone that can help.  The "covered by retirement plan at work" is a little confusing and would like to clarify so I'll know for sure.

This from the IRS website: 

I have a 401k that I contribute to at work (and they match at a certain percentage).  My wife is not employed.  

I have two separate IRA accounts that are not associated with my work in any way.  I have contributed to one of them in the 2019 tax year, for instance.  

Can I claim these contributions to this separate (not associated with work) as deductions for the 2019 tax year?

When doing taxes, I get to the part "are you covered by a retirement plan at work" and not sure what to put.  Since I am covered by a plan at work, I'm thinking that my contributions to my other, separate IRA account are not deductible.    

Is this correct or can I claim contributions since the IRA account has nothing to do with my employer's plan?  

Thank you in advance.

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Don't Noonan said:

It depends on how much money you make.  You may still be able to deduct the IRA contributions if your income is below the thresehold.

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Jayrok said:

Thanks.  I don't qualify for those deductions as the AGI is above the threshold.  To be clear, if I didn't have the work 401k then all of my contributions would be fully deductible?  

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