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What specific MAGI calculation changes did the IRS announce for 2026 and when do they take effect?
Executive summary
The IRS’s 2026 adjustments change several MAGI-based thresholds used across tax benefits and Medicare/retirement provisions: notably new Roth IRA income phase‑out limits of $242,000–$252,000 for married filing jointly (and corresponding single‑filer ranges), higher MAGI phaseouts for traditional IRA deductibility (e.g., $81,000–$91,000 for single/head‑of‑household plan participants), and increases to other MAGI phaseouts such as the adoption credit and SALT phase‑out trigger—these take effect for tax year 2026 (returns filed in 2027) or for the 2026 plan/calendar year where noted [1] [2] [3] [4]. Available sources do not provide a single consolidated IRS table listing every MAGI change; instead, the IRS release and subsequent tax commentary enumerate the key items above [5] [1].
1. Roth IRA income limits: a clear bump and its timing
The IRS and subsequent press coverage show the Roth IRA MAGI phase‑out ranges move up for 2026: married couples filing jointly can make a full Roth contribution if MAGI is under $242,000 and are barred from contributing if MAGI is above $252,000; single‑filer ranges also changed for 2026 [1]. These limits are the IRS’s income thresholds for tax year 2026 — meaning they apply to contributions and eligibility for the 2026 tax year (affecting returns and planning in that year) and are reflected in reporting about the IRS announcement on 2026 limits [1].
2. Traditional IRA deduction phaseouts: incremental inflation adjustments
Multiple advisory pieces summarize the IRS adjustments to MAGI ranges that control whether contributions to traditional IRAs are deductible when the taxpayer (or spouse) participates in a workplace plan. For 2026, single and head‑of‑household participants’ phaseout increases to $81,000–$91,000; for married filing jointly (participant spouse) the phaseout rises to $129,000–$149,000 [2] [6]. These are presented as 2026 phaseout ranges tied to the IRS cost‑of‑living updates and therefore take effect for the 2026 tax year [2] [6].
3. Other MAGI‑based phaseouts highlighted by the IRS and analysts
The IRS’s 2026 inflation adjustments (and the One Big Beautiful Bill amendments) also altered MAGI triggers elsewhere: the adoption credit’s MAGI phaseout range increases by $5,890 for 2026, and the SALT cap under OBBBA includes a phase‑out for higher MAGI (around $505,000 for single filers in 2026, per commentary) [3] [7] [4]. The IRS release noted that some MAGI thresholds (for example, the Lifetime Learning Credit phaseout) remain frozen by statute at pre‑2021 levels and therefore were not inflation‑adjusted for tax years beginning after Dec. 31, 2020 [5].
4. When do these changes take effect — tax year vs. calendar year nuances
Most MAGI threshold changes reported are part of the IRS’s annual “tax year 2026” cost‑of‑living adjustments, meaning they apply to tax year 2026 (affecting returns for that year and taxpayer behavior during 2026) and are reflected in guidance, plan limits, and IRAs for the 2026 plan or tax year [5] [2]. For Medicare IRMAA and some other programs there is a two‑year lookback: IRMAA for 2026 uses 2024 MAGI, and CMS published finalized 2026 IRMAA figures in November 2025 — so MAGI reported on a 2024 return determines Medicare surcharges in 2026 [8] [9]. Where retirement‑plan amendment deadlines or final regulations apply (for example, SECURE 2.0‑related catch‑up rules), commentators note plan amendment windows that extend through 2026, which can affect operational timing even if MAGI thresholds are set for the 2026 tax year [2].
5. Limits of the current reporting and where disagreements/omissions exist
The IRS announcement and subsequent media and firm analyses cover many but not all MAGI definitions and thresholds; they apply differently depending on the benefit (Roth IRA, traditional IRA deductibility, adoption credit, SALT phase‑outs, Medicare IRMAA, etc.), and MAGI is calculated differently by program (HealthCare.gov vs. SSA vs. IRS rules) — reporting emphasizes that you must use the program‑specific MAGI formula [10] [11]. Available sources do not present a single IRS master list of every MAGI change in one place, and some items (for example, precise single‑filer Roth phase‑out endpoints cited by certain outlets) appear in press coverage rather than in a consolidated IRS table in the supplied search results [1] [5]. If you want the IRS primary text for a specific MAGI rule, the IRS newsroom and program pages are the starting points cited in coverage [5] [11].
6. What taxpayers should do now
Taxpayers whose eligibility hinges on MAGI should (a) identify which MAGI definition applies to the credit or program they care about because formulas differ (HealthCare.gov, Medicare/IRMAA, IRS retirement rules use different add‑backs) [10] [8], (b) model 2026 income using the updated phaseouts (Roth and traditional IRA phaseouts called out above) to see if actions like timing Roth conversions, QCDs, or deferrals matter, and (c) consult the IRS’s 2026 release and program pages for the authoritative figures for each benefit [5] [2] [1]. Sources stress planning is especially important because IRMAA uses a two‑year lookback and other changes can create cliffs that are easy to cross [9] [12].