A spousal IRA backdoor Roth strategy lets a married couple fund a Roth IRA for each spouse when high income blocks direct Roth contributions. A spousal IRA is a separate traditional IRA in the non-earning spouse's name, funded by the working spouse and then converted to Roth. Couples repeat the contribute-then-convert sequence for each spouse's own accounts. That can double household Roth funding when neither spouse can contribute directly.
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Who can use it?
The Internal Revenue Service states in its IRA contribution limits guidance that a working spouse can fund a separate IRA for a non-earning spouse. The couple must file jointly, and total contributions cannot exceed taxable pay on the joint return.
Each IRA stays in one spouse's name. The working spouse supplies the money, but ownership and limits stay separate.
How do the two steps work?
The Internal Revenue Service explains in Publication 590-A that direct Roth contributions phase out for joint filers at $236,000–$246,000 for 2025. The range rises to $242,000–$252,000 for 2026, blocking many high-income couples from contributing directly.
The backdoor bypasses that block with a nondeductible traditional contribution, which has no income limit, then a Roth conversion. Couples repeat both steps for each spouse's own traditional and Roth IRAs. Only pre-tax dollars and earnings are taxed at conversion, so after-tax basis is not taxed again.
- Make a nondeductible contribution to your own traditional IRA.
- Convert that balance to your own Roth IRA.
How much can a couple save?
The Internal Revenue Service reports in its 2026 limits announcement a $7,000 IRA limit for 2025. Workers age 50 or older can add $1,000, and the base limit rises to $7,500 for 2026.
The catch-up rises to $1,100 in 2026 for those 50 or older. An eligible couple can contribute double those amounts across two IRAs. Each spouse's total traditional-plus-Roth contributions count toward that spouse's own cap.
What limits the benefit?
The Internal Revenue Service describes in its Form 8606 guidance aggregation of traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs as one pool. Any pre-tax balance makes part of each conversion taxable in proportion to the pool.
Report each nondeductible contribution and each conversion on IRS Form 8606 to establish after-tax basis. Without that form, the IRS has no record that the contribution was already taxed.
