Account type
Traditional IRA: 2026 limits, deductions and how providers compare
Limits checked against the IRS and provider figures checked on
A traditional IRA is a retirement account where your investments grow tax-deferred, and your contributions may be tax-deductible. This page is the short version, the IRS deduction rules, and a table so you can see what each provider charges before you open one.
Educational, not financial or tax advice
This page explains how traditional IRAs work in general. It isn’t a recommendation to open, move, or invest any account. Your tax situation is your own, so check the sources below and talk to a tax professional for decisions that matter. Fees and rules change, so confirm details with the provider.
Who a traditional IRA is for
Anyone with earned income can contribute. There’s no income cap on contributing, and no age limit for regular contributions. Whether you can deduct the contribution is a separate question, covered in the next section. The IRS says contributions may be fully or partly deductible depending on your filing status and income, and that earnings aren’t taxed until you take them out. (IRS: Traditional IRAs, IRS: IRA contribution limits)
If you have a spouse with little or no income, the IRS lets a working spouse’s income support an IRA contribution for both of you (a spousal IRA). (IRS: IRA contribution limits)
Money in a traditional IRA is usually taxed as ordinary income when you withdraw it. Taking money out before age 59½ can add an extra tax, with exceptions, and required minimum distributions start at age 73. See Publication 590-B and the IRS required minimum distribution FAQs. Missing a required distribution can trigger a 25% excise tax (10% if corrected within two years).
People often weigh a traditional IRA against a Roth IRA by guessing whether their tax rate will be higher now or in retirement. That’s a judgment call, not a rule, so it’s a good question for a tax professional.
2026 contribution limits
For 2026 the IRS limit is $7,500 across all of your traditional and Roth IRAs combined, or $8,600 if you’re 50 or older (a $1,100 catch-up). You can’t contribute more than your taxable compensation for the year if that’s less. Contributing over the limit can trigger a 6% yearly tax on the excess until it’s fixed. (IRS: IRA contribution limits, IRS news release)
When you can deduct a traditional IRA contribution
The IRS says that if neither you nor your spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work, the deduction phase-outs don’t apply. If either of you is covered, the deduction shrinks as your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) rises through the ranges below, and disappears at the top. In between, use the worksheets in Publication 590-A to find your deductible amount. Not being able to deduct doesn’t stop you from contributing. (IRS: IRA deduction limits)
| Your situation | Phase-out range (MAGI) |
|---|---|
| Single or head of household, covered by a workplace plan | $81,000 to $91,000 |
| Married filing jointly, the spouse making the IRA contribution is covered | $129,000 to $149,000 |
| Married filing jointly, the contributor isn’t covered but their spouse is | $242,000 to $252,000 |
| Married filing separately, covered by a workplace plan | $0 to $10,000 |
Source: IRS news release IR-2025-111 and IRS Notice 2025-67. “Covered” means covered by a retirement plan at work. The IRS’s own rules for what counts, and for filers not in these rows, are in Publication 590-A, so ask a tax professional if yours is unclear.
Provider comparison
10 providers, listed alphabetically. This is not a ranking and no provider pays to be here or to change what’s shown. Every figure comes from the provider’s own pages (linked in the last column), read on October 28, 2026. “Not verified” means we didn’t find the figure on an official page. It doesn’t mean it’s zero.
| Provider | Account fees | Minimum to open | Investment options | Worth knowing | Sources and links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Betterment | Digital plan: $5 a month if your household balance is under $24,000 and you don’t have $200+ a month in recurring deposits; otherwise 0.25% a year. Premium plan: 0.65% a year. Betterment says it adds no trading commissions or account maintenance fees. | No minimum balance required. | Automated, expert-built portfolios managed by Betterment. | Premium requires $100,000 or more in eligible Betterment investments. | |
| Fidelity | No account-opening fees. Fund expenses, commissions and other transaction costs can still apply. Fidelity Go (managed): $0 advisory fee under $25,000, 0.35% at $25,000 and above. | No minimum to open; invest with as little as $1. Fidelity Go: as little as $10. | Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds and more. A crypto IRA is offered through Fidelity Digital Assets. | — | |
| Interactive Brokers | IBKR lists a $0 maintenance fee. IBKR Lite: $0 commission on U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs. IBKR Pro (fixed): $0.005 per share with a $1 minimum per order. Other products and exchange or regulatory fees can add cost. | $0 minimum balance (IBKR’s account types page). | Cash or margin IRAs (traditional, traditional rollover, inherited, Roth, SEP and SIMPLE types are listed). IBKR says IRAs can hold multiple currencies and products. It doesn’t allow master limited partnerships in retirement accounts. The full list of products available in an IRA wasn’t verified. | IBKR says IRAs are only for individual U.S. citizens living anywhere and U.S. resident aliens, and that U.S. citizens living in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore or India can’t open one. | |
| M1 | $3 a month IRA fee, waived in any 30-day billing cycle where total M1 assets reach $10,000 (or you have an active M1 personal loan). No commission, trading or management fees. | $500 to open; $10 or more per deposit after that. | U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, with fractional shares and M1’s “Pie” investing. Margin isn’t available in IRAs. | You can hold one traditional IRA and one Roth IRA at M1. | |
| Public | Public’s fee schedule lists $0 commissions on U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs. An outgoing ACAT transfer costs $100. IRA-specific account fees weren’t found, so they’re not verified. | Not verified | Public’s IRA page lists thousands of stocks, ETFs, crypto and bonds, and says you can trade options in your IRA. A crypto IRA is offered separately. | 1% match on contributions, transfers and rollovers. Matched money must stay in the account 5 years or an early-removal fee may apply. | |
| Robinhood | Robinhood’s fee schedule lists $0 account opening, maintenance and inactive-account fees and $0 commissions on U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs (regulatory fees on sells still apply). An outgoing ACATS transfer costs $100. A managed IRA (Robinhood Strategies) charges 0.25% a year; Gold subscribers pay no management fee above $100,000. | Not verified | Thousands of stocks and ETFs, plus options for qualified traders. Self-directed and managed IRAs are offered. | IRA match of 1% (3% with a $5-a-month Gold subscription). Matched money must stay in the account 5 years or an early-removal fee may apply. | |
| Schwab | $0 opening and maintenance fees for Roth, traditional and rollover IRAs. $0 online commission on listed stocks and ETFs; options are $0.65 per contract. Other trade types have their own fees. | $0. | Stocks, bonds, ETFs, mutual funds, CDs and more. Managed portfolios are also offered. | — | |
| Vanguard | $25 annual account service fee, waived if you choose e-delivery (also waived at $1 million+ in qualifying assets and in some other cases). $0 online commission on stocks, ETFs and Vanguard mutual funds under $1 million. Fund expenses apply. | $0 to open a Vanguard Brokerage IRA. Individual funds can have their own minimums. | Vanguard mutual funds and ETFs, plus stocks and bonds. | The fee schedule says a $100 processing fee may apply to closing an account and transferring all assets to another firm (ACH and electronic bank transfers excluded). | |
| Wealthfront | 0.25% annual advisory fee, deducted monthly. Wealthfront says it charges no account-opening, withdrawal, account-closing, trading or transfer fees. | $500. | Managed portfolio of ETFs across 5 to 8 global asset classes. You can add or remove ETFs and change the mix. | — | |
| Webull | Webull says its IRAs have no account fees. $0 commission on U.S.-listed stocks, ETFs and options; regulatory and exchange fees may apply, and some index options carry a per-contract fee. | No account minimum. | Webull’s IRA page lists stocks, ETFs, options and bonds. Webull Advisors managed portfolios are also offered. | — |
A dash under “Worth knowing” means we didn’t note anything, not that nothing exists. Fund and ETF expense ratios, trading costs not listed here and promotions aren’t included. Managed (robo) services charge an advisory fee and self-directed accounts mostly don’t, so “cheapest” depends on whether you want to pick your own investments. The provider list matches our Roth IRA table plus the other firms we’ve verified offer traditional IRAs.
IRS sources
Checked on October 28, 2026. Limits are for tax year 2026 and change most years, so look at the IRS for the year you’re in.
- IRS: 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500 — 2026 IRA limit, catch-up and deduction phase-out ranges
- IRS Notice 2025-67 — the technical guidance behind those figures
- IRS: Traditional IRAs
- IRS: IRA deduction limits
- IRS: Retirement topics, IRA contribution limits
- IRS: Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs
- IRS Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements
- IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements
Keep exploring
See all account types, compare Roth IRAs, HSA providers, or read our guides. Found a wrong or outdated figure? Email hsacompare@mail.grokbot.com with a link to the page showing the right number.
General information, not financial, tax or legal advice. See our terms of use.