MAGI Calculator

How to use this calculator

Four tabs. Three purposes. Start with the MAGI Calculator tab unless you have a specific eligibility question in mind.

AGI — Your Adjusted Gross Income from line 11 of Form 1040. This is your gross income after above-the-line deductions like 401(k) contributions, HSA deposits, alimony paid, and educator expenses. If you have not filed yet, use your best estimate or last year’s number as a baseline.

Tax year — Select 2024, 2023, or 2022 depending on which return you are working with. The Roth IRA and traditional IRA phase-out thresholds change each year, so the year selection affects your eligibility output directly.

Filing status — Single, Married Filing Jointly (MFJ), Married Filing Separately (MFS), or Head of Household. This changes the Roth IRA income thresholds significantly. Married Filing Separately filers who lived with their spouse at any point during the year face an especially tight Roth IRA phase-out range of $0 to $10,000.

Add-backs — These are the items the IRS wants added back to your AGI to arrive at MAGI. Enter each one separately so the steps panel shows exactly what is happening:

• Foreign earned income exclusion (Form 2555)
• Tax-exempt interest income (typically from municipal bonds)
• Traditional IRA deductions (if you took them on Schedule 1)
• Student loan interest deduction
• Any other applicable MAGI add-backs

IRA Eligibility tab — Select your age bracket (under 50 or 50-plus) to see the catch-up contribution rules. The age distinction matters because the limit jumps from $7,000 to $8,000 for the 2024 tax year if you are 50 or older by year-end.

Subsidy Eligibility tab — Add your household size. The ACA premium tax credit calculation compares your MAGI to the federal poverty level (FPL) for your household size. A family of four has a much higher FPL than a single person, so the same MAGI can qualify or disqualify you depending on household size.

What MAGI actually is and why it exists

Most people have heard of AGI. Fewer have heard of MAGI. The relationship is straightforward: MAGI starts with AGI and adds back specific deductions that the IRS decided should not reduce your income for purposes of certain benefits.

The logic makes sense once you understand it. The IRS does not want people to deduct an item from income and then also use that reduced income to qualify for an income-based benefit. So it adds the deduction back to “undo” the reduction for eligibility testing purposes.

For most wage earners with no foreign income and no traditional IRA deductions, MAGI is identical to AGI. The differences only show up when you have taken one of the specific deductions that get added back.

MAGI is not a new income number. It is AGI with some additions, calculated specifically to test eligibility for programs that the IRS has decided should not be influenced by those particular deductions.

The programs that use MAGI include Roth IRA contributions, traditional IRA deductibility (when a workplace plan exists), ACA marketplace subsidies, the premium tax credit, education credits (American Opportunity and Lifetime Learning), the child tax credit phase-out, the Net Investment Income Tax, and Social Security benefit taxation. Each program may use a slightly different MAGI definition, which is why this calculator shows the calculation steps so you can verify which add-backs are relevant to your situation.

The formulas

The Roth IRA reduced contribution formula produces a proportional reduction. If you are halfway through the phase-out range, you can contribute half the maximum. The result is rounded to the nearest $10, and the minimum is always $200 (you either hit $0 or you can contribute at least $200 even at the very top of the range).

The ACA FPL percentage determines your subsidy tier. Below 100% FPL means you likely do not qualify for the premium tax credit (and may qualify for Medicaid instead). Between 100% and 400% FPL, you get a credit on a sliding scale where lower-income households get larger subsidies. Above 400% FPL, the American Rescue Plan extended eligibility on a capped basis through 2025.

Real-world examples

Example 1: Roth IRA eligibility with borderline income

Single filer. AGI: $150,000. Has $5,000 in tax-exempt municipal bond interest. No foreign income, no IRA deductions taken.

Example 2: ACA subsidy eligibility for a family

Married couple, two children, household of 4. Combined AGI: $78,000. One spouse has $3,000 in student loan interest deduction. No other add-backs.

Example 3: Traditional IRA deductibility with a workplace plan

Single filer. AGI: $76,000. Has a 401(k) at work. No traditional IRA deductions taken yet.

MAGI thresholds reference table

These thresholds are for 2024 returns filed in 2025. They change each year with inflation adjustments. The Roth IRA and traditional IRA limits for 2023 and 2022 are lower, which is why the tax year selector in the calculator matters.

Practical strategies for managing your MAGI

Pre-tax retirement contributions come first. Contributions to traditional 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans reduce your W-2 income before AGI is even calculated. They do not show up as MAGI add-backs. This makes them the most effective way to reduce MAGI. If you are just over a Roth IRA threshold, adding more to your 401(k) may bring MAGI below the limit.

HSA contributions do the same. Health Savings Account contributions (if you have a qualifying high-deductible health plan) reduce AGI directly via an above-the-line deduction. Since they are not an MAGI add-back, they reduce your MAGI dollar-for-dollar.

Watch municipal bond interest. Tax-exempt interest income does not appear in your AGI since it is tax-free. But it is an MAGI add-back. If you hold a significant amount in muni bonds, the interest can push your MAGI up noticeably even when your AGI looks clean. Consider this if your AGI is near a phase-out threshold.

The backdoor Roth IRA for high earners. If your MAGI exceeds the Roth IRA limit completely, you can make a non-deductible traditional IRA contribution and then immediately convert it to a Roth IRA. This two-step process has no income limit. There is a complication if you have other pre-tax IRA balances (the pro-rata rule), but for people with no other IRA assets it is clean and legal.

Timing income and deductions. If you expect income to be unusually high one year (a bonus, a Roth conversion, a real estate sale), you may be able to defer income or accelerate deductions to manage which year the MAGI spike falls in. This requires planning, ideally with a tax advisor, but the calculator gives you the numbers to work with.

The bottom line

MAGI is the income number that actually controls your eligibility for some of the most valuable tax benefits available to individuals: Roth IRA contributions, traditional IRA deductions, ACA premium tax credits, and several education credits.

For most people, MAGI equals AGI. But the cases where they differ, particularly for people who have taken an IRA deduction, hold municipal bonds, or earn foreign income, can be material. A $5,000 add-back can push someone from full Roth IRA eligibility into the phase-out zone, cutting thousands of dollars of available tax-advantaged space.

Calculate your MAGI each year as part of your tax preparation, not just when filing. The sooner you know where you stand relative to a threshold, the more options you have to act. Contributions and deductions can be adjusted right up until the filing deadline (including extensions for some items), but only if you know the number in time.