J.K. Lasser's Your Income Tax 2013: For Preparing Your 2012 Tax Return

8.2 Traditional IRA Contributions Must Be Based on Earnings

You may make contributions to a traditional IRA for 2012 of up to $5,000, $6,000 if you are age 50 or older at the end of 2012, provided that (1) you have at least $5,000/$6,000 of wages, salary, or net self-employment earnings in 2012, and (2) you have not reached age 70½ by the end of the year. If your earned income is less than $5,000 ($6,000 if age 50 or older), the contribution limit is 100% of your pay or net earned income if self-employed. If you have more than one traditional IRA, the limit applies to total contributions to all of the IRAs for the year. Contributions for 2012 may be made up to the filing deadline of April 15, 2013, for 2012 returns; this is the deadline even if you obtain a filing extension for your 2012 return.

If you are married filing jointly, you may each contribute up to $5,000 (or $6,000 if age 50 or older) to an IRA for 2012, as long as your combined compensation covers the contributions (8.3).

Deductibility.

Contributions up to the $5,000 or $6,000 limit are fully deductible on your 2012 return if neither you nor your spouse is an active participant in an employer or self-employed retirement plan. Deductions for active plan participants are phased out for single persons with 2012 modified adjusted gross income over $58,000. The phaseout threshold on a joint return is generally $92,000 for 2012 (8.3), but a more favorable $173,000 phaseout threshold applies to a jointly filing spouse who ...