<prompt> Human: Im reading about IRA limits and cant seem to fully understand how they apply in my situation. Hoping the wonderful folks on this sub can help me sort it out as I work to increase my retirement savings! I am married, but my wife is a stay-at-home mom not earning a wage. In 2016, I earned approximately 71,000 in W-2 wages and 53,000 in self-employment income. I contribute to a 401k through my employer and maximize the employer contribution. I do NOT maximize my contributions at this time. I expect to owe taxes for the 2016 tax year, beyond my quarterlies. My wife currently has a Roth IRA account that was opened by her parents and transferred to her. We havent made any contributions this year and I know that making contributions wouldnt help my 2016 tax burden. I do not have any retirement accounts beyond my 401k.My goals are to 1 minimize the amount of taxes I owe for 2016 and 2 increase retirement savings. I am having trouble understanding the various limits and income thresholds that apply in this situation.Can you help me distill the information as it applies to our situation and make recommendations on how to achieve my goals?Thanks!  <response>: I think your wife could make a spousal contribution to a traditional IRA for 5,500, which would be deductible. The Roth IRA is not going to help with any deductions this year.Since you are self-employed, going forward you might consider opening a SEP IRA or a IND 401k which would both have higher deductible contribution limits than you currently have access to. But since you already made 401k contributions in 2016 it could be tricky to get this solved retroactively. If youre looking to put a substantial amount away you should hire an accountant to solve this for you. 