Traditional vs Roth vs Spousal IRA: The Personal Layer (13.5.1)

Even if your Solo 401(k) is at maximum contribution for the year, you may still have room to put more into retirement on the personal side. The IRA layer is separate from any business-side plan, and it stacks on top. The numbers are smaller, but the optionality is real — particularly the Roth optional treatment and the spousal IRA mechanic, which is one of the largest pieces of household retirement capacity that goes routinely unused. This unit walks the 2026 personal-side numbers, the Traditional deductibility narrowing when you're covered by a workplace plan (which self-employed coaches with their own Solo 401(k) or SEP count as), the Roth phase-outs by filing status, the spousal IRA mechanic, and the maximum personal-side stack for a coaching household. Chapters: 0:00 Personal IRA Layer Stacks on Top 0:35 Independent Limits, Shared Cap 1:15 2026 IRA Numbers 1:56 Traditional Deductibility Narrows 2:39 Roth Phase-Outs by Filing Status 3:22 Spousal IRA Capacity Unused 4:08 Maximum Household Stack 4:52 Two Confirmations Right Now In this lesson: • How the personal-IRA layer stacks on the business-side plan — independent limits, not reduced • 2026 numbers: 7,500 combined Traditional+Roth · 1,100 catch-up at 50+ (newly inflation-indexed) • Why "covered by a workplace plan" includes self-employed coaches with their own Solo 401(k) or SEP • Roth phase-outs by filing status — Single 153K–168K · MFJ 242K–252K · MFS-with-spouse 0–10K (catches people) • The spousal IRA mechanic — separate 7,500 limit based on the working spouse's earnings • The maximum personal-side stack for a household — what the ceiling actually looks like About the course Setting Up Your Coaching Practice is the entry course in The Practitioner Series — async ICF Continuing Coach Education specializations for credentialed and pre-credentialed coaches. 21 modules, 171 videos, fully self-paced. Covers everything from forming the entity through year-one tax filing. Framework: Coach as Founder — the identity shift from a coach who is starting a business to a founder who builds the operational foundation a coaching practice runs on. ICF CCE eligible: ~20 hours (4 Core Competency + 16 Resource Development) — bracket pending Phase 10 submission. ▶ Next lesson: Backdoor Roth IRA: The Mechanics & the Pro-Rata Trap →    • Backdoor Roth IRA: The Mechanics & the Pro...   Full course (Tandem Coaching Academy): https://community.tandemcoaching.acad... More from Tandem: https://tandemcoach.co Coaching industry data: https://tandemcoach.co/coaching-indus... #CoachingPractice #NewCoach #ICF #CoachAsFounder #PractitionerSeries #TandemCoaching