You make the call

Question: Mark is serving in the military on active duty in a combat zone. He has received $50,000 of qualified nontaxable combat pay and plans to contribute to an individual retirement account (IRA). Although the combat pay is nontaxable, must he include it as compensation when determining the compensation-based limitations of his contribution to the IRA?

Answer: Yes. Although qualified combat pay is excluded from income under §112, for purposes of determining the compensation-based limit on contributions to an IRA under §219(b)(1)(B), the nontaxable combat pay is included in compensation. Therefore, a military taxpayer’s IRA contribution is the lesser of the dollar limit for an IRA deduction for the tax year, or the amount of combat pay excluded from income under §112 plus taxable compensation for the tax year.