I worked a job last year for 1 week, and 124.00 was taken out of my check and put in to a 401K. At the end of the year I totally forgot about that 401Kand I contributed 6500.00 dollars to an IRA. Now my tax preparer is telling me that 124.00 is stopping me from getting my 6500.00 ira deduction. Is this right, or is there some kind of work around?

it depends; even if you, as an eligible employee , participates in your 401k, the irs allows you to make tax-deductible contributions to a traditional IRA established outside of your workplace. The IRS may limit the amount you may deduct based on your modified adjusted gross income MAGI.