I understand you cannot take the tax deduction for an IRA if you are covered by an employers 401K. My question is regarding the word "covered". I contributed to a 401K with my employer in 2017 but I was only employed until April, and my total 401K contribution was $1400. I no longer work for that employer nor have I contributed anything additional. Am I disqualified from deducting an IRA in 2017? My MAGI will be around $80K and I'm over 50.

if you are part of a retirement plan at work ("retirement plan" is checked in box 13 of at least one of your W-2s) you can still make a deductible contributions to your Traditional IRA if you are single ; For single filers who are covered by a company retirement plan in 2018, the deduction is phased out between $62k and $72k of modified adjusted gross income .you may contribute $6,500 to your IRA for 2017 ($5,500 plus an additional $1kcontribution for age 50 and over). If you can't make a deductible Traditional IRA contribution, the next best thing is a Roth IRA. The phase out for that is $118k to $133k for single If you can't do that either, the next best thing is a non-deductible Traditional IRA contribution. Be sure to fill out an 8606 if contributing any post-tax (non-deductible) money to a Traditional IRA so you don't pay tax on it again when you pull it out.

So in my case, Box 13 is checked on one of my W2's. Also, my modified adjusted gross income is around $80K. Does this mean I can't reduce my income by contributing to an IRA? And if so, what other options do I have to reduce my income? Otherwise I'm facing a $5000 tax bill.