Rudey is more of an authority on this than I am but I don't think that there is an income limit if you do not participate in a retirement plan at work. If you do participate in a retirement plan at work and make $50,000 I believe that you can still make a fully tax-deductible contribution of $4,000. I think that your ability to contribute to a traditional IRA and an in-office retirement plan is phased out completely between $50,000 and $60,000.
I recommend a book called, "Investment Survival." You can get it at
Amazon. It's an easy read and very informative.