First I was under the impression that as long as I met the income requirements for an IRA I could contribute to it regardless of having a 401k or not. T-ira or Roth.
There are no limits for
contributing to a traditional IRA. Anyone who has earned income can do that. The income limits come into play when you wish to
deduct your traditional contribution, and whether or not you have a workplace retirement plan such as a 401(k) does determine which income limit applies to you. There's also an income limit for contributing to a Roth IRA through the "front door," though this income limit doesn't care whether you have a 401(k) or not.
I was also under the impression that if I had a spouse that didn't work that I could contribute to an IRA in her name if we file jointly.
Yes, this is true. As long as your combined earned income is at least $11,000, you can contribute the full $5,500 to an IRA in each of your names.
My CPA said this only works in a year where she has w-2 income and he said that since I was with an employer with a 401k that I used during the year I can't put anything into a t-IRA this year. I don't think I remembered to ask about a roth.
Your CPA is mistaken. A spouse does not need W-2 income to contribute to an IRA if you had enough income to cover both contributions. Per
the IRS, the income limit for deducting a full traditional IRA contribution if you had no workplace retirement plan but your spouse did is $184,000.
Actual situation I'm dealing with: Wife had 2 w2 jobs for the 2016 and did not participate in company 401k at the one job that offered it. 2017 she will probably not have any income herself.
Well this is a bit of a different animal. She had a job and had a 401(k) available, so she may have been "covered" by a retirement plan whether she contributed or not. This won't affect whether or not she can contribute to an IRA. Remember, anyone can do that. However it may affect which income limit applies when determining whether the contribution can be deducted.