The present paper is aimed at studying the effect of initial stress and the magnetic field on thermoelastic interactions in an isotropic, thermally and electrically conducting half-space whose surface is subjected to mechanical and thermal loads. The formulation is applied under the thermoelasticity theory with three-phase-lag, proposed by Choudhuri (Citation2007). The normal mode analysis is used to obtain the expressions for the variables considered. Numerical and computations are performed for a specific material and the results obtained are represented graphically. Comparisons are made with the results predicted by different theories Lord–Shulman theory (L–S), the theory of thermoelasticity type III (G-N III) and the three-phase-lag model (3PHL) in the absence and presence of the initial stress and magnetic field.