2026 401(k) Contribution Limits
The official 2026 limits for 401(k), 403(b), TSP and 457(b) plans: the employee deferral, both catch-ups, the total additions cap and the Roth catch-up wage threshold.
The 2026 401(k) contribution limit is $24,500 in employee deferrals. At 50 or older you can add an $8,000 catch-up ($32,500 in total), and in the years you turn 60 to 63 the catch-up is $11,250 instead ($35,750 in total). Employee and employer contributions together are capped at $72,000. The same deferral limit applies to 403(b) plans, the TSP and governmental 457(b) plans.
Official Published by the IRS for tax year 2026 (IRS Notice 2025-67). These are the figures for income earned in 2026, reported on the 2026 return filed in early 2027. Planning for 2027? See the 2027 401(k) contribution limits →
| Limit | 2026 |
|---|---|
| 401(k), 403(b) and TSP employee deferral limitAll your elective deferrals combined, pre-tax and Roth | $24,500 |
| Governmental 457(b) deferral limitSeparate from, and in addition to, a 401(k) or 403(b) | $24,500 |
| Catch-up contribution, age 50+Aged 50 or over by December 31 | $8,000 |
| Higher catch-up, ages 60 to 63Replaces the age-50 catch-up in the years you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 | $11,250 |
| Maximum employee deferral at 50–59 or 64+Deferral limit plus age-50 catch-up | $32,500 |
| Maximum employee deferral at 60–63Deferral limit plus the higher catch-up | $35,750 |
| Total annual additions limit (§415(c))Employee + employer + after-tax, catch-ups excluded | $72,000 |
| Compensation limit (§401(a)(17))Pay above this is ignored for plan contributions | $360,000 |
| Roth catch-up wage thresholdCatch-ups made in 2026 must be Roth if your 2025 FICA wages from the employer exceeded this | $150,000 |
Unlike an IRA, a 401(k) deferral has to come out of pay dated in 2026; there is no filing-season window. Catch-ups also carry a Roth rule for 2026: if your 2025 FICA wages from the employer were over $150,000, your catch-up contributions must go in as Roth (IRS Notice 2025-67). The $11,250 higher catch-up is the SECURE 2.0 rule for the four years from age 60 through 63, and at 64 you drop back to the $8,000 amount.
Your 2026 401(k) limit
Employee deferrals only. Your plan must offer catch-ups for you to use them.
What a 2026 401(k) contribution saves you in tax
Enter what you would defer pre-tax. The tax engine figures your 2026 federal and state return with and without it. Leave the amount blank for your maximum at your age.
2026 federal and state returns as filed (the Tax Table where the form uses it), from the same tax engine as the federal income tax calculator. Your own wages only, no other income, the standard deduction. The cap is the 2026 limits shown in the table above, with the age-50 catch-up and, in the years you turn 60 to 63, the higher catch-up.
No Social Security or Medicare tax is saved. An elective deferral “isn’t included in wages subject to income tax at the time contributed. However, it’s included in wages subject to social security and Medicare taxes” (IRS Publication 525) — unlike a health FSA or HSA through a cafeteria plan. If your 2025 Social Security wages from the employer were over $150,000, catch-up contributions must be Roth (IRS Notice 2025-67; 26 U.S.C. §414(v), subsection (v)(7)), so that part saves no tax now. The Saver’s Credit (IRS Form 8880) is included: elective deferrals to a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b), SIMPLE or the TSP count, on up to $2,000 per person, assuming you are 18 or older, not a full-time student, not claimed as a dependent and took no retirement distributions in the testing period.
State treatment: Pennsylvania taxes employee contributions to any retirement plan as compensation (PA Personal Income Tax Guide: Gross Compensation); New Jersey excludes only 401(k) deferrals and taxes 403(b), 457, Thrift Savings Plan and SIMPLE IRA contributions (NJ Division of Taxation: NJ Income Tax – Wages). Those get no state saving here; every other state is treated as following the federal exclusion, and city or county income taxes are not included. Not modelled: employer contributions, and whether Roth would beat pre-tax for you, which depends on your tax rate in retirement.
Pre-tax now or Roth later? See the Roth Conversion Planner → Every dollar deferred here is taxed when it comes out; the planner works out the years and brackets that happens in.
Maxing the deferral is one lever — whether it beats a Roth conversion depends on your whole retirement tax path. QuantCalc runs your whole retirement — withdrawals, taxes, Medicare surcharges — year by year, on the 2026 figures above.
Run the free tax-aware simulation →Common questions
What is the 401(k) contribution limit for 2026?
The 2026 401(k) contribution limit is $24,500 in employee deferrals. At 50 or older you can add an $8,000 catch-up ($32,500 in total), and in the years you turn 60 to 63 the catch-up is $11,250 instead ($35,750 in total). Employee and employer contributions together are capped at $72,000. The same deferral limit applies to 403(b) plans, the TSP and governmental 457(b) plans. Source: IRS Notice 2025-67.
What is the 2026 catch-up for ages 60 to 63?
$11,250, in place of the $8,000 age-50 catch-up, for anyone who turns 60, 61, 62 or 63 in 2026 (IRS Notice 2025-67). With the $24,500 deferral limit that allows $35,750 of employee contributions.
What are the 2027 401(k) limits?
The IRS has not yet published the 2027 limits; it normally does in November (the 2026 amounts came in IRS Notice 2025-67 on November 13, 2025). The statutory formula with the final Q3-2026 CPI-U (BLS) puts the 2027 deferral limit at $25,500 and the age-50 catch-up at $8,500 — our computation under the statute, not official until the IRS notice is published. See the 2027 401(k) contribution limits, with the status of each 2027 figure marked.
Sources
Every figure on this page is read at build time from QuantCalc’s tax constants, the same ones the planner runs on, and was checked against the text of the documents above. Every figure with its source: JSON. QuantCalc is calculation software, not tax advice.
Related
2026 Roth IRA contribution limits → 2026 HSA limits → All contribution limits, 2026 and 2027 → Taking money out: 401(k) withdrawal calculator → Max 401(k) contribution 2026: your maximum and the amount per paycheck → Mega backdoor Roth calculator → Which retirement plan is best? Every plan compared →