2027 401(k) Contribution Limits
Projected 2027 elective deferral, total annual additions and compensation limits for 401(k), 403(b), TSP and 457(b) plans.
Projected The agency has not published 2027 yet. Every 2027 figure below is our projection under the statutory formula (+3.06% C-CPI-U), shown so you can plan before the announcement — and replaced here the day the official number lands.
| Item | 2026 | 2027 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 401(k) / 403(b) / TSP elective deferral limitPer employee, all elective deferrals combined | $24,500 | $25,500 | Projected |
| 457(b) deferral limit (state/local government and tax-exempt plans)Per participant | $24,500 | $25,500 | Projected |
| Defined-contribution annual additions limit (§415(c))Per participant: employee + employer + after-tax additions (catch-ups excluded) | $72,000 | $75,000 | Projected |
| Defined-benefit annual benefit limit (§415(b))Per participant, annual benefit | $290,000 | $300,000 | Projected |
| Annual compensation limit (§401(a)(17))Maximum compensation countable for plan contributions/benefits | $360,000 | $375,000 | Projected |
2026 figures as published by the publishing agency — source, retrieved 2026-09-19. Every figure on this page is read from a dataset at build time; none is typed into the page.
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 2026 and 2027 figures.
Run the free tax-aware simulation →How this figure is set
Set under IRC §402(g)(1),(4). Indexed to CPI-U (CUUR0000SA0), Q3 average. increase rounded down to the next lowest $500 Base $15,000 grown by the ratio of the Q3-2026 CPI-U average to the Q3-2005 average; the increase rounds down to a $500 step. The unrounded central figure sits close to the $25,500 step edge, so the low end of the band stays at $25,000 — this is the least settled projection on the page (the publishing agency, retrieved 2026-09-19)
Common questions
Are the 2027 employer plan elective deferrals, overall plan limits figures final?
No. The agency publishes in the autumn. Until then the 2027 column here is a projection produced by applying the statutory indexing formula — CPI-U (CUUR0000SA0), Q3 average, increase rounded down to the next lowest $500 — to the official 2026 figures, using a +3.06% growth factor. It is labelled as a projection on every row, and this page is regenerated from the dataset the day the official figure lands.
What sets these numbers?
They are set under IRC §402(g)(1),(4). Indexed to CPI-U (CUUR0000SA0), Q3 average. increase rounded down to the next lowest $500 The 2026 figures are taken from the agency's own publication (the publishing agency, retrieved 2026-09-19).
What changed from 2026?
The table shows both years side by side so the change is readable directly. Where a row says unchanged, that is a statutory result, not an omission.
Related
2027 catch-up contributions → All 2027 contribution limits →
Every figure here with its status and source: JSON. QuantCalc is calculation software, not tax advice.