2026 403(b) Contribution Limits
The official 2026 403(b) elective deferral limit and both catch-ups — age 50+ and the SECURE 2.0 ages 60-63 higher catch-up.
The 2026 403(b) contribution limit is $24,500 in employee elective 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).
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 figures →
The IRS has not yet published the 2027 403(b) limit, so the latest official figure is the 2026 limit: $24,500, or $32,500 at 50 or older and $35,750 in the years you turn 60 to 63 (IRS: Retirement Topics, 403(b) Contribution Limits). The 2027 403(b) page marks the status of each 2027 figure and will carry the IRS figure once the notice is out.
| Limit | 2026 |
|---|---|
| 403(b) employee elective deferral limitAll your elective deferrals to this plan type, pre-tax and Roth combined | $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 with the age-50 catch-up (50-59 or 64+)Deferral limit plus age-50 catch-up | $32,500 |
| Maximum with the ages 60-63 catch-upDeferral limit plus the higher catch-up | $35,750 |
| 15-years-of-service catch-up (403(b) only, if your plan offers it)Up to $3,000 a year more, $15,000 lifetime cap. Needs 15+ years with the same school system, hospital, church or similar employer; the amount is the lesser of $3,000, $15,000 minus earlier 15-year catch-ups, or $5,000 × years of service minus prior deferrals | $3,000 |
Deferrals above $24,500 count first toward the 15-year catch-up and then toward the age-50 catch-up, so an eligible employee with 15+ years of service can defer up to $35,500 at 50–59 or 64+, or $38,750 at 60–63 (IRS: Retirement Topics, 403(b) Contribution Limits). The calculator below models only the age catch-ups.
A 403(b) uses the same §402(g) elective-deferral limit as a 401(k) and the TSP. If you also have access to a governmental 457(b) — some teachers and nonprofit employees do — that plan has its own separate limit, not shared with this one.
Your 2026 403(b) limit
Employee deferrals only. Your plan must offer catch-ups for you to use them. The 15-years-of-service catch-up is not included.
What a 2026 403(b) 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.
A 403(b) defers the tax question, not the tax — the bracket you retire into still decides what it cost. 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 403(b) contribution limit for 2026?
The 2026 403(b) contribution limit is $24,500 in employee elective 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). Source: IRS Notice 2025-67.
What is the 2026 catch-up for ages 60 to 63 in a 403(b)?
$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.
Can I contribute more than $35,750 to a 403(b)?
Yes, if your plan offers the 15-years-of-service catch-up and you have at least 15 years with the same school system, hospital, church or similar employer: it adds the lesser of $3,000 a year, $15,000 lifetime minus earlier 15-year catch-ups, or $5,000 × years of service minus prior deferrals. Deferrals above $24,500 count first toward it, so the most an eligible employee can defer is $35,500 at 50–59 or 64+ and $38,750 at 60–63 (IRS: Retirement Topics, 403(b) Contribution Limits).
What are the 2027 403(b) limits?
The IRS has not yet published the 2027 403(b) limits; until its annual notice comes out (the 2026 figures came in IRS Notice 2025-67), the latest official limit is $24,500, plus $8,000 at age 50 or $11,250 at ages 60 to 63 (IRS retirement plan COLA table). See the 2027 403(b) 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 457(b) contribution limits → 2026 TSP contribution limits → 2026 401(k) contribution limits → Retirement plans compared: 401(k), IRA, 457, TSP →