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 →

403(b) limits, 2026 — IRS Notice 2025-67
Limit2026
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 deferral at 50-59 or 64+Deferral limit plus age-50 catch-up $32,500
Maximum deferral at 60-63Deferral limit plus the higher catch-up $35,750

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.

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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.

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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.

What are the 2027 403(b) limits?

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 →

A 403(b) defers the tax question, not the tax — the bracket you retire into still decides what it cost — see the whole picture in the free planner →