Max 401(k) Contribution 2026: Your Maximum by Age, and What to Contribute Per Paycheck to Reach It

What is the maximum 401(k) contribution for 2026?

$24,500 of your own pay, pre-tax and Roth combined. At 50 or older you can add a $8,000 catch-up, for $32,500; in the years you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 the catch-up is $11,250, for $35,750 (IRS Notice 2025-67). Money from your employer and any after-tax deposits share a separate overall cap of $72,000, which catch-ups do not count against (IRC §415(c)). If your wages from the employer sponsoring the plan were over $150,000 in 2025, your catch-up has to go in as Roth (IRC §414(v)). To reach the $24,500 from January 1 takes $942.31 per paycheck if you are paid every two weeks, $1,020.83 twice a month, or $2,041.67 a month.

401(k) maximums for 2026.
Key number2026
Employee deferral limit (pre-tax + Roth) (Notice 2025-67)$24,500
Age 50-59 or 64+: limit + catch-up (Notice 2025-67)$32,500
Age 60-63: limit + higher catch-up (Notice 2025-67)$35,750
Employee + employer + after-tax (catch-ups excluded) (Notice 2025-67)$72,000
Prior-year wages above which catch-ups must be Roth (Notice 2025-67)$150,000
Compensation a plan can count (Notice 2025-67)$360,000

Figures are the published 2026 limits quoted from the linked official sources; the calculators below are arithmetic on those limits and on the assumptions you type. Not tax advice: check a move with your plan administrator, custodian or tax preparer before acting.

Your 2026 401(k) maximum

Employee deferrals are capped by your pay, and across all your 401(k), 403(b) and TSP accounts at once; a 457(b) has its own separate limit. Your plan may set a lower cap than the IRS limit. Employer money and after-tax deposits count against the overall cap but catch-ups do not.

Per paycheck, to max out from January 1

The yearly maximum divided by the number of pay periods in 2026 (before any employer match)
Paid$24,500$32,500 (50+)$35,750 (60-63)
Weekly (52)$471.15$625.00$687.50
Every two weeks (26)$942.31$1,250.00$1,375.00
Twice a month (24)$1,020.83$1,354.17$1,489.58
Monthly (12)$2,041.67$2,708.33$2,979.17

Part-way through the year the box above does the more useful sum: what is left of the maximum, divided by the paychecks you still have. Check the cut-off in your payroll system, because a change to your percentage often takes a pay cycle or two to show up.

Three limits, not one

The $24,500 deferral limit (IRC §402(g)) counts only your own pay, pre-tax and Roth together, across every 401(k), 403(b) and TSP account you contribute to in the year. The catch-up sits on top of it from age 50, and from $11,250 at ages 60 to 63 (IRC §414(v)). The $72,000 overall limit counts what the plan receives for you from all sources: your deferrals, the employer’s match and profit sharing, and any after-tax deposits. Catch-ups are outside it. The IRS summarises all three on its 401(k) contribution limits page.

Is it worth maxing out?

That depends on the tax rate you save at now against the rate you will pay when it comes out, and on what the withdrawals do to your Medicare premiums and the tax on Social Security later. The retirement side is a multi-year problem: 401(k) withdrawal calculator, Roth conversion calculator. Money beyond the deferral limit can go into an after-tax account and be moved to Roth: mega backdoor Roth calculator.

Paid tool Every dollar you defer now is a dollar that comes out later at a rate you will be choosing; the Roth Conversion Planner is where that choice becomes a schedule. The Roth Conversion Planner works out how much to convert in each year from now to your plan end age: the federal and state tax each conversion costs, the IRMAA tier that year’s MAGI sets two years later, and the ACA subsidy it affects — beside the same years with no conversions, and downloadable as a PDF you keep. A planning tool, not advice: the numbers move when your assumptions do. Build my conversion schedule — Personal PRO ($49) → Roth Conversion Planner: see what is included, and price this year free, first →

Maxing the 401(k) is the easy half; what you withdraw from it later, in which tax bracket, is the other half. QuantCalc runs the whole retirement — contributions, withdrawals, taxes, Medicare surcharges — year by year.

Run the free tax-aware simulation →

Common questions

What is the max 401(k) contribution for 2026?

$24,500 for your own deferrals, $32,500 at 50 or older and $35,750 at ages 60 to 63 (IRS Notice 2025-67). Including employer contributions the overall cap is $72,000, plus any catch-up.

Does the employer match count toward the 401(k) limit?

No. The $24,500 limit is only your own deferrals. The employer match counts toward the $72,000 overall limit (IRC §415(c)).

How much do I need to contribute per paycheck to max out my 401(k)?

Divide the limit by your pay periods: $942.31 every two weeks, $1,020.83 twice a month or $2,041.67 monthly for the $24,500 limit. The calculator above uses what you have already contributed and the paychecks left.

What is the 401(k) catch-up for ages 60 to 63?

$11,250 instead of the $8,000 age-50 catch-up, in the calendar years you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 (IRS Notice 2025-67), for a maximum of $35,750.

Do high earners have to make Roth catch-up contributions?

Yes, if your wages from the employer sponsoring the plan were above $150,000 in the previous year, the catch-up must be a Roth contribution (IRC §414(v)).

Can I contribute to a 401(k) and an IRA in the same year?

Yes; the limits are separate. See IRA contribution limits 2026 and the Roth IRA calculator. Whether a traditional IRA deposit is deductible depends on your income when you have a workplace plan.

Sources

Related

401(k) contribution limits 2026 → 401(k) limits 2027 → Mega backdoor Roth calculator → Catch-up contributions 2026 → IRA contribution limits 2026 → Roth IRA calculator → Year-end tax moves →