You can contribute $24,500 from your pay to a 401(k) in 2026. The limit rises to $32,500 if you are 50 or older, or $35,750 if you turn 60–63 during the year and your plan allows the higher catch-up. Your employer’s contributions do not use that allowance. They count toward a separate combined limit.
What are the 401(k) contribution limits for 2026?
Think of two limits: how much you can defer from your paycheck, and how much can go into the plan altogether.
| Your age at the end of 2026 | Employee deferrals, including eligible catch-up | Employee and employer total, including eligible catch-up |
|---|---|---|
| Under 50 | $24,500 | $72,000 |
| 50–59 or 64 and older | $32,500 | $80,000 |
| 60–63 | $35,750 | $83,250 |
These are federal ceilings from IRS Notice 2025-67. Your compensation and plan rules may allow less. Pretax and Roth 401(k) deferrals share the employee limit; choosing both does not double it.
The combined column includes employer contributions and any permitted after-tax employee contributions. It is not an amount every employee can simply elect to withhold from pay.
What is the catch-up contribution for age 50 and ages 60 to 63?
The usual 2026 catch-up is $8,000. For people turning 60, 61, 62, or 63 during 2026, the higher $11,250 catch-up replaces it. You do not add the two together. At age 64, the usual catch-up applies again.
There is also a tax-treatment change to check. If your 2025 Social Security wages from the employer sponsoring the plan exceeded $150,000, your 2026 catch-up contributions generally must be Roth. That means paying income tax now rather than deducting the catch-up from this year’s income.
This is an employer-wage test, not a household-income test. Your spouse’s earnings and investment income do not turn into wages from that employer. Check your W-2 and ask payroll how the rule applies, especially after a job change or if the plan does not offer Roth contributions.
What is the annual additions limit under section 415(c)?
The regular combined limit is the lesser of $72,000 or 100% of compensation. It includes your regular deferrals, employer matching and profit-sharing contributions, any allocated forfeitures, and permitted after-tax employee contributions. Eligible catch-ups sit outside that limit.
For example, $24,500 of employee deferrals plus $12,000 from the employer uses $36,500 of the combined limit. That leaves $35,500, before any other contributions. You can fill that room with after-tax employee contributions only if the plan permits them and its other limits allow it.
After-tax contributions are different from Roth deferrals. They receive no current deduction, and their earnings are not automatically tax-free. A plan that permits the appropriate Roth conversion or rollover may support a mega backdoor Roth. Check the conversion step before assuming the unused room has the same tax benefits as a Roth account.
If you run a solo 401(k), your employee and employer contributions still share the combined ceiling. The employer contribution also depends on eligible compensation; owning the business does not make the entire $72,000 available automatically.
Which 401(k) limit should you fill first?
Start with the contribution needed for your full employer match, then fit additional savings around emergency cash, debt, and money you will need before retirement.
Before changing payroll elections:
- Check what you have already contributed. Include employee deferrals at a previous employer this year. A new job generally does not create another 401(k) allowance.
- Choose pretax, Roth, or a mix. Pretax deferrals generally reduce current taxable wages. Roth deferrals do not; they offer different tax treatment on qualifying withdrawals.
- Confirm your catch-up rules. Age determines the limit. Prior-year wages can determine whether the catch-up must be Roth.
- Ask how the match is calculated. If you reach your limit early, ask whether the plan has a year-end true-up that restores matching contributions missed on later paychecks.
- Check after-tax options separately. Ask about both contributions and the route for converting or rolling them to Roth.
A larger IRS limit is permission to save more, not a reason to leave yourself short of cash.
Does the employer match count toward the $24,500 limit?
No. The match uses the combined $72,000 limit, not your $24,500 employee allowance. That is why you can contribute the employee maximum and still receive employer money.
Keep three numbers handy: your year-to-date deferrals, expected employer contributions, and the remaining paychecks. Those tell you much more about your next payroll election than the headline limit alone.