The 401(k) contribution limit for 2026 is $24,500. That is the most you can choose to put into your 401(k) from your own pay during the year, and it is $1,000 higher than the $23,500 limit for 2025. The figures were announced by the Internal Revenue Service in Notice 2025-67 and news release IR-2025-111 on November 13, 2025, and they apply to 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plans, as well as the federal Thrift Savings Plan. This guide explains the 2026 limits, the catch-up rules for older workers, the new Roth catch-up rule, and how to work out what the limits mean for your own pay.
This article is general educational information only, not personal financial advice. The limits below are the IRS figures for 2026; your plan may have its own rules on top of them, including whether it accepts catch-up contributions at all, so check your plan documents before changing your elections. For the retirement account the 401(k) is often paired with, see our guide to the Roth IRA limit for 2026.
What Is the 401(k) Contribution Limit for 2026?
For 2026, the employee elective deferral limit is $24,500. An elective deferral is the money you choose to have taken out of your paycheck and put into the plan. The limit covers your pre-tax and Roth contributions combined: if you put in $14,500 pre-tax and $10,000 as Roth, you have used the full $24,500, because the two kinds of contribution share one limit. The limit is per person, not per plan, so if you have two jobs with two 401(k) plans, the $24,500 covers both together.
The limit is adjusted for inflation each year, which is why it moves in steps rather than every year: it was $23,000 in 2024, $23,500 in 2025, and $24,500 in 2026. A 457(b) plan has its own separate limit of the same amount, which means a worker who has both a 401(k) and a 457(b) can defer up to $24,500 into each. Employer contributions do not count against your deferral limit at all – the match and any profit-sharing your employer adds are counted under a separate, higher limit explained below.
To use the full limit, divide it by your pay periods. At $24,500 a year, that is $2,041.67 a month, or about $941.00 a fortnight if you are paid every two weeks. Contributions must reach your plan through payroll by December 31, 2026 – you cannot top the plan up from your bank account in January, the way you can with an IRA. If you are planning to max out, set the election early in the year, because raising it in December may not leave enough pay periods to get the money in.
The Age 50+ Catch-Up: $8,000 More
Workers who are age 50 or older at any point during 2026 can contribute an additional $8,000 beyond the standard limit, for a combined maximum of $32,500. The catch-up rose from $7,500 in 2025 to $8,000 in 2026. Eligibility is based on your age as of December 31, 2026: if you turn 50 at any point during the year, you are eligible for the full catch-up for that entire calendar year, not just for the months after your birthday.
The catch-up exists because the last working years are usually the highest-earning ones, and the most valuable ones for retirement saving. A worker earning $80,000 who contributes 6% of pay puts in $4,800 a year – well below the limit. But a worker earning $150,000 who contributes 15% is putting in $22,500, close to the ceiling, and the catch-up is what lets them push past it. The catch-up is optional for the plan: most large plans offer it, but a small plan may not, so check your plan documents rather than assuming it is available.
The catch-up also matters for the total limit. The combined employee-plus-employer annual additions limit under Internal Revenue Code section 415(c) is $72,000 for 2026. Catch-up contributions sit on top of that cap, so a saver aged 50 or older can reach $80,000 in total additions for the year – $72,000 plus the $8,000 catch-up – before the plan stops accepting money.
The Ages 60-63 Super Catch-Up: $11,250
The SECURE 2.0 Act created a larger catch-up tier that first became available in 2025. Workers who turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during the calendar year can contribute an enhanced catch-up of $11,250 for 2026, instead of the standard $8,000. Combined with the $24,500 base deferral, that is a maximum personal contribution of $35,750 for those four years. For 2026 it covers people born from 1963, who turn 63, through 1966, who turn 60.
The super catch-up replaces the standard catch-up rather than adding to it, so you do not get $8,000 plus $11,250. And it only lasts for those four years: in the year you turn 64, the catch-up drops back to the standard $8,000, and the maximum falls to $32,500. Total annual additions for a saver in the 60-63 window can reach $83,250 – the $72,000 cap plus the $11,250 super catch-up.
One condition matters: the super catch-up only applies if your plan has adopted the provision. SECURE 2.0 made it available, it did not make it mandatory, so a plan can choose not to offer it. If you are in the 60-63 window and your plan does not offer the enhanced catch-up, you can still contribute the standard $8,000 catch-up, for $32,500 in total. Ask your plan administrator which catch-up your plan supports before you set your election.
The New Roth Catch-Up Rule for High Earners
2026 is the first year the IRS enforces SECURE 2.0 section 603, the mandatory Roth catch-up rule. If your 2025 Social Security (FICA) wages from the employer sponsoring your plan exceeded $150,000, every catch-up dollar you contribute in 2026 – the $8,000 age-50 catch-up or the $11,250 super catch-up – must be a designated Roth, after-tax, contribution. The base $24,500 deferral is not affected: you can still make that pre-tax if you wish.
The rule is measured on prior-year wages from the same employer, not on your total income, and not on your current-year pay. If you earned more than $150,000 in FICA wages from your employer in 2025, the Roth treatment applies to your 2026 catch-ups even if your 2026 pay is lower. If you changed employers, the test uses wages from the employer sponsoring the plan you are contributing to.
Roth catch-up contributions are taxed now and grow tax-free, which is the same trade-off as any Roth contribution: you pay tax on the money in the year you earn it, and qualified withdrawals in retirement are tax-free. For a high earner in the window, the practical effect is smaller than it sounds, because the base $24,500 can still be pre-tax. But it does change the paperwork: if your plan does not offer a Roth option, it cannot accept your catch-up contributions at all while the rule applies to you, so check that your plan has a Roth feature before you elect a catch-up.
What About the IRA Limit?
The IRA limit also rose for 2026, to $7,500, up from $7,000 in 2025. The IRA catch-up for savers aged 50 and older is $1,000, for a total of $8,500. The 401(k) and IRA limits are separate: you can contribute the full $24,500 to your 401(k) and the full $7,500 to an IRA in the same year, and the IRA contribution does not reduce your 401(k) room.
Whether your IRA contribution is deductible depends on your income and whether you are covered by a workplace plan. Our guide to whether IRA contributions are tax deductible explains the 2026 phase-out ranges, and our guide to SEP IRA contributions covers the self-employed alternative. The key point for most workers is that the 401(k) is the bigger lever: its limit is more than three times the IRA limit, and it comes with the employer match on top.
How Much Should You Actually Contribute?
The limit is a ceiling, not a target, and most workers contribute well below it. A common starting point is to contribute at least enough to get the full employer match, because the match is free money that no other investment offers: if your employer matches 50 cents for every dollar up to 6% of your pay, contributing 6% doubles the first 6% of your saving. On an $80,000 salary, 6% is $4,800 a year from you, plus $2,400 from the employer.
After the match, the usual next step is to raise the rate gradually – a percentage point a year, or whenever you get a raise – until the contribution is large enough to matter. The maths of compounding rewards starting early more than it rewards contributing a lot late: $500 a month for 30 years at a hypothetical 7% annual return grows to about $613,544, on $180,000 of contributions. That figure is an illustration, not a promise – real returns vary, and no return is guaranteed – but it shows why the habit matters more than the exact percentage.
If you are behind, the catch-up rules are designed for you: a 55-year-old contributing the full $32,500 a year is putting away more than twice what a 30-year-old contributing 6% of an $80,000 salary manages. Our guide to how long your money will last in retirement explains how to turn a balance into an annual spending figure, and our guide to the 4 percent rule explains the withdrawal rule of thumb many retirees use. The limits are the tool; the retirement income is the goal.
Frequently Asked Questions
how much can i contribute to my 401k in 2026
You can defer up to $24,500 of your own pay into a 401(k) in 2026. If you are 50 or older you can add an $8,000 catch-up, for $32,500 in total. If you turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during 2026, the enhanced catch-up is $11,250 instead, for $35,750 in total. Employer contributions do not count against your limit.
what is the 401k catch up limit for 2026
The standard age-50 catch-up is $8,000 for 2026, up from $7,500 in 2025. Workers who turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during 2026 get a larger catch-up of $11,250 under SECURE 2.0, which replaces the $8,000 amount rather than adding to it. The catch-up is only available if your plan offers it.
does the 401k limit include employer match
No. The $24,500 limit covers only your own elective deferrals – pre-tax and Roth combined. Employer matching and profit-sharing contributions are counted under a separate annual additions limit of $72,000 for 2026, or $80,000 if you are 50 or older and $83,250 if you are 60 to 63.
can i contribute to a 401k and an ira in the same year
Yes. The limits are separate: you can put the full $24,500 into your 401(k) and the full $7,500 into an IRA in 2026. Whether the IRA contribution is tax-deductible depends on your income and whether you are covered by a workplace retirement plan.
what happens if i contribute too much to my 401k
The excess must be corrected by April 15 of the following year. If you miss that deadline, the excess amount is taxed once when it is contributed and again when it is eventually distributed. Tell your plan administrator as soon as you notice the excess, so the correction can be processed in time.
The Bottom Line
The 401(k) contribution limit for 2026 is $24,500, with an $8,000 catch-up at age 50 and an $11,250 super catch-up at ages 60 to 63, for maximums of $32,500 and $35,750. The figures come from IRS Notice 2025-67, and the new Roth catch-up rule applies to high earners for the first time this year. The limit is a ceiling, not a target: start by capturing the full employer match, raise your rate gradually, and use the catch-up years to close any gap. Our guide to retirement accounts compares the 401(k) with the IRA and other accounts, so you can see where the 401(k) fits in your overall plan.