Retirement Contribution Limits 2026
How much you can put into a 401(k), IRA, SIMPLE or SEP this year, with last year beside it and a 2027 column that fills in the day the IRS announces it. Every figure is quoted from the IRS Notice it comes from.
2027 limits: not yet announced. The IRS Notice usually posts in the first half of November. Projections published elsewhere are estimates from the CPI formula, not limits; this page shows nothing for 2027 until the IRS does.
Contribution limits
| Limit | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457, TSP employee deferral | $23,500 | $24,500 | pending |
| Catch-up, age 50 and over | $7,500 | $8,000 | pending |
| Catch-up, age 60 to 63 (if the plan allows) | $11,250 | $11,250 | pending |
| IRA (traditional and Roth combined) | $7,000 | $7,500 | pending |
| IRA catch-up, age 50 and over | $1,000 | $1,100 | pending |
| SIMPLE IRA / SIMPLE 401(k) deferral | $16,500 | $17,000 | pending |
| SIMPLE deferral, applicable smaller plans | $17,600 | $18,100 | pending |
| SIMPLE catch-up, age 50 and over | $3,500 | $4,000 | pending |
| SIMPLE catch-up, applicable smaller plans | $3,850 | $3,850 | pending |
| SIMPLE catch-up, age 60 to 63 | $5,250 | $5,250 | pending |
Plan ceilings and thresholds
| Figure | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total annual additions, §415(c) (employee + employer, SEP and Solo 401(k) ceiling) | — | $72,000 | pending |
| Compensation counted, §401(a)(17) | — | $360,000 | pending |
| Highly compensated employee threshold | — | $160,000 | pending |
| Key employee (top-heavy rules) | — | $235,000 | pending |
| SEP minimum compensation to participate | — | $800 | pending |
| Prior-year FICA wages above which catch-ups must be Roth | — | $150,000 | pending |
IRA income phase-outs (modified AGI)
| Situation | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional IRA deduction, single or head of household, covered by a workplace plan | $81,000 – $91,000 | pending |
| Traditional IRA deduction, married filing jointly, contributing spouse covered | $129,000 – $149,000 | pending |
| Traditional IRA deduction, married filing jointly, only the other spouse covered | $242,000 – $252,000 | pending |
| Traditional IRA deduction, married filing separately, covered | $0 – $10,000 | pending |
| Roth IRA contribution, single or head of household | $153,000 – $168,000 | pending |
| Roth IRA contribution, married filing jointly | $242,000 – $252,000 | pending |
| Roth IRA contribution, married filing separately | $0 – $10,000 | pending |
| Saver's Credit, married filing jointly, income up to | $80,500 | pending |
| Saver's Credit, head of household | $60,375 | pending |
| Saver's Credit, single or married filing separately | $40,250 | pending |
2026 figures: IRS Notice 2025-67 and the IRS news release of 2025-11-13; plan ceilings from the IRS COLA table.2025 figures: Notice 2024-80. Roth catch-up rule: IRC §414(v)(7) and the final regulations of September 15, 2025.
How to read the table
The deferral limit is what you can put in from your own pay across all 401(k)-type plans you have in the year, combined. Catch-ups sit on top of it. The §415(c) ceiling is the most that can land in one employer's plan from every source, including the employer's share, and it is the ceiling a SEP or a Solo 401(k) runs into; the self-employed contribution calculator works that one through. The IRA limit covers traditional and Roth together, and the phase-outs decide how much of a traditional contribution is deductible, or how much of a Roth contribution is allowed, by modified adjusted gross income; above a Roth range the backdoor Roth is the usual route.
Informational only, not tax advice. Federal limits; a plan may set lower ones, and employer contributions follow plan terms.
Last reviewed: November 2026 · 2026 figures per Notice 2025-67; 2027 pending the IRS Notice.
Frequently asked questions
When will the 2027 limits be announced?
The IRS publishes the next year's cost-of-living adjustments in a Notice each autumn: the 2026 figures came on November 13, 2025 (Notice 2025-67), the 2025 figures on November 1, 2024. Expect the 2027 Notice in the first half of November 2026. This page adds the column the day it posts; until then the 2027 cells say pending rather than guessing.
Which limits change every year and which stay fixed?
Most figures are indexed to inflation in $500 or $1,000 steps, so they rise some years and hold in others: the 401(k) deferral, the age-50 catch-up, the IRA limit, the SIMPLE limits, the §415(c) ceiling and the compensation cap. The IRA catch-up became indexed in 2026 for the first time. The married-filing-separately phase-out ($0 to $10,000) is set in statute and never moves.
What is the age 60 to 63 catch-up?
SECURE 2.0 lets people who are 60, 61, 62 or 63 at the end of the year make a larger catch-up to a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457 or TSP: $11,250 in 2026 instead of $8,000, if the plan offers it. The SIMPLE equivalent is $5,250. At 64 the ordinary age-50 catch-up applies again.
Why must some catch-up contributions be Roth?
From 2026, anyone whose prior-year FICA wages from the employer exceeded $150,000 can make 401(k), 403(b) or governmental 457 catch-ups only as Roth, after-tax contributions (IRC §414(v)(7), final regulations of September 15, 2025). The wage threshold is indexed. A plan with no Roth option cannot take catch-ups from those employees at all. IRA catch-ups and self-employed people without FICA wages are not affected.
Related calculators
Calculate the maximum SEP-IRA or Solo 401(k) employer contribution for a Schedule C sole proprietor — the IRS Publication 560 Rate Worksheet and Deduction Worksheet arithmetic, every line labeled, with 2026 dollar caps.
Open tool →Roth vs. Traditional IRA CalculatorCompare a Roth and a Traditional IRA the honest way — same amount vs. same after-tax cost — and see exactly when each one wins.
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