401(k) Contribution Limits for 2026, and Who Can Add More

A 401(k) has two limits that people constantly confuse. One caps what you can put in from your own paycheck. The other caps what you and your employer can put in together. The first is the number in every headline, and it is the one that shows up in your payroll portal as a percentage you choose.

The reason there are two is that Congress wanted to limit the tax break an individual can claim on their own salary, separately from limiting the total that can accumulate in one account in one year. The employee limit is per person across every 401(k) they hold; the combined limit is per plan.

Getting the distinction right prevents two expensive errors: over-contributing across two employers in a job-change year, and front-loading so aggressively that you lose the match.

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

The elective deferral limit is $24,500. That is the maximum you can contribute from your own pay across all your 401(k) accounts combined, whether the contributions are traditional pre-tax, Roth after-tax, or a mixture of the two.

The higher catch-up for ages 60 to 63 is a narrow window. It applies in the years you are 60, 61, 62 or 63 at the end of the year, and reverts to the standard $8,000 catch-up at 64. Age is measured at the end of the calendar year, so someone turning 50 in December gets the full catch-up for that whole year.

How much is that per paycheck?

Divide the annual limit by your number of pay periods. On a biweekly schedule with 26 checks, filling the $24,500 limit takes $942.31 per check. The figures below are rounded up, so the final contribution of the year is slightly smaller.

Most plans take a percentage of pay rather than a dollar amount. To fill $24,500 on a salary of $110,000 you need to defer 22.3% of pay, because $24,500 divided by $110,000 is 0.2227. If your salary changes mid-year, the percentage stops being correct, which is why the payroll portal figure should be rechecked after any raise.

How much tax does maxing out actually save?

For a single filer earning $110,000, deferring the full $24,500 into a traditional 401(k) removes that amount from taxable income at a 22% marginal rate, saving $5,390 in federal income tax for the year.

The tax figures come from the 2026 single schedule: $1,240 at 10%, $4,560 at 12%, then 22% on the remainder above $50,400. On $93,900 that is 22% of $43,500, or $9,570, plus $5,800, for $15,370. On $69,400 it is 22% of $19,000, or $4,180, plus $5,800, for $9,980. The federal tax brackets for 2026 show the full schedule.

Payroll tax is unaffected. The full 7.65% still applies to the $24,500, costing $1,874.25 in Social Security and Medicare that a 401(k) cannot avoid. That is covered in FICA tax explained.

Does the employer match count toward the limit?

No. Employer matching contributions, profit sharing and non-elective contributions do not count against your $24,500 elective deferral limit. They fall under a separate combined limit on total additions to the plan, which is set at a higher figure that we do not currently publish; check the IRS page in the sources for the exact amount.

This is why "maxing out" is ambiguous. An employee who defers $24,500 and receives a $6,000 match has $30,500 going into the account and has fully used the employee limit. Nothing has been left on the table, because the match was never competing for the same allowance.

What happens if I fill the limit too early?

You can lose match. Many plans calculate the match per pay period rather than annually, so a paycheck with no employee deferral generates no employer contribution. Front-loading exhausts the limit early and leaves the remaining paychecks unmatched.

Take a $110,000 salary paid biweekly, so $4,230.77 a check, with an employer matching 100% of the first 5% deferred. That match is worth $211.54 a check, or $5,500 a year.

The front-loaded saver hits $24,500 partway through the twelfth check and contributes nothing for the remaining fourteen, forfeiting about $211.54 each time, or $2,961.52 in total. Some plans have a true-up provision that pays the missed match after year end. Many do not. The plan document is the only place to find out.

Traditional or Roth 401(k)?

Both share the same $24,500 limit; the choice is about when you pay tax. Traditional contributions reduce taxable income now and are taxed on withdrawal. Roth contributions give no deduction now and come out tax free in retirement, subject to the plan's holding rules.

The deciding question is whether your marginal rate is higher now or later. A saver in the 12% band has a cheap tax bill today and a strong case for Roth. A saver in the 32% band deducting at 32% has a strong case for traditional. Most people are somewhere in the middle and split the difference, which is a defensible answer given that nobody knows future rates.

Common mistakes

Contributing over the limit across two jobs. The $24,500 is per person, not per plan. Changing employers mid-year gives you two payroll systems each tracking their own total, and neither knows about the other. An excess deferral must be withdrawn by the correction deadline or it is taxed twice. Add both W-2s and check.

Assuming the match is automatic. Vesting schedules mean employer money can be forfeited if you leave early. Your own contributions are always yours; the match may not be. Check the vesting schedule before resigning close to a cliff date.

Setting a percentage and never revisiting it. A 15% deferral on a $80,000 salary is $12,000. After a raise to $110,000 it is $16,500, which is well short of the limit. The percentage that filled the limit last year does not fill it this year.

Forgetting the catch-up requires an election. Many plans need a separate election for the catch-up contribution, and some stop deferrals at the standard limit unless you opt in. Turning 50 does not automatically raise your cap in payroll.

Treating the 401(k) as the only account. The IRA limit is separate and additive. Someone filling the $24,500 401(k) limit can still contribute to an IRA under its own 2026 limit, subject to the deduction income ranges.

When maxing out is the wrong move

If you carry high-interest debt, a guaranteed return from paying it off usually beats an uncertain market return, and the tax deduction does not close that gap. If you have no emergency fund, locking money behind an early withdrawal penalty creates the conditions for a forced withdrawal later, which is the most expensive way to use the account.

The plan itself can also argue against it. Some 401(k) plans carry high administrative fees and poor fund menus. Contributing enough to capture the full match is almost always right; contributing beyond that into an expensive plan may be worse than an IRA at a low-cost provider. Compare the plan's fund expense ratios against what a broker for beginners charges before deciding.

And the money is genuinely locked. Early withdrawals before the qualifying age generally carry income tax plus a penalty. For a saver who might need the cash within five years, that illiquidity is a real cost, not a technicality.

Before the year ends

• Check your year-to-date deferral against the $24,500 limit with two months to spare.
• Add deferrals from any prior employer this year to the same total.
• Confirm your deferral percentage still fills the limit after any raise.
• If you turn 50 this year, make the separate catch-up election.
• If you are 60 to 63, confirm the plan supports the higher $11,250 catch-up.
• Read the plan document for a match true-up provision before front-loading.
• Check the vesting schedule if you expect to change jobs.
• Review fund expense ratios once a year; they compound as reliably as returns do.

What to watch next

The elective deferral limit and both catch-up amounts are adjusted for inflation, so they typically rise in increments each year. The separate combined limit on total employer and employee additions moves alongside them. Rules around whether higher earners must make catch-up contributions as Roth have been phased in over recent years, so check with your plan administrator if you are near the wage threshold for that requirement. Project your contributions against the 401(k) growth calculator rather than assuming a flat rate of return.