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Limits and catch-ups

2026 401(k), IRA and HSA Contribution Limits

Four separate ceilings, three separate catch-up ages, and one of them is not the number most people think it is: what you defer out of your own pay is limited under §402(g), while everything reaching the account — your deferral, the match, and any after-tax money — is limited under §415(c). Here are the 2026 figures, and how much room you have left.

W-2 wages, or net self-employment income. It caps the 401(k) and IRA limits when it is the smaller of the two.

$

Your own contributions so far this year, traditional and Roth together. Not your employer's match.

$

Traditional and Roth together — they share one limit.

$

Including anything your employer put in, which counts against the same limit.

$
401(k) deferral room left
$16,500
IRA room left
$7,500
HSA room left
$4,400
Room left across all three
$28,400
Still available to contribute across your 401(k), your IRA and your HSA this year. You have deferred 6.7% of your compensation to your 401(k) so far. The room left is 23.7% of it.
Your §415(c) ceiling at this compensation
$72,000
Everything that lands in the plan for the year counts against this — your deferral, your employer's match and any after-tax contribution. At this compensation, $64,000 of it is still open above what you have deferred. That is a ceiling, not an entitlement: the match is whatever your employer offers, and after-tax contributions exist only if the plan document allows them.
Workplace plans

401(k), 403(b) and TSP — the 2026 figures

The first limit is on what you defer. The second is on everything that reaches the account. They are different sections of the code and they bind at different points, which is why a plan can tell you that you are maxed out and still have room in it.

2026 workplace retirement plan contribution limits
Limit2026
Elective deferral — §402(g)$24,500
Catch-up from age 50 — §414(v)$8,000
Deferral at 50 or older$32,500
Higher catch-up, ages 60 to 63 — SECURE 2.0$11,250
Total annual additions — §415(c)$72,000
Total annual additions at 50 or older$80,000
After-tax room once the deferral is made$47,500

The §415(c) figure is also capped by your compensation when that is the smaller of the two, and the last row is a ceiling before any employer contribution is counted.

IRAs

Traditional and Roth IRA in 2026

One limit across both account types, not one each — and it is separate from your workplace plan, so having a 401(k) does not use it up. What a 401(k) can do is restrict the DEDUCTION for a traditional IRA contribution.

2026 IRA and Roth IRA contribution limits
Limit2026
IRA or Roth IRA, under 50$7,500
IRA or Roth IRA, 50 or older$8,600
Roth phase-out, single$153,000 – $168,000
Roth phase-out, married filing jointly$242,000 – $252,000

Over the Roth phase-out? The backdoor route is the usual answer, and the pro-rata rule is the thing to check first.

Health savings

HSA limits in 2026

The limit follows your coverage tier, and an employer contribution counts against it. The catch-up age is 55 here, not 50 — the one place these three accounts disagree about what counts as catching up.

2026 HSA contribution limits
Limit2026
Self-only coverage$4,400
Family coverage$8,750
Catch-up from age 55$1,000

Which one to fill first

  • Whatever your employer matches. A match is a return on the contribution that no other account offers, and it is forfeited if you do not defer enough to earn it.
  • The HSA, if you have high-deductible coverage. It is the only account that is untaxed going in, untaxed while it grows and untaxed coming out for medical costs — and it is the only one that also skips payroll tax when contributed through your employer.
  • The rest of the 401(k) deferral. Traditional if a deduction now is worth more than tax-free growth later; Roth if it is not.
  • The IRA. Separate from all of the above, and it can hold investments a workplace plan does not offer.
  • After-tax 401(k), only if the plan allows the conversion. Without an in-plan Roth conversion or in-service withdrawal, after-tax money grows in a taxable wrapper and the room is not worth using.
Questions

Frequently asked questions

How much can I put in a 401(k) in 2026?
$24,500 of your own pay as an elective deferral under §402(g), or $32,500 if you are 50 or older — the §414(v) catch-up is $8,000. That is the limit on YOUR contribution. Everything landing in the account for the year, including your employer's match and any after-tax money, is capped separately by §415(c) at $72,000, or $80,000 with the catch-up on top.
Is the 401(k) limit per job or per person?
The elective deferral limit is PER PERSON, across every 401(k), 403(b), SARSEP and SIMPLE-401(k) you contribute to. Two jobs in one year do not give you two deferral limits, and it is your job to track it — neither payroll department can see the other. A governmental 457(b) is the exception: it has its own limit under §457(e)(15) and stacks on top. The §415(c) total, by contrast, is per unrelated EMPLOYER's plan.
What is the 2026 IRA contribution limit?
$7,500 under 50, and $8,600 from 50 — and that is one shared limit across your traditional and Roth IRAs, not one each. You also cannot contribute more than you earned: with less taxable compensation than the limit, your compensation is the limit. Direct Roth contributions phase out between $153,000 and $168,000 of modified AGI for a single filer, and $242,000 to $252,000 married filing jointly.
What are the 2026 HSA contribution limits?
$4,400 with self-only high-deductible coverage and $8,750 with family coverage, plus a $1,000 catch-up from age 55. The limit belongs to the coverage, not to the plan: an employer contribution counts against it, and it is prorated if you were not HSA-eligible for the whole year. Once you enrol in Medicare you can no longer contribute.
What is after-tax 401(k) room, and who has it?
It is the gap between what you deferred and the §415(c) total — $47,500 in 2026 before any employer contribution is counted, which is the ceiling rather than a figure most people reach. It only exists if your plan permits after-tax contributions in the first place, and it is only worth using if the plan also allows an in-plan Roth conversion or in-service withdrawal. Check the plan document before planning around it.
Do the catch-up contributions start on my birthday?
No — you are treated as reaching the age for the whole calendar year, so a catch-up is available from 1 January of the year you turn 50, or 55 for the HSA. The SECURE 2.0 higher catch-up applies for the years you are 60 through 63 and then reverts to the ordinary one, which is why it is a band on the calculator above rather than a switch.

See what filling that room is worth

A limit is not a saving. The full optimizer prices each contribution against your own brackets, filing status and state — and shows it beside every other move you could make this year.

Open the full calculator

Last updated for tax year 2026 · Federal figures reviewed

Sources

Individual results vary. A planning estimate, not tax advice — confirm with a CPA before you file.

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