Work out your 2026 401(k) contributions: employee deferral from salary, employer match, catch-up, and how close you are to the IRS limits.
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| $85,000 salary, 10% deferral, 50% match on first 6%, age 35 | You $8,500 + match $2,550 = $11,050/yr |
| $120,000 salary, 15% deferral, 100% match on first 5%, age 52 | You $18,000 + match $6,000 = $24,000/yr (limit $32,500) |
| $65,000 salary, 6% deferral, 50% match on first 6%, age 45 | You $3,900 + match $1,950 = $5,850/yr |
You can defer up to $24,500 of your own pay in 2026, plus an $8,000 catch-up if you are 50 or older. Savers aged 60–63 get a larger $11,250 super catch-up that replaces (not adds to) the age-50 one. The limit covers pre-tax and Roth deferrals combined and is shared across all 401(k), 403(b) and TSP plans you participate in (IRS Notice 2025-67).
A typical plan matches a percentage of what you defer, up to a cap. "50% match on the first 6%" means: for every dollar you contribute out of the first 6% of your salary, the employer adds 50 cents. Deferring at least to the match cap is the highest-certainty return available in the plan.
No. Employer contributions do not count against your personal deferral limit, they count against the separate $72,000 total additions ceiling (§415(c)), which catch-ups sit on top of. Self-employed? Use the Solo 401(k) calculator, where the employer side follows different rules.
If your 2025 FICA wages from the sponsoring employer exceeded $150,000, any catch-up contributions you make in 2026 must be designated Roth (after-tax), if the plan offers no Roth option, no catch-up is possible. The base $24,500 deferral is untouched by this rule.
Deferrals are limited by your actual pay, and the plan may set its own percentage cap. The calculator caps only at the IRS dollar limit.
How this page is built and kept current. Written and fact-checked by the MoneyCalcsHub editorial team. We do not sell financial products and we accept no payment to change a result, the arithmetic on this page runs in your own browser from the numbers you type.
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