Search engines treat “the 401(k) limit” as 1 number. The IRS publishes at least 3 ceilings that answer different questions. For 2026, Notice 2025-67 and the IRS newsroom set employee elective deferrals at $24,500, catch-up at $8,000 or $11,250, and annual additions at $72,000. Name which ceiling you mean before you decide you are maxed.
What are the 401(k) contribution limits for 2026?
The 2026 401(k) contribution limits are $24,500 of employee elective deferrals, an $8,000 catch-up at age 50 (or $11,250 at ages 60 to 63), and $72,000 of annual additions.
Each figure is a different statute:
- Section 402(g) caps what you elect from pay, pre-tax and Roth combined.
- Section 414(v) adds catch-up once you attain age 50, with a higher amount at ages 60 to 63.
- Section 415(c) caps annual additions: your deferrals, employer money, forfeitures, and after-tax employee contributions.
Stopping at $24,500 can leave employer and after-tax room unused under the $72,000 cap. Catch-up then sits on top of that cap.
What is the employee elective deferral limit?
The employee elective deferral limit for 2026 is $24,500.
That is section 402(g). Pre-tax and Roth employee deferrals share it. $20,000 pre-tax plus $4,500 Roth in the same year fills the cap. A second 401(k), a 403(b), and the Thrift Savings Plan share this same $24,500.
A governmental 457(b) has its own $24,500 deferral limit under section 457(e)(15). You can fill both in the same year.
Employer match, profit sharing, and after-tax employee contributions sit outside 402(g). They count toward section 415(c).
What is the catch-up contribution for age 50 and ages 60 to 63?
The 2026 catch-up is $8,000 if you attain age 50 or older, so employee deferrals can reach $32,500. If you attain age 60, 61, 62, or 63 in 2026, the higher catch-up is $11,250, so employee deferrals can reach $35,750.
Notice 2025-67 sets those amounts under section 414(v). The higher catch-up replaces the $8,000 for those 4 ages. At 64 the $8,000 figure returns.
If your 2025 FICA wages from the employer that sponsors the plan were over $150,000, section 414(v)(7) requires 2026 catch-up contributions to that plan to be designated Roth. Notice 2025-67 lists $150,000 as that 2025 wage threshold. Read Box 3 on that employer’s W-2. Household MAGI is a different test. If the plan has no Roth source, the catch-up is closed for the year.
What is the annual additions limit under section 415(c)?
The 2026 annual-additions limit under section 415(c) is $72,000.
Annual additions are employee elective deferrals, employer contributions (match and profit sharing), forfeitures allocated to you, and after-tax employee contributions. The cap is the lesser of $72,000 or 100% of compensation. Notice 2025-67 also raised the section 401(a)(17) compensation limit to $360,000.
Section 414(v)(3) keeps catch-up contributions outside this cap. Add $8,000 and effective room is $80,000. Add $11,250 and effective room is $83,250.
If you stop at $24,500 and the employer contributes $0, $47,500 of 415(c) room is still open. Employer dollars fill part of that. After-tax employee contributions can fill the rest when the plan allows it. That leftover after-tax room is the mega backdoor Roth. The IRA backdoor Roth is a separate two-step under a $7,500 IRA cap.
If you are both employee and employer, your profit-sharing credit and your deferrals share the same $72,000 cap.
Which 401(k) limit should you fill first?
Fill enough to collect the match, then fill section 402(g), then catch-up if you qualify, then leftover 415(c) room if the plan takes after-tax contributions.
- Defer enough to collect the full match. Those employer dollars use 415(c) room and leave 402(g) untouched.
- Fill the rest of the $24,500. Pre-tax deferrals lower this year’s MAGI. Roth 401(k) deferrals use the same $24,500 and leave MAGI alone. See what MAGI is before you pick the source. Tax strategies for high-income W-2 employees puts that choice on 1 yearly plan.
- If you qualify, add catch-up. Confirm the Roth catch-up wage test before you assume pre-tax catch-up is open.
- Ask the administrator whether after-tax employee contributions are allowed. Leftover room under $72,000 is the mega-backdoor path when the plan permits an in-plan Roth conversion or a Roth rollover. How a Roth conversion counts as income covers the tax on converted pre-tax dollars. Converted after-tax basis is recovered tax-free.
Plan documents control steps 1 and 4. The IRS ceilings only set the outer numbers.
Does the employer match count toward the $24,500 limit?
The employer match counts toward the $72,000 annual-additions cap. Employee deferrals use the $24,500 section 402(g) cap.
A $12,000 match plus $24,500 of deferrals uses $36,500 of 415(c). $35,500 of that cap can still be open for profit sharing or after-tax employee dollars.
Name the ceiling before you change an election. $24,500 is 402(g). $72,000 is 415(c). Catch-up is 414(v).
How does Nino map the 3 ceilings?
Nino maps section 402(g), section 414(v), and section 415(c) against the plan document and the household file, with a CFP and a CPA on the same numbers for 1 flat annual fee.
The work is which ceiling still has room, and whether leftover 415(c) room is usable after-tax.
Book a demo if you want that map before you change elections. Every Advisor Plan includes a 30-day money-back guarantee.