For 2026 the IRS lets you put $24,500 into a 401(k), $7,500 into an IRA, and $4,400 or $8,750 into an HSA depending on your health coverage. Catch-ups add $8,000 to the 401(k) at age 50 and $1,100 to the IRA. Every figure on this page comes from IRS Notice 2025-67 and Rev. Proc. 2025-19.
These numbers live in three separate IRS documents, and 2026 brings a rule change buried in a fourth: for the first time, higher earners’ catch-up contributions must be Roth. This page puts every limit in one place, shows what maxing out actually builds, and walks through the one new rule that could catch you in January.
If you have ever felt behind on retirement savings, the limits themselves are good news. They are the ceiling, not the expectation, and the order you fill accounts matters more than hitting any cap.
What are the 2026 contribution limits?
The elective deferral limit, what you can put in from your own pay, is $24,500, and it applies across your 401(k), 403(b), and TSP accounts combined. A governmental 457(b) carries its own separate $24,500 limit on top. The IRA limit is $7,500 across traditional and Roth together, and HSA limits are $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage.
| Account | Under 50 | Age 50 and over | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 401(k), 403(b), TSP | $24,500 | $32,500 | $35,750 at ages 60 to 63 |
| Traditional or Roth IRA | $7,500 | $8,600 | one limit across both types |
| HSA, self-only coverage | $4,400 | $5,400 at 55+ | catch-up starts at 55, not 50 |
| HSA, family coverage | $8,750 | $9,750 at 55+ | employer deposits count toward it |
| 401(k) employee plus employer | $72,000 | catch-ups add on top | match and profit sharing count here |
Two structural rules do most of the work in that table. First, the $24,500 is a per-person limit, not a per-job limit: 401(k), 403(b), and TSP deferrals aggregate across every employer you had during the year, with the governmental 457(b) as the one exception that stacks separately. Second, employer money lives under a different, much higher cap: the combined employee-plus-employer limit is $72,000, so a generous match never eats into your own room.
How much does maxing out actually build?
The future value of a steady annual contribution follows one formula: the payment times the growth of a dollar-a-year annuity at your return rate. Plug in the 2026 limits at a 7 percent annual return with end-of-year contributions, and the ceilings turn into dollar outcomes.
Maxing the 401(k) at $24,500 a year for 20 years grows to about $1,004,390. The IRA alone at $7,500 a year reaches about $307,466 over the same stretch. Do both, $32,000 a year, and 20 years lands near $1,311,856. Even the catch-up on its own is a serious lever: $8,000 a year from age 50 to 65 builds about $201,032.
Assumptions behind these figures
Computed with the same future-value primitive our 401(k) calculator runs: contributions at the end of each year, a constant 7 percent nominal return, and the 2026 limits held flat for the whole period. In reality the limits rise with inflation most years, so long-run results tend to land higher. No employer match, fees, or taxes are modeled.
Said out loud: one worker maxing a 401(k) for 20 years crosses a million dollars before counting a single dollar of employer match. You can change the return, the years, or the contribution in the 401(k) calculator and watch the sensitivity yourself.
What is new for 2026: the Roth catch-up rule
Starting with 2026 contributions, the SECURE 2.0 requirement that high earners make catch-up contributions as Roth takes effect. The test looks backward: if your Social Security wages from your employer were more than $150,000 in 2025, every catch-up dollar you contribute in 2026 must be designated Roth, taxed now rather than at withdrawal. IRS Notice 2025-67 sets that wage threshold, indexed up from the $145,000 in the statute.
Two edges of the rule matter in practice. The wages counted are from the employer sponsoring the plan, so if you changed jobs and have no 2025 wages from your current employer, the requirement does not apply to you this year. And if your plan offers no Roth option, the final regulations do not quietly let pre-tax catch-ups continue; you simply cannot make catch-up contributions until the plan adds one. If you are 50 or older and above the threshold, confirm your plan has a designated Roth feature before you set your January deferral election.
A forced Roth catch-up is not bad news, just different news: you give up the deduction today in exchange for tax-free growth. Whether that trade helps or hurts depends on your bracket now versus in retirement, which is exactly the comparison the Roth vs traditional calculator runs.
Which account should you fill first?
A common ordering works for most people, because it ranks each dollar by what it earns. First, contribute enough to your 401(k) to capture the full employer match; a 50 or 100 percent match is a return no market offers. Second, if you are on a high-deductible health plan, fund the HSA, the only account where money goes in untaxed, grows untaxed, and comes out untaxed for medical costs. Third, fund an IRA if you want wider investment choice, checking the phase-outs below. Then circle back and push the 401(k) toward $24,500.
The IRA step carries the fine print. The traditional IRA deduction phases out between $81,000 and $91,000 of income for a single filer covered by a workplace plan, and between $129,000 and $149,000 for married couples filing jointly when the contributing spouse is covered. Direct Roth IRA contributions phase out between $153,000 and $168,000 for singles and between $242,000 and $252,000 for joint filers. Above those ranges, the 401(k) becomes the simpler home for the next dollar.
This ordering is a starting framework, not a verdict. It assumes the match is real, the HSA funds can be left to grow rather than spent each year, and you value the IRA’s flexibility. If any of those do not hold, reorder accordingly.
Mistakes that cost real money
Leaving match on the table to fund an IRA first. The match is outside your $24,500 limit and typically pays 50 to 100 cents per dollar immediately. No IRA advantage beats that first slice.
Blowing the limit across two jobs. The $24,500 follows you, not your employers. If you change jobs mid-year and both plans run payroll deferrals, you can exceed the limit without either plan noticing. Excess deferrals not returned by the following April 15 get taxed twice.
Forgetting employer HSA money counts. The HSA works opposite to the 401(k): your employer’s deposits count toward the $4,400 or $8,750 cap. Set your own payroll contribution to the limit minus whatever your employer puts in.
Contributing directly to a Roth IRA above the income range. An ineligible contribution is an excess contribution, and the IRS charges a 6 percent excise tax for every year it stays in the account. If a raise pushed you past $168,000 single or $252,000 joint, fix the contribution before the filing deadline.
Assuming your catch-up will work like last year. If you crossed the $150,000 wage line in 2025, your 2026 catch-ups must be Roth, and a plan without a Roth feature means no catch-up at all until it adds one. Check the plan now, not in December.
Your 2026 contribution checklist
- You know your per-paycheck deferral: $24,500 spread over your pay periods, or the slice of it you can sustain.
- You are capturing the full employer match every single pay period.
- If you are 50 or older and earned over $150,000 in 2025, you have confirmed your plan offers Roth catch-ups.
- If you fund an HSA, your payroll election plus employer deposits sum to $4,400 or $8,750, not more.
- If you fund an IRA, your income sits inside the deduction or Roth ranges, or you have a plan for the excess.
The bottom line
The 2026 limits give one person with a 401(k), an IRA, and a family HSA up to $40,750 of tax-advantaged room before any catch-up or employer dollar. Almost nobody fills all of it, and you do not need to. Pick the next account in the ordering above, set the payroll deduction, and let the automation do the compounding. To see what your own numbers build by retirement, run them through the 401(k) calculator or the HSA calculator.