2026 401(k) Limits by Age: Your Number Is $24,500, $32,500, or $35,750
If you are trying to work out how much you can put into your 401(k) this year, the 2026 answer is $24,500 if you are under 50, $32,500 if you are 50 or older (except ages 60 through 63), and $35,750 at ages 60 through 63. A rule that is new for 2026 adds a catch: if your wages in the prior year were more than $150,000, your catch-up contributions can only go in as Roth.
Where the numbers come from
As of October 19, 2026, the figures in this guide are the 2026 limits in IRS Notice 2025-67, which the IRS announced on November 13, 2025 (IRS newsroom release). Percentages shown are calculated from those IRS figures, with the formula next to each. This guide covers 2026 only and has no 2027 figures.
Your own contribution limit (the elective deferral limit) has two parts. The first is a base of $24,500 for 2026, which is the starting point for all three age bands. The second is a catch-up amount that depends on your age: none under 50, $8,000 at 50 or older, and $11,250 at ages 60 through 63 (the SECURE 2.0 super catch-up). Base plus catch-up gives your limit.
On top of those sits a separate $72,000 total limit that covers your contributions and your employer's together, explained in its own section below. Each of these figures is a ceiling. A limit tells you the most you are allowed to put in, not how much to put in.
Your 2026 limit by age band
Find your age in the table, then use the ladder underneath it to confirm the boundaries.
| Age band | Base limit | Catch-up amount | Maximum of your own contributions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 50 | $24,500 | None | $24,500 |
| 50 or older, except ages 60 through 63 | $24,500 | $8,000 | $32,500 |
| Ages 60, 61, 62 and 63 | $24,500 | $11,250 (super catch-up, SECURE 2.0) | $35,750 |
Three details in this table are easy to get wrong.
The super catch-up replaces the standard catch-up. It does not stack on top. The totals add up only that way: $24,500 + $11,250 = $35,750. At age 61, your catch-up room is $11,250, not $8,000 plus $11,250.
The boundaries are exact. Use this ladder to find your row:
- Age 49 or younger: $24,500
- Ages 50 through 59: $32,500
- Ages 60, 61, 62 and 63: $35,750
- Age 64 and older: $32,500. The higher catch-up is listed only for ages 60 through 63, so the standard $8,000 catch-up is the one that applies from 64 on.
This guide does not cover how your plan counts your age. If you turn 50, 60 or 64 during 2026, ask your plan administrator which band applies to you and from which paycheck.
How much the limits rose from 2025
The IRS raised the base limit by $1,000, raised the standard catch-up by $500, left the super catch-up at $11,250, and raised the total limit by $2,000. Here are the two years side by side.
| Item | 2025 | 2026 | Dollar change | Percent change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base limit on your own contributions | $23,500 | $24,500 | +$1,000 | +4.3% |
| Catch-up, age 50 or older | $7,500 | $8,000 | +$500 | +6.7% |
| Super catch-up, ages 60 through 63 | $11,250 | $11,250 | No change | No change |
| Total limit, you plus employer (§415(c)) | $70,000 | $72,000 | +$2,000 | +2.9% |
Percent change = (2026 limit - 2025 limit) ÷ 2025 limit. Base: ($24,500 - $23,500) ÷ $23,500 = 4.3%. Catch-up: ($8,000 - $7,500) ÷ $7,500 = 6.7%. Total: ($72,000 - $70,000) ÷ $70,000 = 2.9%. All three percentages are rounded to one decimal place.
Percent math and dollar math point in different directions here. In percent terms, the standard catch-up grew faster than the base (6.7% versus 4.3%). In dollar terms, the base grew by more ($1,000 versus $500). Dollars are what change your paycheck, so the dollar column is the one to plan with and the percent column is the one for comparing years.
The increases stack differently by age band, so your own maximum moved by a different amount depending on your row:
- Under 50: $23,500 to $24,500, up $1,000 or 4.3%.
- 50 or older, except 60 through 63: $31,000 to $32,500, up $1,500 or 4.8%.
- Ages 60 through 63: $34,750 to $35,750, up $1,000 or 2.9%.
Ages 60 through 63 got the smallest percentage increase and only matched the under-50 band in dollars, because the super catch-up did not move while the standard catch-up did. The extra room that ages 60 through 63 have over the standard catch-up was $3,750 in 2025 and is $3,250 in 2026.
Here is the chain from announcement to paycheck. Rule-of-thumb, not a forecast: it assumes 26 biweekly paychecks, and your payroll calendar may differ.
- Event: IRS Notice 2025-67, announced November 13, 2025, raised the base limit by $1,000 and the standard catch-up by $500.
- Transmission: your own maximum rose by $1,000 under 50, by $1,500 at 50 through 59 (and 64 and older), and by $1,000 at 60 through 63.
- Wallet: spread over 26 paychecks, $1,000 of extra room is about $38.46 per paycheck and $1,500 is about $57.69.
New for 2026: Roth-only catch-up for higher earners
New for 2026: Roth-only catch-up. If your wages in the prior year were more than $150,000, your catch-up contributions can only be made as Roth contributions (SECURE 2.0 §603). The catch-up involved is $8,000, or $11,250 at ages 60 through 63.
Here is how the rule sorts readers:
- Under 50: you have no catch-up contributions, so the rule has nothing to apply to.
- 50 or older, prior-year wages of $150,000 or less: the rule, as this guide describes it, applies to wages above $150,000, so it does not describe a Roth-only requirement for you. Confirm your plan's treatment.
- 50 or older, prior-year wages of more than $150,000: your catch-up contributions, $8,000 or $11,250 at ages 60 through 63, can only be made as Roth.
"Prior year" means the year before the contribution year, so for 2026 contributions the test looks at your 2025 wages. The threshold is "more than $150,000," which means wages of exactly $150,000 fall outside the rule as described.
In dollars, the Roth-only portion is $8,000, or $11,250 at ages 60 through 63. In percent terms, that is 24.6% of the $32,500 maximum for the 50-or-older band and 31.5% of the $35,750 maximum for ages 60 through 63. The rule changes how the catch-up portion is made, not how large it is.
This guide has two gaps on this rule. It describes the rule for catch-up contributions only, and it does not cover whether the rule changes how your first $24,500 can be saved. It also does not cover which pay figure the $150,000 test uses or whether your plan offers a Roth option, so take both of those questions to your plan administrator.
Note: if your catch-up dollars now go in as Roth instead of pre-tax, the Roth-only rule could lower your take-home pay for the same contribution amount, because Roth contributions go in after tax. A tax professional can size that for your situation, and nothing here is tax advice.
The $72,000 total limit: your money plus your employer's
The third number is a combined cap. It is listed under §415(c): $72,000 for 2026, up $2,000 from $70,000 in 2025, covering your contributions and your employer's together. Picture one shared bucket with a $72,000 line on it. Your paycheck contributions pour in, and so does anything your employer adds, such as a match.
Take a reader under 50 who contributes the full $24,500. The most that employer contributions could add under the combined cap is $47,500. That is a ceiling on the arithmetic, not a description of any employer's plan. This guide has no figures on what any employer contributes, and it does not assume your plan has a match.
The age-band limits are what cap your own contributions, and the combined cap could come into play when employer contributions are large.
Two questions stay open, so this guide does not answer them:
- Your employer's contributions. Whether your employer contributes, how much, and when those dollars are credited depend on your plan. Treat any match as unconfirmed until you have seen your plan's documents.
- Catch-up dollars and the $72,000. This guide does not cover whether catch-up contributions count toward the combined cap, so it does not add them into it. Your plan administrator can tell you how your plan handles it.
Reader math: your limit, your room, your paycheck number
Use these four formulas with your own numbers. They work for any age band and any pay schedule.
Reader math
- Your 2026 limit = $24,500 + your catch-up. Catch-up: none under 50, $8,000 at 50 or older, $11,250 at ages 60 through 63.
- Remaining room = your 2026 limit - your 2026 contributions so far.
- Dollars per paycheck = remaining room ÷ paychecks left in 2026.
- Contribution rate = dollars per paycheck ÷ your gross pay per paycheck.
The sums for the first formula come straight from the age-band table: $24,500 (no catch-up) under 50, $24,500 + $8,000 = $32,500 at 50 or older, and $24,500 + $11,250 = $35,750 at ages 60 through 63.
A gut check for today. As of October 19, 2026, it is day 292 of 365, so 80% of the year is behind you and 73 days remain. An even pace would put your year-to-date total near $19,600 under the $24,500 limit, $26,000 under the $32,500 limit and $28,600 under the $35,750 limit. This is a rule-of-thumb, not a forecast, and it is not a target from the IRS notice. It assumes contributions arrive evenly, and bonuses or an uneven pay calendar can move your real line.
A worked example. The inputs below are hypothetical, not data: age 45, $18,000 contributed so far in 2026, 5 paychecks left, and $5,000 gross pay per paycheck.
- Limit: $24,500, because age 45 is under 50.
- Remaining room: $24,500 - $18,000 = $6,500.
- Dollars per paycheck: $6,500 ÷ 5 = $1,300.
- Contribution rate: $1,300 ÷ $5,000 = 26%.
Dollar math says $1,300 leaves each paycheck. Percent math says that is 26% of gross pay. Run both. The dollar figure tells you what leaves the check. The percent figure tells you how big a bite that is of your pay, and it is the one to enter if your plan portal asks for a percentage. The formulas also show why timing matters. The same remaining room divided by fewer paychecks means a bigger number per check.
Same formulas for a 61-year-old, again with hypothetical inputs: a limit of $35,750 ($24,500 + $11,250), $27,000 contributed so far, 5 paychecks left and $6,000 gross pay per paycheck. Remaining room is $35,750 - $27,000 = $8,750. Per paycheck, that is $8,750 ÷ 5 = $1,750, or $1,750 ÷ $6,000 = 29.2% of gross pay.
The practical clock is the paychecks you receive before the year ends. Your plan may set a last date for changing your contribution settings, and this guide does not cover it, so ask.
What this guide does not cover
This guide is built on 2026 limits and one new rule. It does not state the following, so check each one before acting:
- 2027 limits.
- Your plan's rules: whether it offers Roth, whether and how your employer contributes, and the cutoff for changing contribution settings.
- How your age and your prior-year wages are measured for the age bands and the $150,000 test.
- Whether catch-up dollars count toward the $72,000 total.
- The tax effect of any of this for your situation.
This is general information, not tax advice, and it makes no promise about investment returns. Your plan administrator can answer the plan questions, and a tax professional can answer the tax ones.
Source: IRS Notice 2025-67, announced November 13, 2025 (IRS newsroom release). Research date for every figure: October 19, 2026.
Your next step
- Get your total so far. Find your 2026 year-to-date 401(k) contribution total on your latest pay stub or in your plan portal, and write down the date it covers.
- Pick your limit. Match your age to the ladder: $24,500 under 50, $32,500 at 50 through 59 and at 64 and older, $35,750 at 60 through 63. If you turn 50, 60 or 64 during 2026, ask which band your plan applies to you.
- Run the remaining-room math. Use the reader-math formulas and keep both answers: dollars per paycheck and percent of pay.
- Check the Roth catch-up rule. If you are 50 or older and your prior-year wages were more than $150,000, ask how your plan will process your catch-up contributions as Roth and what that does to your paycheck.
- Ask two plan questions. First, how and when your employer contributes, if it does. Second, the last date to change your contribution settings so a 2026 paycheck reflects the change.
Your limit is a lookup; your remaining room is one subtraction. Before your next paycheck, find your year-to-date contribution total, match your age to the ladder above, and subtract.
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