401k401(k) Contribution Limits
How much you — and your employer, combined — are allowed to put into a 401(k) each year, and how the limits change as you get older.
Reviewed January 2026 against current IRS guidance.
How the limits are structured
The IRS actually enforces several different 401(k) limits at once, and they apply on top of each other:
- The employee elective deferral limit — the maximum you can personally contribute from your paycheck, combining traditional (pre-tax) and Roth (after-tax) contributions.
- The age 50+ catch-up limit — an additional amount allowed on top of the deferral limit once you turn 50.
- The age 60–63 "super" catch-up — a larger catch-up amount for a narrow age band, created by the SECURE 2.0 Act.
- The overall (Section 415) limit — the combined cap on everything going into the account in a year: your deferrals, employer matching, employer profit-sharing, and any other employer contributions.
All of these are indexed for inflation and typically adjust each year, usually announced by the IRS in the fall for the following tax year.
For 2025
| Limit | Amount |
|---|---|
| Employee elective deferral (under age 50) | $23,500 |
| Catch-up contribution (age 50–59, or 64+) | +$7,500 |
| "Super" catch-up (ages 60, 61, 62, 63 only) | +$11,250 (in place of the standard catch-up) |
| Overall limit — employee + employer combined (under 50) | $70,000 |
| Overall limit with standard catch-up | $77,500 |
| Overall limit with the age 60–63 super catch-up | $81,250 |
| Annual compensation limit used to calculate contributions | $350,000 |
These figures move most years. If you're reading this well after it was last reviewed, treat the structure of the rules as reliable and the dollar figures as approximate until you check the current IRS limit.
Does the limit include employer matching?
No — not the elective deferral limit. The amount you personally choose to defer from your paycheck (traditional plus Roth combined) is capped separately from what your employer contributes. Employer matching and profit-sharing contributions count only toward the higher overall limit, not toward your personal deferral cap.
This means a generous employer match generally will not cause you to bump into your personal contribution ceiling — it's a separate, much larger bucket.
If you have more than one employer plan
The employee elective deferral limit is a per-person limit across all the 401(k) and 403(b) plans you contribute to in a calendar year — it is not a separate limit for each job. If you switch employers mid-year, or hold two jobs that each offer a plan, it's your responsibility to track total deferrals across both and stay under the combined cap. The overall (Section 415) limit, by contrast, generally applies separately to each unrelated employer's plan.
What happens if you contribute too much
If you defer more than the annual limit, the excess is treated as taxable income and generally must be withdrawn, with earnings, by April 15 of the following year to avoid the amount being taxed twice.
See correcting excess 401(k) contributions for the full process and deadlines.