2026 401(k) Catch-Up Limits and the Roth Rule to Check Now
The 2026 employee limit is $24,500. See how age changes the catch-up amount and when 2025 wages trigger the Roth rule.
For U.S. workers checking their final paychecks of 2026, the standard employee contribution limit for a 401(k) is $24,500. Many employees who will be at least 50 by year-end can contribute more if their plan allows catch-ups. The IRS lists a separate, higher catch-up limit for workers ages 60 through 63 and a Roth requirement for some workers based on their 2025 wages.
These limits apply to the 2026 contribution year. They matter in November because a 401(k) contribution generally comes through payroll, and the number of paychecks left in the year depends on your employer’s schedule. A payroll election and a contribution that has already appeared on your account are two different things to check.
The IRS lists these figures in its 2026 cost-of-living notice. The regular employee limit, the catch-up amount and the wage threshold each measure something different. The first two tell you how much you may be able to contribute, while the wage threshold helps determine the tax treatment of eligible catch-up dollars.
What the limits mean at different ages
For a standard 401(k), the $24,500 limit generally covers employee salary deferrals. A salary deferral is the portion of pay an employee directs into the plan. If your plan offers both traditional and Roth 401(k) contributions, both types of employee deferral count toward the same limit.
- Under 50 at year-end: up to $24,500 in regular employee deferrals.
- Ages 50 through 59 or age 64 and older at year-end: an additional $8,000 if the plan permits catch-up contributions, for up to $32,500 in employee deferrals.
- Ages 60 through 63 at year-end: an additional $11,250 where the higher catch-up is available, for up to $35,750 in employee deferrals.
The $11,250 figure replaces the ordinary $8,000 catch-up for eligible people in that age band. An employee who turns 63 in December 2026 falls into the higher band for 2026. An employee who turns 64 in December falls into the ordinary catch-up band for the same year.
The IRS guidance distinguishes standard 401(k) plans from SIMPLE 401(k) plans, which have their own limits. The figures above are for employee deferrals. The employer match is a different entry on a plan statement and is counted under the plan’s separate overall contribution limit.
When catch-up dollars have to go into Roth
For 2026, the IRS says that if your prior-year wages with the employer sponsoring the plan exceeded $150,000, your catch-up contributions generally must be Roth in a plan with Roth features that offers catch-ups. Roth employee deferrals are made with pay that is subject to income tax at the time of contribution. Traditional pre-tax deferrals generally reduce taxable income for the year in which you contribute.
The IRS uses prior-year wages for this rule. For contributions made during 2026, that means looking at 2025 wages from the employer that sponsors the plan. The agency’s published threshold uses wages above $150,000. Wages exactly at that amount do not exceed the threshold.
Because the rule concerns catch-ups, it affects a different set of dollars from the first $24,500 of regular employee deferrals. For example, consider a 55-year-old with a standard 401(k) whose 2025 wages from the plan sponsor were above the threshold. Once regular deferrals hit $24,500 in 2026, the plan can treat eligible additional deferrals up to the catch-up cap as Roth under the rule. A worker whose plan or employment history makes the wage calculation unclear can ask payroll which wages it used.
How to read your year-end payroll figures
Start with the year-to-date employee deferral line on your pay statement or retirement account. If there are separate pre-tax and Roth lines, add the two for a view of your own regular contributions. Keep the employer contribution line separate when comparing that number with the $24,500 employee limit.
The IRS says employees generally aggregate elective deferrals across plans when checking that limit. That can matter if you changed jobs and contributed to 401(k)s with two employers in the same year. The plan statement from your current employer will show the dollars sent through that plan. A final pay statement or account record from the earlier job gives you the other part of the picture.
Payroll can also clarify when an election change will reach a paycheck and how the plan classifies catch-up dollars. Those dates can differ from the date that an online election was submitted. If the regular deferral figure is already near the limit, the year-to-date total and the date of the next payroll are the most useful details to have in front of you when asking about the remaining 2026 checks.
The catch-up rule also differs from the separate rules for IRAs. The IRS publishes a different set of limits for IRA contributions, so an IRA balance or contribution line should be kept separate from the payroll figures used here.
Illustrative image of U.S. currency via Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Cropped.
