Are 401k and Roth 401k Contribution Limits Combined?

Yes. Traditional 401(k) and Roth 401(k) contribution limits are combined into a single annual cap on employee deferrals. For 2026, that shared ceiling is $24,500, and every dollar you defer from your paycheck into either account counts against the same number.¹ You can send it all to one, split it any way you want, or shift the split mid-year, but you cannot put $24,500 into each side.

How the Shared Cap Works

The single limit comes from Internal Revenue Code Section 402(g), which sets one annual cap on elective deferrals regardless of how many account types your plan offers. The 2026 figure of $24,500 is up from $23,500 in 2025.²

An example. If you contribute $16,000 to your Traditional 401(k) during 2026, you have $8,500 of room left for Roth contributions that year. Not a fresh $24,500. The account types differ in how they’re taxed, not in how much room they give you. Pre-tax Traditional contributions lower your taxable income now; qualified Roth withdrawals come out tax-free in retirement, including investment gains, provided the account has been open at least five years and you’re 59½ or older.³

Catch-Up Contributions Share the Same Cap

If you turn 50 or older by December 31, you get extra deferral room on top of the standard limit. For 2026, the standard catch-up is $8,000, raising your total employee deferral ceiling to $32,500. That extra $8,000 is also shared between Traditional and Roth. Eligibility depends on your age at year-end, so someone turning 50 in November qualifies for the full catch-up that entire year.⁴

The SECURE 2.0 Act created a higher catch-up tier for participants who turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during the year. For 2026, that enhanced catch-up is $11,250, bringing the total employee deferral limit for that age group to $35,750.¹ Once you turn 64 before year-end, you drop back to the standard $8,000 catch-up.²

The 2026 employee deferral limits by age:

Under age 50: $24,500
Age 50 to 59, or 64 and older: $32,500
Age 60 through 63: $35,750

When Catch-Ups Must Go Into the Roth Side

SECURE 2.0 added a rule that removes the choice for higher earners. If your wages from the employer sponsoring the plan exceeded a specified threshold in the prior calendar year, your catch-up contributions must be Roth. The statutory threshold is $145,000, indexed for inflation.⁵

Final regulations generally apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026, though plans may adopt the rule earlier using a reasonable, good-faith interpretation.⁶ Many sponsors are implementing it for 2026, so confirm with your plan administrator. The rule reaches only catch-up amounts; your standard $24,500 can still go into a Traditional account regardless of income, and workers below the wage threshold keep full choice over both.

Employer Contributions Don’t Count Against the Shared Cap

The $24,500 combined limit applies only to your own paycheck deferrals. Employer match and profit-sharing contributions sit outside it and don’t reduce the room you have for Traditional or Roth deferrals.⁷

There is a broader ceiling under Section 415(c) that captures everything going into your plan account. For 2026, that total limit is $72,000 or 100% of compensation, whichever is less, and it includes your deferrals, employer contributions, and forfeitures.²⁸ Catch-up contributions stack on top of it: $80,000 for the 50-to-59 and 64-plus group, and $83,250 for those aged 60 through 63.

Two Jobs in the Same Year

The $24,500 combined cap follows you as a person, not your employer. If you work two jobs in 2026, your total employee deferrals across both plans still cannot exceed $24,500. The same aggregation rule covers 401(k) and 403(b) elective deferrals.⁷

Your employers don’t share payroll data, so tracking falls on you. This is the most common way people accidentally over-contribute: a new job mid-year, a fresh enrollment, no accounting for what already went in at the last plan. Before setting your contribution rate at a new employer, pull your year-to-date pay stubs from the old one.

Fixing an Over-Contribution

If your combined deferrals cross $24,500, you have to withdraw the excess plus any earnings on it by April 15 of the following year.⁹ Contact one of your plan administrators and request a corrective distribution. The plan issues a Form 1099-R.

Taxation depends on timing. Corrected by April 15: the excess is taxed in the year you contributed it, and earnings on that excess are taxed in the year you receive them back. No double tax.¹⁰ Miss April 15, and the excess is taxed both in the contribution year and again when eventually distributed from the plan, with earnings taxed on distribution.⁹

The April 15 deadline is firm and is not extended by a filing extension.⁹ If two employers are involved, pick a plan and start the process early; administrators can be slow. The 10% early withdrawal penalty does not apply to a corrective distribution of an excess deferral, even if you’re under 59½.

1
Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
2
Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2025-67 – 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs
3
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Designated Roth Account
4
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Catch-Up Contributions
5
Federal Register. Catch-Up Contributions
6
Internal Revenue Service. Treasury, IRS Issue Final Regulations on New Roth Catch-Up Rule, Other SECURE 2.0 Act Provisions
7
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plan Contribution Limits
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 415 – Limitations on Benefits and Contribution Under Qualified Plans
9
Internal Revenue Service. Consequences to a Participant Who Makes Excess Deferrals to a 401(k) Plan
10
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498