Roth 401(k) contributions do not count toward your Roth IRA limits. The IRS treats workplace retirement plans and individual retirement arrangements as separate categories, each with its own annual cap written into a different section of the tax code. Maxing out a Roth 401(k) at work leaves your Roth IRA contribution room fully intact, as long as you meet the income rules that apply to IRAs.
Why the Two Limits Are Independent
Roth 401(k) deferrals fall under Internal Revenue Code Section 402(g), which governs elective deferrals into employer-sponsored plans. Roth IRA contributions fall under Section 408A, which covers individual retirement arrangements.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408A – Roth IRAs Each account type has its own ceiling, so money going into one does not reduce the space available in the other.2Internal Revenue Service. Roth Comparison Chart
In practice, a worker under age 50 who fills both accounts in 2026 can defer $24,500 into a Roth 401(k) and add another $7,500 to a Roth IRA. That is $32,000 in after-tax retirement savings for a single year.3Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500 Both accounts share the same core benefit: contributions go in after tax, and qualified withdrawals — including all the growth — come out tax-free.
What You Can Put In Each Account for 2026
Roth 401(k)
The employee deferral limit for 401(k) plans, including the Roth option, is $24,500 in 2026.3Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500 Workers 50 and older can add an $8,000 catch-up, bringing them to $32,500. Under a SECURE 2.0 Act rule, employees who are 60, 61, 62, or 63 get a larger catch-up of $11,250, for a maximum deferral of $35,750.4Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plan Contribution Limits
The cap is per person, not per plan. If you change jobs mid-year or hold two jobs with 401(k) or 403(b) plans, your deferrals across every plan combined still cannot exceed the limit.
Roth IRA
The Roth IRA limit for 2026 is $7,500 if you are under 50, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older.5Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits The $1,100 catch-up for older savers is now indexed for inflation under SECURE 2.0, which is why it has risen above the older $1,000 flat amount.
One boundary matters here. The $7,500 cap is shared across every IRA you own, traditional and Roth combined. You cannot contribute $7,500 to a traditional IRA and another $7,500 to a Roth IRA in the same year. Splitting contributions between the two is fine, but the total across all your IRAs cannot exceed $7,500, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older.5Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits
Unlike 401(k) contributions, which have to come out of paychecks during the calendar year, IRA contributions for a given tax year can be made up until your tax filing deadline. For the 2026 tax year, that generally means April 15, 2027.
The Income Limit That Does Apply to Roth IRAs
The Roth 401(k) has no income restriction. Anyone whose employer offers the plan can use it regardless of salary. The Roth IRA is different: eligibility phases out based on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). For 2026:3Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
- Single or head of household: full contribution allowed below $153,000 MAGI. The amount shrinks between $153,000 and $168,000, and drops to zero at $168,000 or above.
- Married filing jointly: full contribution allowed below $242,000 MAGI. It phases out between $242,000 and $252,000, and reaches zero at $252,000 or above.
If your income lands inside the phase-out range, you have to calculate a reduced contribution amount. Going over that reduced figure triggers a 6% annual excise tax on the excess, charged each year the money stays in the account.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4973 – Tax on Excess Contributions to Certain Tax-Favored Accounts and Annuities
Spousal Contributions
If you file jointly, a non-working spouse can contribute to a Roth IRA based on the working spouse’s earnings. Each spouse can go up to the full limit of $7,500, or $8,600 if 50 or older, as long as the couple’s combined contributions do not exceed their total taxable compensation for the year.5Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – IRA Contribution Limits The same joint-filer phase-outs still apply.
If Your Income Blocks Direct Roth IRA Contributions
There is no income limit on converting a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. That is the mechanism behind what people call a “backdoor Roth IRA”: contribute to a nondeductible traditional IRA, which has no income cap for contributions, then convert those dollars to a Roth IRA. The conversion is reported on IRS Form 8606.7Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plans FAQs Regarding IRAs
Watch the pro-rata rule. If you already have pre-tax money in any traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA, the IRS treats a conversion as coming proportionally from your pre-tax and after-tax balances, not just the nondeductible portion. That can produce an unexpected tax bill. The strategy works most cleanly when you carry no existing pre-tax IRA balances. Since 2018, a Roth conversion also cannot be undone, so the decision is permanent once completed.7Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plans FAQs Regarding IRAs
Where the Two Accounts Do Interact: The Five-Year Clock
Even though the contribution limits are independent, the accounts touch each other during rollovers, and the five-year holding period is where that matters.
Both Roth 401(k) and Roth IRA accounts require a five-year holding period before investment growth can come out tax-free. In both cases the withdrawal also has to meet at least one qualifying condition: reaching age 59½, disability, or death. The Roth IRA adds one more qualifying event, a first-time home purchase of up to $10,000.2Internal Revenue Service. Roth Comparison Chart
The clocks run differently. For a Roth IRA, your first contribution to any Roth IRA starts a single clock that covers every Roth IRA you ever own, including accounts opened later. For a Roth 401(k), each employer plan has its own separate five-year clock. Change jobs, and the new employer’s Roth 401(k) starts a fresh period.
When you roll a Roth 401(k) balance into a Roth IRA, the Roth IRA’s clock governs, not the 401(k)’s. A Roth 401(k) held for seven years loses that history if it lands in a brand-new Roth IRA, because the IRA’s clock only starts with its first contribution. Opening and funding a Roth IRA early, even with a small amount, gets that clock running well before you ever need to move 401(k) money into it.