How Much Can You Contribute to a Roth 401(k)?

The Roth 401(k) contribution limit for 2026 is $24,500 from your own paycheck, up from $23,500 in 2025.¹ If you are 50 or older, you can add an $8,000 catch-up contribution, bringing your personal maximum to $32,500. Workers who are 60, 61, 62, or 63 at any point during the year can contribute an even larger catch-up of $11,250, for a personal maximum of $35,750. There is no income limit on who can contribute to a Roth 401(k).

The $24,500 Employee Deferral Limit

The $24,500 figure is the elective deferral limit — the most you can redirect from your salary into a 401(k) plan in 2026, whether you put it in the Roth side, the traditional pre-tax side, or split it between them. The limit comes from cost-of-living adjustments published in IRS Notice 2025-67.²

For reference, the limit was $23,500 in 2025, $23,000 in 2024, and $22,500 in 2023.

Catch-Up Contributions at 50 and Older

If you turn 50 or older by the end of 2026, you can contribute an additional $8,000 on top of the $24,500 base, for a total personal contribution of $32,500.¹ The $8,000 catch-up for 2026 is up from $7,500 in both 2024 and 2025.

Your plan has to actually offer catch-up contributions for you to use them. Most large employer plans do, but confirm with your plan administrator if you aren’t sure.

The Higher Catch-Up for Ages 60 Through 63

The SECURE 2.0 Act created a bigger catch-up tier for a narrow age window. If you are 60, 61, 62, or 63 at any point during 2026, your catch-up contribution rises to $11,250 instead of $8,000, pushing your personal maximum to $35,750.¹

Once you turn 64, you drop back to the standard $8,000 catch-up. The $11,250 amount for 2026 is unchanged from 2025, though it is subject to future inflation adjustments.²

Roth and Traditional Share One Limit

The $24,500 limit is per person, not per account type. If you contribute to both a Roth 401(k) and a traditional pre-tax 401(k), the combined total cannot exceed $24,500 plus any catch-up you qualify for.³ You cannot double the limit by splitting your contributions.

The limit also follows you across employers. If you change jobs during the year or hold two jobs at once, you have to aggregate every elective deferral from every 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plan you participate in. Separate payroll systems do not talk to each other, so staying under the single $24,500 ceiling is on you.³

No Income Limit Applies

A Roth IRA phases out your ability to contribute once your income crosses certain thresholds. A Roth 401(k) does not. If your employer’s plan offers the Roth option, you can use it regardless of what you earn.⁴ You can also contribute to a Roth IRA in the same year as long as you meet that account’s income rules; each has its own separate limit.

Employer Contributions and the All-Source Ceiling

Your personal $24,500 is one piece of a larger total. Employer matches, profit-sharing deposits, and any voluntary after-tax contributions you make also count toward a separate ceiling set by Section 415(c) of the Internal Revenue Code. For 2026, the combined total from all sources is capped at $72,000, up from $70,000 in 2025.²

Catch-up contributions sit on top of that $72,000. For a worker 50 or older, the all-source cap effectively becomes $80,000. For a worker between 60 and 63, it becomes $83,250.⁵

Mandatory Roth Catch-Up for Higher Earners Starts After 2026

A separate SECURE 2.0 rule will force some older, higher-paid workers to put their catch-up contributions on the Roth side rather than pre-tax. The IRS has issued final regulations, and the requirement generally applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.⁶

The wage trigger set by Notice 2025-67 is $150,000 in FICA wages from the prior year.² If you cross that threshold, any catch-up you make must be Roth. The rule does not change how much you can contribute. It changes only the tax treatment. Workers under the threshold keep the choice between Roth and pre-tax.

If You Go Over the Limit

Contributing more than $24,500 across your plans in a single year creates what the IRS calls an excess deferral. You have to notify your plan administrator and have the excess, along with any earnings on it, distributed back to you by April 15 of the following year.⁷ The April 15 deadline is fixed; filing a tax extension does not move it.

Correct the excess in time and the over-contributed amount is simply included in your taxable income for the year you made the deferral, with the earnings taxed in the year distributed. Miss the deadline and the excess gets taxed twice: once in the year you contributed, and again when the money eventually comes out of the plan.⁸

Within a single employer, payroll will usually stop your contributions once you hit the limit. The real risk is participating in plans at two different employers in the same year, because neither system sees the other’s deferrals.

1
Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
2
Internal Revenue Service. IRS Notice 2025-67 – 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs
3
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plan Contribution Limits
4
Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plans FAQs on Designated Roth Accounts
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 415 – Limitations on Benefits and Contribution Under Qualified Plans
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. Consequences to a Participant Who Makes Excess Deferrals to a 401(k) Plan
8
Internal Revenue Service. Consequences to a Participant Who Makes Excess Annual Salary Deferrals