The Roth 401(k) contribution limit for 2026 is $24,500 from your own paycheck. If you’ll be 50 or older by year-end, you can add an $8,000 catch-up for a total of $32,500. And if you’ll turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during 2026, a higher catch-up of $11,250 applies, taking your ceiling to $35,750. There’s no income limit that phases you out, which sets the Roth 401(k) apart from the Roth IRA.1Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500
The Base Limit and How It’s Shared With Traditional 401(k) Contributions
The $24,500 is your employee elective deferral limit under Internal Revenue Code Section 402(g). It covers only money coming out of your paycheck, not anything your employer puts in.1Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500 That’s up $1,000 from the 2025 limit of $23,500.
If your plan offers both Roth and traditional 401(k) options, the $24,500 is a combined cap across the two. You could send all of it to Roth, all of it to traditional, or split it any way you like. What you can’t do is contribute $24,500 to each.2Internal Revenue Service. Roth Comparison Chart
The limit also follows you across employers. If you switch jobs mid-year, your total deferrals to all 401(k), 403(b), SIMPLE, and SARSEP plans combined still cannot exceed $24,500. Neither payroll system will know what the other has already withheld, so tracking that total is on you. Governmental 457(b) plans are the exception — they carry a separate deferral limit, so a public-sector employee with access to both a 401(k) and a 457(b) can max out each.3Internal Revenue Service. How Much Salary Can You Defer if You’re Eligible for More Than One Retirement Plan
Catch-Up Contributions at 50 and the Higher Tier at 60-63
Turn 50 or older at any point during 2026 and you unlock an additional $8,000 in catch-up contributions, bringing your total employee ceiling to $32,500.4Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs, as Adjusted for Changes in Cost-of-Living Your plan has to allow catch-ups for you to use them, though nearly all large employer plans do.
A larger catch-up applies for a narrow age window created by the SECURE 2.0 Act. If you turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during 2026, your catch-up rises to $11,250, and your total employee limit becomes $35,750.4Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs, as Adjusted for Changes in Cost-of-Living Once you hit 64, you drop back to the standard $8,000 catch-up.
No Income Limit for Roth 401(k) Contributions
A Roth IRA phases out for single filers earning above $168,000 and married couples filing jointly above $252,000 in 2026.1Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Limit Increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA Limit Increases to $7,500 The Roth 401(k) has no such cap. Someone earning $500,000 can still contribute the full $24,500 in Roth deferrals.5Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plans FAQs on Designated Roth Accounts
You pay income tax on the contribution now. Qualified withdrawals in retirement come out tax-free, including all the investment growth, provided the account has been open at least five years and you’re 59½ or older.6Internal Revenue Service. Roth Account in Your Retirement Plan
Mandatory Roth Catch-Ups for High Earners Begin in 2026
Here’s a change worth knowing if you’re 50 or older and earn well. Starting with the 2026 plan year, SECURE 2.0 requires certain high earners to make all catch-up contributions on a Roth (after-tax) basis. If your prior-year FICA wages from the same employer exceeded $150,000, you can no longer route catch-up contributions to the pre-tax traditional side of your 401(k).7Federal Register. Catch-Up Contributions The threshold is indexed for inflation.
The rule covers 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plans. The IRS gave plans a two-year administrative transition period for 2024 and 2025 to update their systems, and that grace period is now over. 2026 is the first year plans must enforce it.7Federal Register. Catch-Up Contributions Governmental plans generally have additional time tied to their legislative body’s first regular session after the end of 2025.
If your prior-year FICA wages from that employer were $150,000 or less, nothing changes. You can still direct catch-ups to either side of the plan. And the base $24,500 deferral limit is unaffected by this rule at any income level.
Employer Contributions and the Total Account Cap
Employer matching and profit-sharing dollars don’t count against the $24,500. They fall under a separate, higher ceiling under Internal Revenue Code Section 415(c). For 2026, the total of everything going into your account from all sources — your deferrals, employer match, employer profit-sharing, and any voluntary after-tax contributions — cannot exceed the lesser of 100% of your compensation or $72,000.4Internal Revenue Service. 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs, as Adjusted for Changes in Cost-of-Living8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 415 – Limitations on Benefits and Contribution Under Qualified Plans
Catch-up contributions sit on top of the $72,000 cap rather than inside it. A worker 50 or older can theoretically reach $80,000 in total additions, and someone 60 through 63 can reach $83,250.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 414 – Definitions and Special Rules Actually hitting those numbers takes a very generous employer contribution stacked on maxed-out deferrals.
Section 604 of SECURE 2.0 also lets employers deposit their matching and nonelective contributions directly into the Roth side of your account, if the plan has been updated to allow it. The tax treatment is a little unusual: the Roth match counts as taxable income to you in the year it’s allocated, but no withholding is taken from your paycheck. The employer reports the amount on a Form 1099-R rather than your W-2, so you’ll need to account for the extra income when you file.10Internal Revenue Service. SECURE 2.0 Act Changes Affect How Businesses Complete Forms W-2 The match and its future growth then become tax-free in retirement.
What Happens if You Go Over the Limit
Excess deferrals have a hard deadline. Any amount over $24,500, plus the earnings it generated, must be distributed back to you by April 15 of the following year. That date does not shift if you file a tax extension.11Internal Revenue Service. Consequences to a Participant Who Makes Excess Deferrals to a 401(k) Plan
Miss the deadline and the excess gets taxed twice: once in the contribution year and again when withdrawn. The plan itself can face disqualification if it fails to correct through the IRS’s formal correction program.12Internal Revenue Service. 401(k) Plan Fix-It Guide – Elective Deferrals This scenario most often shows up when someone works for two unrelated employers in the same year and maxes out at both. Neither payroll system sees the other, so catching the overage and notifying one plan administrator in time is your job.