The 2026 rules in one line: you can defer $24,500 into a 401(k) and contribute $7,500 to an IRA, plus catch-ups from age 50. The two limits are separate — using one does not reduce the other. What decides the outcome is rarely the limit itself but the order you fill the accounts in, and whether your income lets you use the account you assumed you could.
The order that matters: capture the full employer match first (it is an immediate return no market can promise), then an HSA if you are on a high-deductible plan, then the rest of the 401(k), then an IRA. Anything above that is a taxable-account decision.
The 2026 limits
| Limit | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 401(k) / 403(b) / 457 / TSP elective deferral | $23,500 | $24,500 |
| Catch-up, age 50+ | $7,500 | $8,000 |
| Total, age 50+ | $31,000 | $32,500 |
| Enhanced catch-up, ages 60–63 | $11,250 | $11,250 (unchanged) |
| Total, ages 60–63 | — | $35,750 |
| IRA contribution | $7,000 | $7,500 |
| IRA catch-up, age 50+ | $1,000 | $1,100 |
| Total annual additions (§415(c)) / SEP cap | $70,000 | $72,000 |
| HSA, self-only / family | — | $4,400 / $8,750 |
Size your own deferral and match with the 401(k) contribution calculator, and check the IRA side against the IRA contribution limits tool. If you are on a high-deductible health plan, the HSA contribution calculator covers the account with the best tax treatment of the three — deductible going in, untaxed growth, and untaxed withdrawals for medical costs.
Phase-outs decide which account you can actually use
Contribution limits are the headline; income phase-outs are what stop people using the account they planned on. Both move each year.
| Phase-out range (modified AGI) | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Roth IRA, single / head of household | $150,000–$165,000 | $153,000–$168,000 |
| Roth IRA, married filing jointly | $236,000–$246,000 | $242,000–$252,000 |
| Traditional IRA deduction, single (covered by a plan) | $79,000–$89,000 | $81,000–$91,000 |
| Traditional IRA deduction, joint (spouse covered) | $126,000–$146,000 | $129,000–$149,000 |
Above the Roth range you cannot contribute directly, which is where a Roth conversion becomes the route in rather than a tax strategy. Note that a 401(k) has no income limit at all — only IRAs do.
RMDs: the bill for money you never spent
Every dollar deferred into a traditional 401(k) or IRA is a dollar the IRS has agreed to tax later rather than never. Required minimum distributions are when later arrives: at a statutory age you must withdraw a percentage of the balance each year and pay ordinary income tax on it, whether or not you need the money.
Two consequences catch people out. A large traditional balance can force withdrawals that push you into a higher bracket in retirement than you were in while working — the opposite of the assumption most deferral decisions are made on. And because the withdrawal raises taxable income, it can drag Medicare premium surcharges and the taxable share of Social Security up with it, so the real cost exceeds the headline rate. Size the requirement with the RMD calculator.
The window between retiring and claiming
The years after you stop working but before Social Security and RMDs begin are usually the lowest-income years of an adult life — and therefore the cheapest years to move money out of a traditional account. Converting to Roth during that window pays tax at a low rate now to remove the balance from every future RMD calculation.
It is a genuine trade, not a free lunch: the conversion is taxable in the year you make it, and filling too much of a bracket wastes the advantage. The interaction with benefits matters too, because the timing of a claim changes how much of the window you have. Model the two together with the Roth conversion calculator and the Social Security estimator.
Figures on this page are the published federal amounts for 2026 and are inflation-adjusted annually. They are general information, not tax or investment advice.