Employer 401(k) contribution limit 2026: the total that can go in
Your employer's match and profit sharing do not use your own deferral limit. They count toward a larger total, set by section 415(c), that covers every dollar added to your account in the year.
Room left under the 415(c) limit
$43,000
Limit $72,000.
| Your deferrals counted | $24,500 |
| Employer match | $4,500 |
| Other employer and after-tax money | $0 |
| Total counted | $29,000 |
Worked out by Radif Partners · How we calculate · limits read on irs.gov · not personal financial advice
For 2026 the total that can go into one person's 401(k) account from all sources is $72,000 or 100 % of pay, whichever is lower (section 415(c), Notice 2025-67). It counts your own deferrals except catch-ups, the employer match, profit sharing or other employer contributions, and any after-tax money; catch-ups come on top, so $80,000 at 50 and $83,250 at 60 to 63. Matches are computed on pay up to $360,000. On $150,000 of salary with the full $24,500 deferred, a match of 50 % up to 6 % of pay brings in $4,500, 100 % up to 4 % brings $6,000, and 100 % up to 6 % brings $9,000. In the first case $43,000 of the $72,000 is still unused: that space is what a plan with after-tax contributions, the so-called mega backdoor Roth, lets you fill.
What counts toward the $72,000
Section 415(c) limits the annual additions to a participant's account in a defined contribution plan. Annual additions are your elective deferrals (pre-tax and Roth), employer matching and nonelective contributions, after-tax employee contributions and forfeitures allocated to you. Catch-up contributions, rollovers and loan repayments are excluded. The cap is the lesser of $72,000 and 100 % of your compensation for the year, so for most workers the dollar figure is the one that binds, while for lower paid workers the 100 % test can be tighter than expected.
| Match formula | Match on $150,000 | Your deferral | Total counted | Room left under $72,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 % up to 6 % of pay | $4,500 | $24,500 | $29,000 | $43,000 |
| 100 % up to 4 % of pay | $6,000 | $24,500 | $30,500 | $41,500 |
| 100 % up to 6 % of pay | $9,000 | $24,500 | $33,500 | $38,500 |
The formulas read the same way in every plan. "50 % up to 6 %" means the employer adds 50 cents per dollar you defer, on deferrals up to 6 % of your pay: the most it gives is 3 % of pay, and only if you defer at least 6 %. "100 % up to 4 %" gives a dollar per dollar on the first 4 % of pay. A worker who defers less than the matched share leaves part of the match unclaimed; deferring more than the matched share earns no more match but still counts toward the total.
Your match formula against the limit
Room left under the 415(c) limit
$38,500
| Your deferrals counted | $24,500 |
| Employer match | $9,000 |
| Other employer and after-tax money | $0 |
| Total counted | $33,500 |
The compensation cap of $360,000
Section 401(a)(17) stops a plan from counting pay above $360,000 in 2026 when it computes contributions or runs its tests. A manager paid $500,000 with a 100 % up to 6 % match would expect $30,000 of match; the plan can only use 6 % of $360,000, which is $21,600. The same cap applies to profit sharing formulas and to SEP IRAs. For a high earner the practical consequence is that the match rate on total pay is lower than the formula suggests, and that the deferral percentage needed to receive the full match should be applied to the capped amount.
When 100 % of pay is the lower limit
The percentage limb mostly concerns part-time workers, people with a short working year and small business owners with a generous profit sharing plan. Take $40,000 of pay, $10,000 deferred, a 100 % up to 6 % match worth $2,400 and a $25,000 profit sharing allocation. That totals $37,400, above the $40,000 that 100 % of pay allows, so $0 has to be corrected, usually by cutting back the profit sharing allocation. A catch-up made by the same worker, if over 50, would not be counted in that total.
Separate employers, separate totals
Your own deferral limit is personal and shared across every job. The 415(c) total is not: it applies per employer, so two unrelated employers each have a $72,000 ceiling for the plan they sponsor. This is how a salaried employee with a side business can have a solo 401(k) with its own profit sharing, as long as the deferrals in both plans stay within one $24,500 (solo 401(k) limits). Companies under common control, such as a parent and its subsidiaries, are treated as one employer.
After-tax money and the mega backdoor Roth
Some plans allow after-tax contributions in addition to pre-tax and Roth deferrals. They fall under the $72,000 total, not under the $24,500. In the 50 % up to 6 % case, $43,000 of room remains; a plan that accepts after-tax money and then allows an in-plan Roth conversion, or an in-service rollover to a Roth IRA, lets you move that money into Roth quickly, before much earnings build up. That combination is what people call a mega backdoor Roth. Two limits apply in practice. The plan must offer both features, and after-tax contributions are tested together with the match in the ACP test, which can cut back highly compensated employees, those paid more than $160,000 in the prior year. A plan that fails the test returns the excess after year end.
Add profit sharing and see what remains
Room left under the 415(c) limit
$43,000
| Your deferrals counted | $24,500 |
| Employer match | $4,500 |
| Other employer and after-tax money | $0 |
| Total counted | $29,000 |
Timing of employer deposits
Your deferrals have to come from 2026 paychecks, but the employer has more time. An employer contribution counts as an annual addition for 2026 if it is allocated for the plan year and paid by the due date of the employer's tax return, extensions included. That is why profit sharing often appears in the account in the spring, and why a true-up match for 2026 may arrive in early 2027 (maxing out and the true-up). Vesting schedules decide when the employer money becomes yours, not whether it counts: unvested money still uses the limit in the year it is allocated. The figures come from Notice 2025-67 and the IRS COLA table.