2026 savings limits: $49,750 at age 61, $36,400 at age 45
The IRS limits for 401(k)s, IRAs and HSAs in 2026, how inflation indexing and $500 rounding set them, and what 2027 figures exist so far.
- What happened
- For 2026 the IRS set the 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457 and Thrift Savings Plan deferral limit at $24,500 and the IRA limit at $7,500 (IR-2025-111, November 13, 2025). The age 60–63 catch-up stayed at $11,250 while the ordinary age-50 catch-up rose to $8,000.
- Why
- Each limit is a dollar amount written into the tax code and adjusted for the cost of living, but the increase is rounded down to a fixed step — $500 for deferrals and the IRA limit, $100 for the IRA catch-up — so limits move in jumps, not smoothly.
- The numbers that matter
- $24,500401(k)/403(b)/governmental 457 deferral limit, 2026$11,250Catch-up for ages 60–63, 2026 (unchanged from 2025)$7,500IRA contribution limit, 2026$4,400 / $8,750HSA limit, self-only / family, 2026
- Why it matters
- Maxing a 401(k), an IRA and a self-only HSA in 2026 comes to $36,400 at age 45 and $49,750 at age 61; the $13,350 difference is the sum of three catch-ups.
- What happens nextas we saw it on 7 Oct 2026
- The IRS has published 2027 HSA limits (Rev. Proc. 2026-24, Internal Revenue Bulletin of June 15, 2026). As of October 4, 2026 it had not announced 2027 401(k) or IRA limits; the 2026 ones were announced on November 13, 2025.
Small limits that crossed a rounding step jumped by 7% to 10%; the age 60–63 catch-up did not move at all.
| IRA catch-up, 50+ ($1,000 to $1,100) | 10.0% |
|---|---|
| IRA limit ($7,000 to $7,500) | 7.1% |
| 401(k) catch-up, 50+ ($7,500 to $8,000) | 6.7% |
| 401(k) deferral ($23,500 to $24,500) | 4.3% |
| HSA self-only ($4,300 to $4,400) | 2.3% |
| 401(k) catch-up, ages 60–63 ($11,250) | 0.0% |
In 2026 the tax code lets a 61-year-old put $49,750 into a 401(k), an IRA and a self-only health savings account. A 45-year-old with the same three accounts can put in $36,400. The gap, $13,350, is made up entirely of catch-up allowances — and the largest of them, the $11,250 catch-up for workers aged 60 to 63, is the one workplace limit the IRS left unchanged for 2026.
Every figure below comes from the IRS’s own news release, notice or revenue procedure, or from the text of the Internal Revenue Code. Where a figure for 2027 exists, it is shown; where it does not, that is said.
The 2026 limits
News release IR-2025-111, dated November 13, 2025, says the limit for employees in “401(k), 403(b), governmental 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan is increased to $24,500, up from $23,500 for 2025.” The IRA limit “is increased to $7,500 from $7,000.” The age-50 catch-up in those workplace plans rose to $8,000 from $7,500, so a participant aged 50 or over “generally can contribute up to $32,500.” The IRA catch-up rose to $1,100 from $1,000.
| Limit | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457, TSP deferral | $23,500 | $24,500 | Not announced |
| Catch-up, age 50 and over | $7,500 | $8,000 | Not announced |
| Catch-up, ages 60–63 (instead of the above) | $11,250 | $11,250 | Not announced |
| Total defined contribution additions, section 415(c) | $70,000 | $72,000 | Not announced |
| IRA | $7,000 | $7,500 | Not announced |
| IRA catch-up, age 50 and over | $1,000 | $1,100 | Not announced |
| HSA, self-only coverage | $4,300 | $4,400 | $4,500 |
| HSA, family coverage | $8,550 | $8,750 | $9,000 |
The section 415(c) line is the ceiling on everything that goes into one person’s defined contribution account in a year, employer money included. The IRS’s 401(k) limits page puts it at $72,000 for 2026, “$80,000 including catch-up contributions or up to $83,250 for those age 60 to 63.”
For 2026 the Roth IRA income phase-out range is $153,000 to $168,000 for singles and heads of household (from $150,000 to $165,000) and $242,000 to $252,000 for married couples filing jointly (from $236,000 to $246,000). For a married person filing separately it is not indexed and “remains between $0 and $10,000.” The deduction phase-out for a traditional IRA, for a single filer covered by a workplace plan, is $81,000 to $91,000; for a joint filer who is covered, $129,000 to $149,000.
How a limit moves: indexed, then rounded down
None of these figures is set by discretion. Each starts as a dollar amount written into the Internal Revenue Code and is adjusted every year by a formula the code also specifies. Notice 2025-67 states the principle: “Section 415(d) requires that the Secretary of the Treasury annually adjust these limitations for cost-of-living increases,” using procedures “similar to those used to adjust benefit amounts under section 215(i)(2)(A) of the Social Security Act”, the rule used for Social Security’s cost-of-living increases.
For the deferral limit, section 402(g)(4) sets the base period as “the calendar quarter beginning July 1, 2005” and says any increase “which is not a multiple of $500 shall be rounded to the next lowest multiple of $500.” The age-50 catch-up in section 414(v)(2)(C) uses the same base quarter and the same $500 rule. The IRA limit in section 219(b)(5)(C) is rounded “to the next lower multiple of $500”; the IRA catch-up, indexed only since SECURE 2.0, to the next lower multiple of $100. The section 415(c) ceiling steps in multiples of $1,000. HSA limits are the exception: section 223(g)(2) rounds to the nearest multiple of $50.
The statutory base for elective deferrals is $15,000. $24,500 − $15,000 = $9,500, and $9,500 ÷ $500 = 19 whole steps. The IRA limit’s base is $5,000: $7,500 − $5,000 = $2,500, or 5 steps. The IRA catch-up base is $1,000: $1,100 is its first $100 step.
Because increases are rounded down, a limit can sit still for a year while inflation accumulates and then jump when the indexed figure crosses the next step. That is why the IRA limit rose 7.1% ($500 ÷ $7,000) and the IRA catch-up 10.0% ($100 ÷ $1,000) between 2025 and 2026, while the larger deferral limit rose 4.3% ($1,000 ÷ $23,500). These percentages describe the size of the steps relative to each limit. They are not a measure of inflation in any one year.
The 60–63 window and the Roth rule for higher earners
SECURE 2.0 added section 414(v)(2)(E). For workers who reach 60, 61, 62 or 63 during the year, the catch-up is “the greater of — (I) $10,000, or (II) an amount equal to 150 percent of the dollar amount which would be in effect” for 2024. The IRS COLA table shows the 2024 catch-up as $7,500, and 150% of $7,500 is $11,250. Notice 2025-67 says the figure for 2026 “remains $11,250.” In the year a worker turns 64, the ordinary age-50 catch-up applies again.
In 2025 the age 60–63 catch-up exceeded the ordinary one by $11,250 − $7,500 = $3,750. In 2026 the gap is $11,250 − $8,000 = $3,250. A worker aged 60 to 63 can defer $24,500 + $11,250 = $35,750 in 2026, against $32,500 at other ages of 50 and over.
The IRS catch-up page, updated May 7, 2026, says: “Beginning in 2026, participants of plans with Roth features offering catch-up contributions must make catch-up contributions on a Roth basis if prior-year wages with the plan sponsor exceeded $150,000 (for 2026).” The statute set the threshold at $145,000, indexed in $5,000 steps; Notice 2025-67 raised it to $150,000, measured on 2025 wages. The final regulations announced in IR-2025-91 on September 15, 2025 “generally apply to contributions in taxable years beginning after Dec. 31, 2026,” and plans may apply the rule earlier using “a reasonable, good faith interpretation of statutory provisions.”
Read side by side, the IRS pages say the Roth requirement itself runs from 2026, while the detailed regulations become binding for 2027 and 2026 is governed by good-faith compliance. For a participant the practical effect is the same: someone who earned more than $150,000 from the employer in 2025 makes 2026 catch-ups as Roth contributions — taxed now, not on withdrawal — not as pre-tax deferrals.
What it means for your money
The arithmetic below assumes one person with a 401(k)-type plan, an IRA and an HSA, and enough earnings to fund all three. It shows the legal ceiling, not a target. An HSA also requires coverage under a high-deductible health plan, which Rev. Proc. 2025-19 defines for 2026 as a deductible of at least $1,700 for self-only coverage or $3,400 for family coverage.
401(k) deferral $24,500 + IRA $7,500 + self-only HSA $4,400 = $36,400, or $3,033.33 a month. With family HSA coverage: $24,500 + $7,500 + $8,750 = $40,750.
401(k) $24,500 + age 60–63 catch-up $11,250 = $35,750. IRA $7,500 + catch-up $1,100 = $8,600. Self-only HSA $4,400 + the $1,000 additional contribution that section 223(b)(3) allows from age 55 = $5,400. Total: $35,750 + $8,600 + $5,400 = $49,750, or $4,145.83 a month. With family HSA coverage: $35,750 + $8,600 + $9,750 = $54,100.
Two mechanisms matter more than the totals. First, the limits apply to individuals, so in a couple where both have earnings and workplace plans, each has a separate set. Second, the Roth IRA income ranges decide whether the $7,500 can go directly into a Roth IRA at all. For a reader weighing how large these sums become over decades, the compound growth explainer and the freedom number calculator show the mechanism; neither is a promise of any return.
What about 2027?
Rev. Proc. 2026-24, printed in Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-25 of June 15, 2026, sets the 2027 HSA limits at $4,500 self-only and $9,000 family, with high-deductible plan minimums of $1,750 and $3,500. As of October 4, 2026, the IRS COLA table (last updated August 24, 2026) shows columns for 2023 to 2026 only, and the most recent Employee Plans news item, dated September 18, 2026, concerns plan amendment deadlines. No 2027 limit for 401(k)s, IRAs or catch-ups had been announced.
For reference, the 2026 retirement plan limits were announced on November 13, 2025, and Notice 2025-67 was printed in the Internal Revenue Bulletin of December 1, 2025. Whenever the 2027 notice is issued, the statute requires any change to the deferral limit or the age-50 catch-up to be a whole multiple of $500.
Sources
- 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500 (IR-2025-111, Nov. 13, 2025)Internal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- Notice 2025-67: 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs, as Adjusted for Changes in Cost-of-LivingInternal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-49 (Dec. 1, 2025), containing Notice 2025-67Internal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- Notice 2024-80: 2025 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAsInternal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- COLA increases for dollar limitations on benefits and contributions (page updated Aug. 24, 2026)Internal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- Retirement topics - 401(k) and profit-sharing plan contribution limits (page updated Apr. 8, 2026)Internal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- Retirement topics - Catch-up contributions (page updated May 7, 2026)Internal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- Treasury, IRS issue final regulations on new Roth catch-up rule, other SECURE 2.0 Act provisions (IR-2025-91, Sept. 15, 2025)Internal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- Employee Plans newsInternal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- Rev. Proc. 2024-25 (2025 HSA inflation adjusted amounts)Internal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- Rev. Proc. 2025-19 (2026 HSA inflation adjusted amounts), Internal Revenue Bulletin 2025-21, May 19, 2025Internal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- Rev. Proc. 2026-24 (2027 HSA inflation adjusted amounts)Internal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- Internal Revenue Bulletin 2026-25 (June 15, 2026), containing Rev. Proc. 2026-24Internal Revenue Service · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- 26 U.S.C. 402, Taxability of beneficiary of employees' trust (U.S. Code, 2024 edition)U.S. Government Publishing Office · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- 26 U.S.C. 414, Definitions and special rules (U.S. Code, 2024 edition)U.S. Government Publishing Office · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- 26 U.S.C. 415, Limitations on benefits and contribution under qualified plans (U.S. Code, 2024 edition)U.S. Government Publishing Office · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- 26 U.S.C. 219, Retirement savings (U.S. Code, 2024 edition)U.S. Government Publishing Office · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
- 26 U.S.C. 223, Health savings accounts (U.S. Code, 2024 edition)U.S. Government Publishing Office · Oct 4, 2026 · Primary source
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