Contribution Limits and Catch-Ups

2026 limits at a glance

Numbers are 2026 amounts unless noted. Check IRS updates for future years — these are adjusted annually for inflation.

Catch-up contributions (50+)

Starting the year you turn 50, you can contribute additional amounts to most retirement accounts:

• IRA / Roth IRA: $1,100 extra (total $8,600)
• 401(k) / 403(b) / 457(b): $7,500 extra (total $32,000)
• HSA: $1,000 extra at age 55+ (total $5,400 self / $9,750 family)
• SIMPLE IRA: $3,850 extra (total $21,450)

Super catch-up (60–63)

SECURE 2.0 created a new super catch-up for employees age 60, 61, 62, or 63. The limit is the greater of $11,250 or 150% of the regular catch-up, whichever is higher. For 2026, this works out to $11,250 extra for 401(k), 403(b), and governmental 457(b) plans.

Combined with the regular 50+ catch-up structure, someone aged 60–63 in 2026 can contribute up to $35,750 to a 401(k) ($24,500 + $11,250).

At age 64, the super catch-up reverts to the regular $7,500 catch-up.

Roth catch-up requirement (2026+)

Also from SECURE 2.0: starting in 2026, catch-up contributions by employees whose prior-year Social Security wages exceeded $150,000 must be made as Roth contributions, not pre-tax. This shifts the tax treatment but not the amount you can contribute.

If your employer's 401(k) plan doesn't support Roth contributions, no catch-ups are allowed for affected high earners — a deal-breaker that some employers are scrambling to fix.

Income-based phase-outs

Roth IRA direct contributions phase out at high incomes. For 2026 (approximate; IRS updates annually):

• Single: begins at ~$150k MAGI, fully phased out at ~$165k.
• Married filing jointly: begins at ~$236k, fully phased out at ~$246k.
• Married filing separately: narrow phase-out ($0 to ~$10k).

Above the phase-out, you can still use the Backdoor Roth (contribute to a non-deductible Traditional IRA, then convert to Roth), provided you don't have existing pre-tax IRA balances that would trigger pro-rata taxation.

Traditional IRA deduction phases out only if you (or your spouse) is covered by a workplace retirement plan. Phase-out ranges vary; check current IRS rules.

The combined limit (415(c))

A lesser-known cap: the total of all 401(k) contributions (employee + employer + after-tax) to a single plan cannot exceed $72,000 in 2026 ($79,500 with 50+ catch-up, $83,250 with 60–63 super catch-up).

This matters for high earners whose plans allow after-tax contributions. The Mega Backdoor Roth strategy uses this space aggressively.

Multiple jobs

If you have two 401(k)s from different employers, the $24,500 employee limit is combined — you can't contribute $24,500 to each. But each employer's match is separate, and the $72,000 combined limit applies per plan, so high earners with a W-2 job and a self-employment sideline can stack substantial amounts.

Deadlines

• 401(k) contributions: must be made by December 31 of the calendar year.
• IRA contributions: can be made until tax filing deadline (usually April 15) of the following year. A Traditional IRA contribution made March 1, 2027 can still count for tax year 2026.
• HSA contributions: same deadline as IRA — tax filing day for the prior year.

How Horizons uses this

Your Horizons profile tracks contribution amounts per account. The engine applies the correct 2026 limits when modeling contributions, respects age-based catch-ups automatically, and flags contributions that would exceed the combined 415(c) cap in the validator.