Finance

401(k) Calculator

Free 401(k) calculator for 2026: project your balance with employer match, solve the maximum deferral against the $24,500 limit, apply the $8,000 and $11,250 catch-up rules, and see exactly how much match you leave on the table.

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What is 401(k) Calculator?

The 401(k) is the backbone of workplace retirement saving in the United States, and 2026 raises every limit that matters. You can defer up to $24,500 of your salary before tax, employers can stack another $72,000 of annual additions on top, savers aged 50 and over add $8,000 of catch-up, and savers aged 60 to 63 get a larger $11,250 super catch-up. This calculator turns those rules into three practical questions. Project balance runs a full contribution schedule with your employer match, monthly compounding and an inflation-adjusted ending figure. Max out solves the exact percentage of salary that fills the 2026 limit at your age. Employer match prices the money your plan leaves on the table when you defer too little - the only guaranteed return in the account. Start with the Prime preset to watch a $95,000 salary at 10% climb to $1,101,544 over 20 years.

When to Use This Calculator

  • When you first enroll - set a deferral at least equal to the match threshold before optimizing anything else.
  • Each January, when the IRS publishes new limits - re-check that your payroll percentage still fills the room.
  • After a raise - convert part of the increase into deferral before lifestyle spending absorbs it.
  • From age 49 to 50 and again at 60 - catch-up eligibility changes the math and the maximum percentage.
  • When comparing job offers - run both plans' match rules in Employer match mode to price the real difference.
  • If your statement surprises you - the schedule shows where every dollar came from: you, the employer, or growth.

Steps:

  1. Pick the mode that matches your question: Project balance to plan the horizon, Max out to solve the 2026 limit, or Employer match to price unclaimed match.
  2. Enter salary and age - the IRS caps key off both: $24,500 of base deferral, plus $8,000 from age 50 and $11,250 between ages 60 and 63.
  3. Set the deferral rate and starting balance; Max out mode replaces your rate with the exact percentage that fills your personal limit.
  4. Describe the plan's match: the rate it pays and the percentage of salary it matches up to - 50% up to 6% is the classic design.
  5. Adjust the return, inflation and horizon under Growth assumptions; the defaults are 7%, 2.5% and the preset's horizon.
  6. Read the hero line for the headline figure, then the four stat cards: your contributions, employer money, investment growth and the share of the limit used.
  7. Work through the year-by-year schedule or flip to its chart, and scan the sensitivity grid across 10 to 40-year horizons and 4% to 10% returns.
  8. Switch to Employer match mode to study the deferral ladder and see what each rate earns before deciding where to set your percentage.

Formula

Employee contribution D = min(S x p / 100, L), where S is salary, p the deferral rate and L the 2026 limit of 24,500 plus age-based catch-up. Employer match E = S x m / 100 x min(p, u) / 100, with match rate m and threshold u. Balance B_n = B_0 x (1 + r/12) raised to (12Y), plus C x ((1 + r/12) raised to (12Y) minus 1) divided by (r/12), and the real balance is B_n divided by (1 + i) raised to Y. Combined annual additions are capped at 72,000 plus catch-up.

Use Cases

  • Planning the next 20 years: enter salary, deferral and balance once, then read the ending figure in today's money.
  • Sizing a raise split: convert each 1% of salary increase into extra deferral measured against the $24,500 ceiling.
  • Deciding when to overflow: Max out shows the exact percentage that fills the 2026 limit before extra saving spills into an IRA.
  • Auditing your plan document: type the stated match rate and threshold to confirm payroll is paying every dollar you are owed.
  • Catch-up planning at 50 and 60: the same paycheck suddenly has $8,000 - or $11,250 at ages 60 to 63 - of extra room to exploit.
  • Comparing job offers: a 50% match up to 6% is worth thousands a year - price it in Employer match mode against a weaker plan.

Key Benefits

  • Three questions, one engine: project the horizon, solve the maximum, or price the match without re-entering your data.
  • Catch-up aware by age: 50 to 59 gets $8,000, 60 to 63 gets $11,250, and Max out mode converts the room into an exact percentage.
  • Honest inflation math: every projection reports the nominal ending balance beside what it actually buys in today's money.
  • Match leakage is quantified: unclaimed employer dollars appear as a horizon total, a yearly figure and a ladder comparison.
  • Limits stay current: the 2026 figures come straight from IRS Notice 2025-67, including the $24,500 base and the $72,000 additions cap.
  • One model covers 401(k), 403(b) and 457(b) - the contribution rules are identical for 2026, so switching account type only relabels the output.

Pro Tips

  • Raise the deferral by 1% each year until Max out mode reports the limit is full - the change is small and automates with payroll.
  • Capture the full match before anything else, including high-interest debt - no other account returns an instant 50% on contribution day.
  • Front-load bonuses and raises: dollars invested earlier compound longer than the same dollars in your final working years.
  • Check the sensitivity grid: small changes in return or horizon move the ending balance more than most contribution tweaks do.
  • Re-run Max out after every birthday - the catch-up thresholds at 50 and 60 are automatic raises in contribution room.
  • Pair the plan with an IRA once the 401(k) limit is full; Max out mode tells you exactly when that moment arrives.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Deferring enough to earn some match but not all: anything below the threshold percentage donates employer money every single year.
  • Forgetting catch-up room: savers over 50 often leave the extra $8,000 - or $11,250 at ages 60 to 63 - unused because payroll was never updated.
  • Confusing the deferral limit with the total limit: $24,500 is yours alone, while employers can add up to $72,000 of annual additions.
  • Judging the balance in nominal dollars: $1,101,544 in twenty years funds far less than it sounds like once 2.5% inflation is applied.
  • Leaving the match on the table while chasing fund performance: an instant 50% return up to 6% of salary beats almost any investment decision.
  • Assuming the Roth catch-up rule applies to everyone: only prior-year wages at or above $150,000 trigger mandatory Roth treatment.

Key Terms Explained

Elective deferral:
the salary you postpone into the plan - $24,500 for 2026 before any catch-up is added.
Catch-up contribution:
the extra amount savers 50 and over may defer - $8,000 in 2026, or $11,250 at ages 60 to 63.
Annual additions:
everything that lands in the plan from you and your employer, capped at $72,000 for 2026 before catch-up.
Employer match:
plan money keyed to your deferral, usually 50% of what you contribute up to a set percentage of pay.
Match threshold:
the salary percentage where the match stops paying - defer at least this much or leave money behind.
Limit used:
your annual contribution as a share of the 2026 capacity for your age and salary.
Real balance:
the ending balance restated in today's money after dividing out cumulative inflation.
Roth catch-up:
mandatory Roth treatment of catch-up dollars when prior-year wages reach $150,000 under SECURE 2.0.

Related Concepts

Example

Load the Prime preset: a $95,000 salary, 10% deferred ($9,500 a year), a 50% employer match up to 6% of pay ($2,850 a year), a $140,000 starting balance, 20 years, a 7% return and 2.5% inflation at age 45. Year one ends at $162,875 with $158,902 already in today's-money terms. The schedule compounds $190,000 of your contributions and $57,000 of employer money into $1,101,544 - $672,240 in today's money - of which $714,544 is pure growth. Deferring 10% uses $9,500 of the $24,500 limit (38.8%) and clears the 6% threshold, so no match is left behind. Move the deferral down to 4% and the same plan pays only $1,900 a year instead of $2,850, leaving $950 a year - $19,000 across the 20-year horizon - on the table.

Interpreting Your Results

Read the hero line first - it carries the mode's headline number: the projected balance, the maximum annual contribution, or the employer match left unclaimed. The four stat cards underneath qualify it. In Project balance they show what the ending balance is worth in today's money, what you contributed, what the employer added, how much pure growth did the work, plus the share of the 2026 limit your deferral consumes. In Max out mode the cards restate the solved percentage, the catch-up room available at your age, the employer match at that rate and the resulting balance. In Employer match mode they compare your deferral against the threshold, the match earned and the match available at full deferral. Advisories warn about aggressive returns, short horizons, deferred match and the Roth catch-up wage rule before you trust the numbers. The schedule table traces the same projection year by year - employee, employer, balance and the inflation-adjusted column - while the chart view stacks contributions against growth by age. The sensitivity grid then re-runs the projection across 10 to 40-year horizons and 4% to 10% returns, so you can see how sensitive the outcome is to assumptions you cannot control.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can I contribute to a 401(k) in 2026?
You can defer $24,500 of your own salary before tax. From age 50 you add $8,000 of catch-up, and ages 60 through 63 get a larger $11,250 super catch-up under SECURE 2.0. Employers can contribute on top up to an annual additions total of $72,000 plus your catch-up, so a 50-plus saver's combined ceiling is $80,000 and a saver aged 60 to 63 reaches $83,250. Every 2026 figure comes from IRS Notice 2025-67. This calculator applies them automatically: enter your age and salary, and Max out mode solves the exact percentage that fills your personal limit rather than a generic number from a chart.
What percentage should I defer to get the full employer match?
Whatever the plan's match-up-to percentage is - 6% in the classic 50%-up-to-6% design. Defer at least that much of every dollar of salary, because below the threshold the employer pays on a smaller base and the difference compounds for decades. On a $95,000 salary, deferring 6% ($5,700) earns the full 3% employer contribution of $2,850, while a 4% deferral earns only $1,900 - a $950 annual gap worth $19,000 across twenty years. Employer match mode prints these figures for your own plan, including the ladder of what every other rate would earn.
What is the difference between the deferral limit and annual additions?
The $24,500 deferral limit constrains what you personally can defer; the $72,000 annual additions limit constrains everything combined that can enter the account - your contributions, the employer match and employer profit-sharing. Your own money plus catch-up cannot exceed the personal limit, while the employer fills the gap toward the much higher annual additions ceiling. A saver under 50 therefore holds $24,500 personally while the plan may receive as much as $72,000; a 50-plus saver's personal room rises to $32,500 and the combined ceiling follows to $80,000. Confusing the two leads people to stop contributing far too early.
How does the catch-up contribution work at ages 60 to 63?
SECURE 2.0 created a larger super catch-up for savers aged 60, 61, 62 and 63: $11,250 in 2026 instead of the standard $8,000. The window closes at 64, where the normal catch-up resumes. On the Super catch-up preset for age 62, a $165,000 salary needs only 21.7% deferred to reach the $35,750 maximum. The calculator selects the right tier automatically from your age, so run it the year you turn 60 and again during your plan's election window to make sure payroll has captured the extra room before another year passes.
Should I contribute to a Roth 401(k) or a traditional 401(k)?
It depends on the tax rate you pay now versus the rate you expect in retirement, and this projection treats contributions as pre-tax dollars that grow tax-deferred either way. Traditional deferrals lower this year's taxable income; Roth deferrals pay tax now and withdraw tax-free later. From 2026 one part of the choice is made for you when prior-year wages reach $150,000 - catch-up contributions must go to the Roth side under SECURE 2.0. The balance arithmetic is identical in both accounts, so compare the timing of the taxes rather than the growth, and use the tool's limits figures to decide how much belongs in each bucket.
How accurate is the projection?
As accurate as the assumptions you enter. Contributions are spread evenly across twelve monthly deposits and compounding happens monthly at your annual rate divided by twelve - the same arithmetic a plan statement uses over a full year. What the model cannot predict is sequence-of-returns risk, job changes, vesting schedules or market crashes. The sensitivity grid exists for exactly this reason: it re-runs your inputs across 10 to 40-year horizons and 4% to 10% returns, so you see a plausible range instead of one fragile number. Treat the default 7% return and 2.5% inflation as starting points, not promises.
What does the match ladder in Employer match mode show?
One row for each deferral rate - 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 percent, plus your plan's threshold and your current rate - and for each row the annual employee contribution, the employer money it unlocks and the combined total. The row at or beyond the threshold is badged FULL, and your current rate is highlighted so you can see at a glance whether you sit left of the match cliff. It answers one question fast: what would one more percentage point of deferral actually buy? At $95,000 of salary each point is $950 of employee money and up to $475 of instant employer money.
How do 403(b) and 457(b) plans differ from a 401(k)?
The elective deferral limits are identical for 2026 - $24,500 with the same catch-up tiers - which is why this calculator treats all three account types as one model and only relabels the output. The differences live elsewhere: governmental 401(k) and 457(b) plans can be contributed to simultaneously, effectively doubling the deferral room for public employees, while 403(b) plans add a 15-year service catch-up of up to $3,000 a year for long-tenured employees and often carry annuity-style investment menus. Switch the account type above to label your results correctly; the arithmetic itself does not change.
Should I contribute enough to max out every year?
Only after the full match is captured and high-interest debt is handled - nothing else in personal finance returns an instant 50% on contribution day. Beyond the match, the question becomes tax preference: pre-tax dollars in the plan push income toward retirement, while overflowing into a Roth IRA or taxable account keeps flexibility. Max out mode states precisely what filling the 2026 limit requires - for a $95,000 earner under 50 that is 25.8%, or $24,500 - so you can decide deliberately rather than by default. If the number is unreachable today, commit to raising it one percentage point at a time.
What happens if I leave match money on the table?
It disappears permanently - unclaimed match is not a vesting schedule, it is simply never paid. A 4% deferral on a $95,000 salary under a 50%-up-to-6% design strands $950 a year because the employer pays on only 2% of salary instead of 3%. Across the twenty-year horizon that is $19,000 of guaranteed, instant-return money handed back to the company. The hero figure in Employer match mode reports your leakage as a horizon total, and the not-maxing-match advisory fires the moment your rate dips below the threshold, so the mistake cannot hide inside a good-looking balance.
How does inflation change what I am actually saving?
The nominal ending balance overstates tomorrow's purchasing power. At 2.5% inflation the Prime preset's $1,101,544 is worth about $672,240 in today's money - inflation quietly removes 39% of the headline figure over twenty years. That is not a reason to despair; it is a reason to keep raising contributions with every raise, keep the return assumption realistic rather than heroic, and read the real-balance stat card whenever the nominal number looks too good. The same adjustment runs through every projection, the schedule's Today's money column and the hero line itself.

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