How Much Can Go Into Every Retirement Plan at Once?
Taxpayer facts
Your money, both IRAs included; the .
from age 50, larger at 60–63.
Spouse
Interest, dividends and similar income of both spouses.
Employer 1 · W-2 job
Side business · Schedule C
Maximum contributions
Fill the buckets in the best order
Each bucket is one plan’s , drawn to scale; the fill is what goes in. An employer’s deferrals and match share one , and rides on top.
- Your contribution
- Catch-up (above the §415(c) line)
- Roth IRA
- Employer contribution
- Open: room your target leaves
- Blocked by another limit
The best order for your target
The plan contributions lower MAGI, which decides the IRA
Pre-tax deferrals and the business contribution lower , which decides how much of an IRA can be .
How each limit is calculated
| Line | Item and why | Amount |
|---|
Scope, sources and limitations
Supported: one person’s maximum contributions for tax years 2025 (most recent) and 2026 (upcoming), all filing statuses: elective deferrals and the employer match in one employer’s 401(k) or 403(b); a SEP IRA or solo 401(k) for a Schedule C business with no employees, including the 20% owner rate and the self-employment tax deduction; a governmental 457(b) at the same employer; and traditional (deductible and nondeductible) and Roth IRA contributions, with modified AGI worked out from the plan contributions; on a joint return, a spousal IRA under §219(c) and the spouse’s pay, deferrals and coverage. A target contribution is allocated in a fixed best order. Includes the age 50+ and 60–63 catch-ups, the per-person §402(g) deferral limit across plans, a separate §415(c) limit for each unrelated employer, and the IRA phase-outs. Every elective deferral is assumed pre-tax, except that from 2026 a catch-up by someone whose wages exceed $150,000 is treated as Roth.
Not modelled: the spouse’s own plan limits (only their deferrals’ effect on MAGI and coverage is); SIMPLE plans; the 403(b) 15-year and 457(b) final-three-years catch-ups; tax-exempt (non-governmental) 457(b) plans; after-tax and Roth deferral choices; employers the taxpayer controls; the $400 floor for self-employment tax and the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax; reduction of IRA compensation by pre-tax deferrals; plan terms stricter than the law.
Source model: the “Retirement Contribution Limits” tab of the ACCTG 410 Individual Taxation workbook (2025). Two lines differ on purpose, and match the workbook whenever the full match fits under §415(c): the employer-plan deferral is the largest amount whose deferrals and match fit §415(c), and its catch-up is the part above the lower of the §402(g) limit or the §415(c) room.
Sources: IRC §§219(b), (c), (g), 401(a)(17), 401(c)(2), 402(g), 404(a)(3), 408A(c), 414(v), 415(c), 457(e)(15), 1401, 1402; Treas. Reg. §1.415(f)-1; IRS Notice 2024-80 (2025 limits); IRS IR-2025-111 and Notice 2025-67 (2026 limits, retrieved October 18, 2026); SSA contribution and benefit base for 2025 and 2026; Publication 560 (self-employed rate); Publication 590-A for the phase-out rounding.
Last scope review: . Educational only; not tax advice.