IRS Announces 2026 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits

Nov 18, 2025 | Employee Benefits, Reilly Business Services, Tax

By Kevin J. Bonnett, CPA
Vice President
Director of Employee Benefit Services

Person at a desk reviewing their 401k charts on a laptop computer.The Internal Revenue Service has announced the 2026 annual contribution limits, catch-up contribution limits and cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) for employer-sponsored 401(k) plans, IRA plans, pensions and other retirement funding vehicles.

Details for the recent announcement can be found through the IRS news release and Notice 2025-67.

Below is a summary of the contribution limits and catch-up limits for various retirement vehicles in 2026.

Please let the team at GT Reilly & Company know if you have questions for your employer-sponsored plan or for individual contribution planning.

Annual Benefit and Wage Limits 

The annual additions limit, which is the combined employee and employer contributions for defined contribution plans, was increased to $72,000, up from $70,000. For defined benefit plans such as employer-sponsored pensions, the annual benefit limit will be raised to $290,000 from $280,000. 
 
The annual compensation limit for defined contribution, defined benefit and simple plans which limits the amount of employee compensation which can be utilized when determining contributions or benefits for these plans was increased to $360,000 for 2026, up from $350,000 in 2025.  
 

Other Key Adjustments for 2026

• SIMPLE Plans: The limit on elective deferrals to a SIMPLE IRA or SIMPLE 401(k) plan is increased from $16,500 to $17,000.   
• Roth Catch-up Requirement: The FICA wage threshold that determines if catch-up contributions must be designated as Roth contributions is increased from $145,000 to $150,000.   
• Highly Compensated Employee (HCE) Threshold: The limit on compensation used to identify a “highly compensated employee” remains $160,000.   
• Social Security Wage Base: The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax (taxable maximum) will increase from $176,100 to $184,500.

Deduction Phase-Outs By Income

Phase-out Ranges for Traditional IRAs

• Single taxpayers: 2026 phase-out range is increased to between $81,000 and $91,000, up from between $79,000 and $89,000 for 2025
• Married couples filing jointly: 2026 phase-out range is increased to between $129,000 and $149,000, up from between $126,000 and $146,000 for 202
• IRA contributor married to someone who is covered by a workplace plan: 2026 phase-out range is increased to between $242,000 and $252,000, up from between $236,000 and $246,000 for 2025
• Married individual filing separately: 2026 phase-out range is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains between $0 and $10,000

Phase-out Ranges for Roth IRAs

• Single taxpayers and heads of household: 2026 phase-out range is increased to between $153,000 and $168,000, up from between $150,000 and $165,000 for 2025
• Married couples filing jointly: 2026 phase-out range is increased to between $242,000 and $252,000, up from between $236,000 and $246,000 for 2025
• Married individual filing separately: 2026 phase-out range is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains between $0 and $10,000

Saver’s Credit Income Limit

• Married filing jointly: $80,500, up from $79,000 for 2025
• Heads of Household: $60,375, up from $59,250 for 2025
• Single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, $40,250, up from $39,500 for 2025

Author

Kevin J. Bonnett, CPA

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