Save · 2026 rules

401(k) and IRA Contribution Calculator

How much you can contribute this year, what the employer match is worth, the tax you save now and what the balance grows to.

The short answer

On a $95,000 salary, contributing 10% to a 401(k) puts $9,500 in from you plus a $2,850 employer match at 50% up to 6% of pay. At a 22% marginal rate the contribution cuts this year's tax bill by $2,090, so it costs about $7,410 of take-home pay.

You

Annual salary

Your age

Catch-up contributions open at 50, and are larger from 60 to 63.

Your marginal tax rate

Federal plus state. The paycheck calculator will tell you.

Your 401(k)

You contribute$9,500

Employer matches

50% means fifty cents on each dollar you put in.

…up to this share of salary

IRA contribution

Traditional and Roth share one limit.

Projection

Years until you retire

years

Assumed annual return

Going into your 401(k) this year

$12,350.00

$9,500.00 from you plus $2,850.00from your employer, and it cuts this year’s tax bill by $2,090.00.

This year

Your contribution

10.0% of salary

$9,500.00

Employer match

50% of your contribution, up to 6.0% of salary

$2,850.00

Tax saved now

At your 22% marginal rate

$2,090.00

Real cost to your take-home pay

Your contribution less the tax you no longer pay

$7,410.00

Your 401(k) limit

$24,500

$24,500 base.

Your IRA limit

$7,500

Traditional and Roth combined.

Limits: Internal Revenue Service, Notice 2025-67 (2026 retirement plan limits)checked Aug 1, 2026

If you keep this up for 27 years

Assuming 7.00% a year and the same contribution. Returns are an assumption, not a forecast.

Hover the chart to read any year.

Contributions and match
Growth

Paid in over the period

$333,450.00

Growth

$651,571.94

Balance at retirement

$985,021.94

Show the mathHow the match and the limit interact

your contribution = min(10.0% × $95,000, $24,500) = $9,500

matchable      = min(your contribution, 6.0% × salary) = $5,700
employer match = 50% × matchable = $2,850

tax saved = your contribution × 22% = $2,090

The employer match does not count against your $24,500 elective deferral limit. A separate, much higher combined limit governs the total, and few people approach it.

What this does not model

Roth versus traditional treatment (this assumes pre-tax contributions), vesting schedules on employer match, IRA deduction phase-outs at higher incomes, required minimum distributions, or tax on withdrawal. It also assumes a steady return, which no real market provides.

Questions

What people ask

Does the employer match count against my contribution limit?

No. The $24,500 elective deferral limit applies only to what you put in. Employer contributions fall under a separate, much higher combined limit that few people reach.

What is the catch-up contribution?

An extra amount you can contribute from age 50, which is $8,000 in 2026. Under SECURE 2.0 it is larger between ages 60 and 63, at $11,250, then drops back afterwards.

Should I contribute to a 401(k) or an IRA first?

Contribute enough to get the full employer match first. That is an immediate guaranteed return no investment can match. After that the choice between the two comes down to fees and fund selection.

Traditional or Roth?

Traditional gives you the deduction now and is taxed on withdrawal; Roth is the reverse. Traditional wins if your tax rate in retirement will be lower than today's, Roth if it will be higher. This calculator models pre-tax contributions.

Keep going

Related calculators

Compound Interest Calculator

What a starting balance plus regular contributions becomes over time, with the year-by-year table and how much of the total is growth.

Paycheck Calculator

See exactly what lands in your account after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and your state's income tax, with every bracket shown.

United States tax figures for 2026, last reviewed August 1, 2026. Every rate used here is listed with its source on the official rates page.