401(k) Match Calculator
On $75,000 a year, contributing 3%, your employer adds $2,250 a year. You leave $750 a year on the table: contributing 5% ($1,500 more from you) earns the full match.
Your numbers
These formulas are examples. Your plan sets its own: check your summary plan description.
Growth assumptions
The return is your assumption, not a forecast; compounded monthly it is an effective 7.2% a year. Salary and the match stay flat in this projection.
Your match
On $75,000 a year, contributing 3%, your employer adds $2,250 a year. You leave $750 a year on the table: contributing 5% ($1,500 more from you) earns the full match.
- You contribute
- $2,250
- Employer match
- $2,250
- Left on the table
- $750
- At 7% a year for 30 years, contributing as you do now ends near $460,158 ($4,500 a year in). Contributing 5% would end near $690,237, $230,079 more.
- Your 2026 limit for your own deferrals is $24,500.
How it is calculated
- Your deferral is your contribution rate times pay, up to the 2026 limit for your age. Pay above $360,000 is not counted.
- The match comes from the formula you pick, applied slice by slice: each tier matches its rate on the pay between the previous tier's cap and its own.
- If your deferral plus the match would pass the overall limit, the match is trimmed. Catch-up contributions are outside that limit.
- The calculator applies your contribution rate and the match to pay up to $360,000, figures the match on the full year (as plans with a year-end true-up do), and counts catch-up deferrals as matchable, only above the $24,500 limit. Plans that match each paycheck or exclude catch-ups can pay less.
- Money left on the table is the match at the contribution rate that earns the full formula, minus the match you get now.
- Growth adds one-twelfth of the year's contributions at the start of each month and compounds monthly at your assumed nominal return (7% compounds to about 7.2% a year). It is a projection, not a forecast.
2026 figures and sources
- Employee deferral limit: $24,500. IRS, 401(k) and profit-sharing plan contribution limits, read 2026-10-27: “$24,500 in 2026”.
- Catch-up, age 50 or over: $8,000. IRS, Catch-up contributions, read 2026-10-27: “Annual catch-up contributions up to $8,000 in 2026”.
- Super catch-up, ages 60 to 63: $11,250. IRS, Catch-up contributions, read 2026-10-27: “this higher catch-up contribution limit is $11,250 (instead of $8,000)”.
- Overall limit (you plus employer): $72,000. IRS, 401(k) and profit-sharing plan contribution limits, read 2026-10-27: “$72,000 in 2026 ($80,000 including catch-up contributions or up to $83,250 for those age 60 to 63)”.
- Pay the plan can count: $360,000. IRS, 401(k) and profit-sharing plan contribution limits, read 2026-10-27: “limited to $360,000 for 2026”.
- Roth catch-up wage threshold: $150,000. IRS, Catch-up contributions, read 2026-10-27: “if prior-year wages with the plan sponsor exceeded $150,000 (for 2026)”.
Match formulas are plan design and no official source defines them; the examples above are illustrations. Your plan may also limit deferrals below the IRS maximum or offer no catch-up.
401(k) match questions
How does a 401(k) match work?
Your employer adds money when you contribute, by a formula the plan sets. With 100% of the first 3% on a $75,000 salary, contributing 3% earns a $2,250 match. Contributing only 1% earns $750, so $1,500 a year is left on the table.
What is the 401(k) contribution limit for 2026?
$24,500 of your own deferrals. From age 50 you can add a $8,000 catch-up, for $32,500. If you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 in 2026 the catch-up is $11,250 instead, for $35,750. Your plan may set a lower limit.
Does the employer match count toward the limit?
Not toward your $24,500 deferral limit. The match counts toward the overall limit of $72,000 (you plus your employer, catch-ups not included), capped at 100% of pay. The calculator trims the match if you reach it.
What is the super catch-up for ages 60 to 63?
If you turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 during 2026 your catch-up limit is $11,250 instead of $8,000. It replaces the standard catch-up, it does not add to it. Your plan has to offer catch-up contributions and the higher 60-63 limit.
Do catch-up contributions have to be Roth?
If your prior-year wages with the plan sponsor were above $150,000 (the 2026 threshold), your catch-up contributions must be Roth, if your plan has a Roth option; a plan without one cannot accept catch-ups from you. The calculator flags this when your salary is above the threshold and you contribute into the catch-up range.
Is the match mine right away?
Not always. Many plans use a vesting schedule, so you keep the match only after some years of service. The schedule is in your summary plan description, and this calculator does not model it.
Keep planning
This is an educational tool, not tax, legal or investment advice. It does not know your plan's rules, vesting schedule or your full tax situation. Limits last read 2026-10-27.