401k Calculator
Enter your US salary, age, contribution percent, employer match and expected return, and the calculator projects where your 401(k) could be after any number of years. It applies the 2026 IRS employee deferral, catch-up, annual additions and compensation limits, then separates your own contributions, the employer match and investment growth year by year.
How to project your 401(k)
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1
Enter annual salary, age and contribution
Type your gross salary, current age and the percent of pay you route into the 401(k) each pay period. Age matters because catch-up limits begin at 50 and change again from 60 to 63.
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2
Add the employer match
Most plans match a percentage of your contribution up to a cap (for example, 100% match up to 5% of salary). Enter both fields.
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3
Set expected return and raises
Pick an annual return and annual raise percent so contribution dollars can climb with salary. Use an inflation-adjusted return if you want the result in today's purchasing power.
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4
Read the capped first-year and long-term totals
The cards show the first-year contribution, match and current employee limit, then split the final balance into contributions, match and investment growth.
2026 401(k) contribution limits and matching
The IRS sets annual 401(k) contribution limits. For 2026, the employee elective deferral limit is $24,500 for workers under 50. Employees age 50 or older can add an $8,000 catch-up contribution, and employees who turn 60, 61, 62 or 63 during the calendar year may have a higher $11,250 catch-up if the plan allows it. Those limits cover your pre-tax and Roth deferrals combined.
The calculator applies those 2026 limits as a current-law guard in every projected year. It also applies the $360,000 compensation cap when estimating contributions and employer match. It does not forecast future IRS cost-of-living increases, so a decades-long projection may be conservative if future limits rise.
| Component | 2026 limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Employee elective deferral | $24,500 | Pre-tax and Roth combined |
| Catch-up contribution (age 50+) | $8,000 | $11,250 for ages 60-63 if the plan allows it |
| Total annual additions | $72,000 | Employee + employer + after-tax contributions before catch-up |
| Compensation cap | $360,000 | Salary above this is ignored for match purposes |
A typical match structure
The most common pattern is a “100% up to 3%, 50% up to the next 2%” match, which caps out at 4% of salary if you contribute at least 5%. If you contribute less than 5%, you are leaving free money on the table. On a $70,000 salary that is up to $2,800 per year in unmatched employer dollars.
If you plan to hit the IRS maximum before December, check whether your employer provides a true-up match. Some plans match each paycheck only; without a true-up, front-loading too much early in the year can accidentally forfeit matching dollars later.
Why the growth column dominates late in the projection
Compounding is exponential. At a 7% annual return, the balance doubles roughly every 10.3 years before fees and taxes (rule of 72: 72 / 7 = 10.3). A 25 year-old who contributes for 40 years can see investment growth make up most of the final balance; a 45 year-old with a 20 year horizon usually sees contributions and employer match play a larger role. The year-by-year table makes that trade-off visible.
Traditional vs. Roth 401(k)
This calculator projects the gross balance. Whether you pay income tax on withdrawals (traditional) or contribute after-tax and withdraw tax-free (Roth) changes the spendable number but not the projection shown here. Beginning in 2026, some higher-paid workers whose plan offers Roth contributions must make catch-up contributions on a Roth basis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Divide the 2026 IRS elective deferral limit by your eligible compensation. For a $100,000 salary under age 50, $24,500 is 24.5% of pay; for $150,000 it is 16.33%. The calculator now caps the projected employee contribution at the current 2026 limit for your age.
Use a rate that matches the return basis you want to read. A nominal return includes inflation; a real return is already inflation-adjusted. Many people test 5 to 7% for diversified stock-heavy portfolios and lower rates for conservative allocations near retirement.
Because the match is capped as a percent of salary. If you already contribute more than the match cap, raising your contribution increases your own column but not the employer column.
No. It assumes all employer match dollars are yours. If your plan has a graded vesting schedule and you leave before it completes, subtract the unvested portion from the match column.
Future nominal dollars, using the return rate you entered. To see the balance in today’s purchasing power, use a return rate net of inflation (for example, 4.5% instead of 7.5%).
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