# 401(k) Calculator

> Project your 401(k) balance at retirement from your salary, contribution rate, employer match and return, capped at the 2026 IRS deferral limits.

Category: Finance · Applies to: United States · Last updated: 2026-10-29
Interactive calculator: https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/401k-calculator

Your 401(k) grows from your own payroll deferrals, your employer’s match and investment returns. Deferrals are capped at the IRS limits for 2026, including catch-up contributions from age 50.

Also called: 401(k) match calculator.

## Inputs
- Current age (unit years; default 30)
- Retirement age (unit years; default 65)
- Annual salary (default 60000)
- Expected pay rise (unit % a year; default 2; optional)
- Your contribution (unit % of salary; default 6)
- Employer match (unit % of your contribution; default 50; optional)
- … on contributions up to (unit % of salary; default 6; optional)
- Current 401(k) balance (default 10000; optional)
- Expected return (unit % a year; default 6)
- Inflation (unit % a year; default 2.5; optional)
- Currency

## Results
- Balance at retirement
- Your contributions
- Employer contributions
- Investment growth
- Balance in today’s money
- You contribute this year
- Employer adds this year

## Formula

```
Each year: Yours = min(Contribution% × Salary, IRS limit for your age);  Match = Match% × min(Yours, Match limit% × Salary);  Balance = Balance × (1 + Return) + Yours + Match;  Salary rises by the pay-rise rate
```

Where:
- IRS limit: $24,500 in 2026; $32,500 from age 50; $35,750 at ages 60–63
- Match%: share of your deferral your employer adds
- Match limit%: the salary percentage the match applies to

## Worked example
1. Year 1: you defer 6% × 60,000 = $3,600 (below the $24,500 limit); the employer adds 50% × 3,600 = $1,800.
2. Each year the salary rises 2%, so contributions rise too; the balance earns 6%.
3. After 35 years: $179,980.12 from you, $89,990.06 from your employer and growth bring the balance to $844,497.50.

**Result:** Deferring 6% with a 50% match on a $60,000 salary could grow to about $844,500 by age 65 at a 6% return.

## What the result means

Contribute at least enough to get the full employer match: it is an immediate return on your money. The today’s-money figure shows the balance in current purchasing power.

## Assumptions and limits
- Contributions go in at the end of each year and the return is constant.
- Elective deferrals are capped at the 2026 IRS limits for every projected year (the limits usually rise with inflation, so this is cautious for high savers).
- The age-based catch-up uses your age in each projected year; the employer match is not separately capped.
- The overall annual-additions limit, vesting schedules, plan fees and taxes on withdrawals are not modelled.
- Roth versus pre-tax treatment does not change the balance shown here, only the tax due later.

## Rules used
- Jurisdiction: United States
- Effective from: 2026-01-01
- Authority: Internal Revenue Service
- Last checked: 2026-10-29

## Questions

### What are the 401(k) limits for 2026?

The IRS set the elective-deferral limit at $24,500 for 2026. Savers aged 50 or over can add an $8,000 catch-up, and those aged 60 to 63 can add $11,250 instead.

### Does the employer match count towards my $24,500 limit?

No. The elective-deferral limit applies to your own contributions; employer contributions fall under a separate, higher overall limit.

## Sources
- [IRS: 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026 (IR-2025-111)](https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-limit-increases-to-24500-for-2026-ira-limit-increases-to-7500)

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_Returns are illustrations at a constant rate, not predictions or guarantees. Investments can lose value. This is not investment advice._

Source: GM¹X CalcVerse — https://calculators.geekmidst.com/calculators/401k-calculator