Updated October 28, 2026. Quick answer: The Saver’s Match is a federal matching contribution for retirement savings that applies to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026, so 2027 is its first year. The statute sets a match of 50 percent of up to $2,000 saved, so at most $1,000, and phases it out above $41,000 of modified adjusted gross income on a joint return. These dollar amounts are written into the statute and are not indexed until after 2027, so no 2027 inflation adjustment is waiting to be announced.
What the statute says
Section 6433(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code says an eligible individual “shall be allowed a matching contribution for such taxable year in an amount equal to the applicable percentage of so much of the qualified retirement savings contributions made by such eligible individual for the taxable year as does not exceed $2,000.” The rate is set in subsection (b): “the applicable percentage is 50 percent.” Fifty percent of $2,000 is $1,000 (computed), the most the match can be.
The start date is in the enacting law: “shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2026.”
The income limits
The phaseout is in subsection (b)(3): “(i) the applicable dollar amount is $41,000, and (ii) the phaseout range is $30,000.” Other filers use fractions of those amounts: head of household filers get “¾ of the amounts applicable under subparagraph (A)” and everyone else (not joint, not head of household, not a surviving spouse) gets one half. The dollar results below are our arithmetic on those fractions.
| Filing status | Match starts to shrink above | Phaseout range | Match reaches zero at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joint return or surviving spouse | $41,000 | $30,000 | $41,000 to $71,000 (computed: 41,000 plus 30,000) |
| Head of household (3/4 of the joint amounts) | $30,750 (computed) | $22,500 (computed) | $30,750 to $53,250 (computed: 30,750 plus 22,500) |
| Any other filer (1/2 of the joint amounts) | $20,500 (computed) | $15,000 (computed) | $20,500 to $35,500 (computed: 20,500 plus 15,000) |
The statute indexes the $41,000 only later: “In the case of any taxable year beginning in a calendar year after 2027, the $41,000 amount in subsection (b)(3)(A)(i) shall be increased by an amount equal to” a cost-of-living adjustment. Taxable year 2027 is not after 2027, so the 2027 amounts above are the amounts printed in the statute.
How the phaseout works
Above the starting amount the rate falls in a straight line. The statute reduces the percentage by the number of points that bears the same ratio to 50 percentage points as the excess over the starting amount bears to the phaseout range, and “If any reduction determined under this paragraph is not a whole percentage point, such reduction shall be rounded to the next lowest whole percentage point.”
Two invented cases show the arithmetic:
| Case (invented) | Excess over start | Reduction | Match rate | Match on $2,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint, income $50,000 | $9,000 over $41,000 (computed) | 9,000 / 30,000 x 50 = 15 points (computed) | 50% minus 15 = 35% (computed) | $700 (computed) |
| Single, income $30,000 | $9,500 over $20,500 (computed) | 9,500 / 15,000 x 50 = 31.67, rounded down to 31 points (computed) | 50% minus 31 = 19% (computed) | $380 (computed) |
Who qualifies and how it is paid
An eligible individual is any individual who “has attained the age of 18 as of the close of the taxable year.” Dependents, full-time students and nonresident aliens are excluded by the statute. The match is not a refund to you. It is “payable by the Secretary as a contribution (as soon as practicable after the eligible individual has filed a tax return making a claim for such matching contribution for the taxable year) to the applicable retirement savings vehicle of the eligible individual.”
There is a small-amount exception: if the match is “greater than zero but less than $100 for the taxable year”, an individual who elects it gets the amount as a credit instead.
How this relates to the Saver’s Credit
For retirement contributions the Saver’s Match takes the place of the credit starting in 2027; the full comparison, including what remains of the credit, is on the 2027 Saver’s Credit page. The credit’s last year for ordinary retirement contributions is 2026, covered on the 2026 Saver’s Credit. For 2026 the IRS Notice says “the limitation under sections 25B(b)(1)(C) and 25B(b)(1)(D) is increased from $39,500 to $40,250.” That is a 2026 income limit of the credit, not a limit for the match. Contribution limits that still apply to the money you put in are on the 2027 IRA limit and the 401(k) employee deferral limit.
Common mistakes
- Treating the match as a refund. The statute pays it into a retirement account you choose, not to you.
- Counting more than $2,000. Only the first $2,000 of qualifying contributions earns a match, so $1,000 is the ceiling.
- Reading the income limits as the old Saver’s Credit tables. The match has its own income test, written into the Saver’s Match statute.
- Waiting for an IRS 2027 table. The dollar amounts are fixed in the statute for 2027, and indexing begins after 2027.
Related: the 2027 Saver’s Credit page, the 2026 Saver’s Credit, the 2027 IRA limit, and the 2027 tax numbers.
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Answer againSources
- 26 U.S.C. 6433, Saver’s Match (U.S. Code, 2024 edition, U.S. Government Publishing Office): www.govinfo.gov
- Internal Revenue Service, Notice 2025-67, 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs, as Adjusted for Changes in Cost-of-Living: www.irs.gov
Read from the IRS and Treasury documents linked above on October 28, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and a preparer or the IRS itself is the right place to confirm anything consequential.