Updated October 28, 2026. Quick answer: The IRS has not yet announced the 2027 total 401(k) contribution limit, the section 415(c) cap on everything added to one person’s plan account in a year. For 2026 it is $72,000, up from $70,000 in 2025, per IRS Notice 2025-67, or 100 percent of the participant’s pay if that is less. This page updates the day the IRS publishes the 2027 figure.
What is not yet announced
As of October 28, 2026 the IRS has not published the Notice that sets the 2027 retirement plan limits; the 2026 version was Notice 2025-67. This page states only the 2026 figure, as a 2026 figure, and changes when the IRS publishes the 2027 Notice.
This is the overall limit on employee deferrals, employer match and other employer contributions together. The separate employee-only deferral limit is on the 401(k) employee deferral limit.
The limit year by year
The IRS wrote the 2026 change in one sentence: “The limitation for defined contribution plans under section 415(c)(1)(A) is increased in 2026 from $70,000 to $72,000.”
| Year | Section 415(c) limit | Change from prior year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $70,000 | Prior-year figure in IRS Notice 2025-67 | |
| 2026 | $72,000 | +$2,000 (computed) | IRS Notice 2025-67 |
| 2027 | not yet announced | Awaiting the IRS Notice |
The 2026 version of this page, with a worked example, is the 2026 total 401(k) limit.
What the statute says
The cap is in section 415(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code. An annual addition above the cap is excessive when it is greater than the lesser of $40,000 or “100 percent of the participant’s compensation.” The $40,000 is the statute’s original amount; the IRS indexes it each year, which is how it reached $72,000 for 2026. Employer contributions, the employee’s own contributions and forfeitures all count as annual additions, which is why the limit is far above the employee deferral limit.
Catch-up contributions are listed as separate limits in the IRS Notice, and how catch-up contributions sit outside the 415(c) limit explains how they stack on top of this cap.
How the indexing works
Section 415(d)(1)(C) directs the Treasury to adjust the amount: “the $40,000 amount in subsection (c)(1)(A), for increases in the cost-of-living in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary.” The result is rounded down: “Any increase under subparagraph (C) of paragraph (1) which is not a multiple of $1,000 shall be rounded to the next lowest multiple of $1,000.”
Check of the 2026 figure, using public inflation data: the statute compares the July to September index with the same quarter of 2001. The Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-W averaged 174.133 for July to September 2001 (173.8, 173.8 and 174.8) and 317.265 for July to September 2025 (316.349, 317.306 and 318.139). The ratio is 1.82197, and $40,000 times 1.82197 is $72,879 (computed), which rounds down to $72,000. That is the number in the Notice. This is our arithmetic on public data, not an IRS statement, and it is shown only to explain the 2026 figure; it is not a 2027 estimate.
Common mistakes
- Mixing this limit up with the employee deferral limit. They are different caps, and the $72,000 is the one that includes employer money.
- Forgetting the second half of the test. The cap is the lesser of the dollar figure and 100 percent of pay, so a participant earning less than the dollar figure is capped by pay.
- Using a 2027 number from a blog or a vendor. Until the IRS publishes the Notice there is no 2027 figure, and the 2026 figure is $72,000.
Related: the 2026 total 401(k) limit, the 401(k) employee deferral limit, how catch-up contributions sit outside the 415(c) limit, and the 2027 tax numbers.
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Answer againSources
- 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
- 26 U.S.C. 415, Limitations on benefits and contributions under qualified plans (U.S. Code, 2024 edition, U.S. Government Publishing Office): www.govinfo.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), U.S. city average, all items, series CWUR0000SA0 (public data API): api.bls.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.