The 2026 contribution limits are out. Here is what went up.

You can put $24,500 into a 401(k) and $7,500 into an IRA in 2026. The 401(k) number is up $1,000 from $23,500 last year, and the IRA number is up $500 from $7,000. The IRS set these in Notice 2025-67, and they decide the ceiling on how much you can shelter from tax this year. If you are 23 with a first real paycheck, you are nowhere near these caps yet, and that is fine. The point is knowing the room you have as your income climbs.

What went up

Three of the four big numbers moved. The 401(k) employee deferral rose to $24,500, the IRA limit rose to $7,500, and the HSA limits ticked up to $4,400 for individual coverage and $8,750 for a family. The catch-up amounts for savers age 50 and older also climbed, and a separate super catch-up kicked in for a narrow age band. Here is the side by side.

The per-paycheck math

An extra $1,000 a year of 401(k) saving works out to about $38 per biweekly check. That is the whole story of the increase from your side: 26 paychecks, $1,000 spread across them, so a little under $40 leaves each check and lands in your retirement account instead. Because a traditional 401(k) contribution comes out before income tax, your take-home pay drops by less than $38. If you are in the 22% bracket, the real hit to your paycheck is closer to $30, and the full $38 still goes to work for you.

Run the same logic on the full limit. Maxing the 401(k) at $24,500 means setting aside about $942 per biweekly check. Maxing the IRA at $7,500 is about $625 a month if you spread it evenly. Most 23-year-olds will not hit either ceiling for a few years, so the useful move is to pick a percentage you can sustain and let the dollar amount grow as your salary does. You can model how those contributions compound over a few decades with our compound interest calculator.

The catch-up tiers, including the new one

Once you turn 50, the IRS lets you save extra on top of the regular limit. For 2026 the IRA catch-up is $1,100, for a total of $8,600. The 401(k) catch-up is $8,000, for a total of $32,500. Those are the standard age-50 numbers.

The new piece is a higher catch-up for ages 60 to 63. If you fall in that four-year window, your 401(k) catch-up jumps to $11,250 instead of $8,000. This is sometimes called the super catch-up, and it is built for the final sprint before retirement, when many people have the income to save aggressively. Once you turn 64, you drop back to the regular age-50 catch-up.

The order to fill these accounts

Having room in four accounts does not mean spreading your money across all four at once. There is a sequence that gets you the most tax break per dollar, and it goes match, HSA, then IRA or 401(k).

• Capture the full employer match first. If your employer adds 50 cents or a dollar for each dollar you put in, that is an instant 50% to 100% return before the market does anything. Nothing else on this list beats it. The match breakdown walks through why this comes first.
• Max the HSA next, if you have one. An HSA is the only account that is tax-free going in, growing, and coming out for medical costs. That triple break is rare, and the HSA explainer shows how to use it as a stealth retirement account.
• Then fill the IRA or go back to the 401(k). Use the $7,500 IRA room for low-cost funds you pick yourself, then return to the 401(k) up to the $24,500 cap if you still have money to save.

The takeaway

The 2026 limits are $24,500 for a 401(k), $7,500 for an IRA, and $4,400 or $8,750 for an HSA. Maxing all of them is a goal for later. Right now, contribute enough to grab the full employer match, point any spare savings at an HSA if you have one, and raise your contribution by a percent or two each time you get a raise. The new room is a ceiling, and your job this year is to keep climbing toward it.