2026 Retirement Contribution Limits for the Self-Employed: Every Number in One Place
For 2026 you can put up to $7,500 into an IRA, up to $24,500 of your own pay into a 401(k), and up to $72,000 in total into a SEP IRA or a solo 401(k). Every one of those is higher if you are 50 or older.
When you work for yourself there is no benefits department to tell you this. So here is every number the IRS published for 2026, in one place, with last year beside it.
Then one woman's figures, modeled in the free Net Worth Tracker, so the list turns into something you can see.
A limit is only useful next to your own numbers. Example data.
The short version
IRA, traditional or Roth: $7,500, or $8,600 from age 50.
401(k) from your own pay: $24,500, or $32,500 from age 50, or $35,750 at ages 60 to 63.
SEP IRA and the overall solo 401(k) limit: $72,000.
SIMPLE IRA: $17,000, or $21,000 from age 50.
A limit is a ceiling. It is not a target and it is not a judgment.
Every 2026 limit, with 2025 beside it
Limit | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
IRA contribution, traditional or Roth | $7,000 | $7,500 |
IRA catch-up from age 50 | $1,000 | $1,100 |
401(k) contribution from your own pay | $23,500 | $24,500 |
401(k) catch-up from age 50 | $7,500 | $8,000 |
401(k) catch-up at ages 60 to 63 | $11,250 | $11,250 |
Overall limit, SEP IRA and solo 401(k) | $70,000 | $72,000 |
SIMPLE IRA contribution | $16,500 | $17,000 |
SIMPLE IRA catch-up from age 50 | $3,500 | $4,000 |
SIMPLE IRA catch-up at ages 60 to 63 | $5,250 | $5,250 |
Compensation that can be counted | $350,000 | $360,000 |
What that adds up to at your age
Account | Under 50 | 50 to 59, and 64 or older | 60 to 63 |
|---|---|---|---|
IRA | $7,500 | $8,600 | $8,600 |
401(k) from your own pay | $24,500 | $32,500 | $35,750 |
SIMPLE IRA | $17,000 | $21,000 | $22,250 |
The higher catch-up at 60 to 63 is new enough that many people have not heard of it. It applies for those four years only, then drops back to the standard catch-up.
The four accounts, in one line each
Traditional or Roth IRA. Anyone with earned income can use one. The limit is shared: $7,500 across both, not each.
SEP IRA. Funded by the business. Up to 25% of compensation, capped at $72,000. If you are self-employed, the IRS uses a special calculation on your own earnings that works out lower than 25% of profit.
Solo 401(k). For a business with no employees other than you and a spouse. You contribute as the employee, up to $24,500, and again as the employer, up to $72,000 combined before catch-ups.
SIMPLE IRA. Built for small employers. $17,000 from your pay, plus an employer contribution.
Which one fits is its own question, and our post on retirement options for the self-employed walks through it.
Roth IRA income ranges for 2026
How much you can put into a Roth IRA shrinks as income rises, and reaches zero at the top of the range.
Filing status | Full amount below | Nothing above |
|---|---|---|
Single or head of household | $153,000 | $168,000 |
Married filing jointly | $242,000 | $252,000 |
The Saver's Credit
Lower and middle income households can get a tax credit for contributing at all. For 2026 the income ceilings are $40,250 for single filers, $60,375 for heads of household and $80,500 for married couples filing jointly. In a slow year for the business, this is worth asking your preparer about.
Retirement accounts sit on the personal side, even when the business funds them. Example data.
Modeled in La Soglia: one woman, three paths
A stylist, aged 52, has $48,000 in retirement accounts today. She enters that as one line in the Net Worth Tracker, then looks at three levels of saving over the next ten years.
Each year she adds | Added over ten years | Her retirement line, before any growth |
|---|---|---|
$3,000 | $30,000 | $78,000 |
$7,500, the IRA limit | $75,000 | $123,000 |
$8,600, the IRA limit at her age | $86,000 | $134,000 |
We left growth out on purpose. Nobody can promise a return, and the part she controls is the first column. The difference between the first row and the last is $56,000 of her own money, moved from spending to owning.
Updating that one line each quarter is the whole habit. The tracker shows the line rising, and her net worth with it, which is a better reason to keep going than any rule.
Five things to do with this list
Find your row. Your age decides which column applies.
Write down what you put in last year. The real figure, not the intended one.
Pick a number for 2026 you would keep to in a slow month. A smaller amount every month beats a large one in December.
Ask your preparer which account fits your business. Bring your profit for the year.
Put the balance in your net worth, and update it each quarter.
When the money has to be in
IRA contributions for a year can generally be made up to the tax filing deadline the following April. Employer plans have their own dates, and some have to be opened before the year ends, so October is a good month to ask.
See your own line, free
La Soglia, the free membership of the Money Mastery System, includes the Net Worth Tracker used above. Your retirement accounts, your home, your business and your debts sit in one place, with no bank connection and no card.
Bring it to the Collective
Choosing between these accounts is easier after hearing how other owners chose. The Money Mastery Collective has a discussion feed open on the free membership. Ask there.
Questions we hear
What is the IRA contribution limit for 2026?
$7,500, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older. The limit is shared between traditional and Roth IRAs.
What is the 401(k) limit for 2026?
$24,500 from your own pay. From age 50 it is $32,500, and at ages 60 to 63 it is $35,750.
How much can a self-employed person put in a SEP IRA in 2026?
Up to $72,000, limited by a percentage of your earnings. For the self-employed the IRS calculation works out below 25% of profit.
Do I have to reach the limit?
No. A limit is the most you may contribute. A steady amount you can keep to is worth more than a figure you cannot sustain.
References
Every 2026 and 2025 figure is from the IRS: the news release 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500 (IR-2025-111, 13 November 2025) and the table COLA increases for dollar limitations on benefits and contributions, reviewed 24 August 2026. The ten-year table is our own worked example and assumes no growth.
Start free with La Soglia
La Soglia is the free membership of the Money Mastery System. It gives you the Net Worth Tracker, where everything you own and everything you owe sits in one place, and the Money Mastery Collective. There is no card to enter and no bank connection.
Keep in touch
Donna shares a short version of posts like this one on Instagram and LinkedIn. Follow along there, or find everything in one place on our links page.
A note on what this is
This article is educational. The Money Mastery System is an educational tool, not financial software, and nothing here is legal, tax, investment or financial advice. Contribution limits depend on your age, income, filing status and the plan itself, and the right account is an individual decision. For guidance on your own circumstances, please speak with a qualified professional who knows them.
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