Deorbit Plan

2027 retirement contribution limits: 401(k), IRA, HSA, and every catch-up

By the Deorbit Plan editorial team, a Berrydyne program · Last reviewed November 2026 · 5 min read

These are the 2027 contribution limits for the main tax-advantaged accounts: workplace plans and IRAs, set each fall by an IRS notice[2], and HSAs, set each spring by revenue procedure[1]. Each table shows 2027 beside 2026 and the change. A few amounts, such as the HSA catch-up and the married-filing-separately Roth phase-out, are fixed by statute and do not move.

2027 401(k), IRA, catch-up and QCD limits: not yet published. They will come from the IRS notice of 2027 cost-of-living adjustments for retirement plans and IRAs (the 2026 figures came from Notice 2025-67), normally published in late October or November of 2026. Until then this page shows the 2026 figures, labelled as 2026; they are not a forecast of 2027.

For the year before, see 2026 contribution limits. All the headline 2027 figures on one printable page: 2027 key retirement numbers.

Workplace plans: 401(k), 403(b), 457(b)

Employer-plan limits[2][2].
Limit20262027Change
Employee elective deferral (401(k)/403(b); a governmental 457(b) has its own)$24,500Not yet publishedn/a
Catch-up, age 50+$8,000Not yet publishedn/a
Catch-up, ages 60–63 (replaces the age-50 catch-up)$11,250Not yet publishedn/a
Total defined-contribution limit, §415(c) (employee + employer + after-tax)$72,000Not yet publishedn/a
Compensation limit, §401(a)(17)$360,000Not yet publishedn/a
Prior-year wages above which catch-ups must be Roth$150,000Not yet publishedn/a

With the 2026 figures, the deferral ceiling is $32,500 with the age-50 catch-up and $35,750 for someone who turns 60, 61, 62 or 63 during the year; in the year they turn 64 it drops back to the regular catch-up. Workers whose prior-year wages from the employer exceeded $150,000 must make any catch-up as Roth[2][5].

IRAs: traditional and Roth

IRA limits and modified-AGI phase-out ranges[2].
Item20262027
IRA contribution limit (traditional + Roth combined)$7,500Not yet published
IRA catch-up, age 50+$1,100Not yet published
Traditional IRA deduction phase-out: single/HoH covered by a workplace plan$81,000 – $91,000Not yet published
Traditional IRA deduction phase-out: joint, contributing spouse covered$129,000 – $149,000Not yet published
Traditional IRA deduction phase-out: joint, only the other spouse covered$242,000 – $252,000Not yet published
Roth IRA contribution phase-out: single/HoH$153,000 – $168,000Not yet published
Roth IRA contribution phase-out: joint$242,000 – $252,000Not yet published
Roth IRA contribution phase-out: married filing separately (statutory)$0 – $10,000Not yet published

There is no income limit on making a traditional IRA contribution or on converting to Roth. The limits apply only to deducting the contribution or contributing to a Roth directly. That is why the backdoor Roth still works.

HSAs and the plans that qualify

HSA contribution limits[1][3]; the age-55 catch-up is set by statute[3].
HSA limit20262027Change
Self-only coverage$4,400$4,500+$100
Family coverage$8,750$9,000+$250
Catch-up, age 55+ (per spouse, in their own HSA; not indexed)$1,000$1,000no change
High-deductible health plan (HDHP) figures that make a plan HSA-eligible[1][3].
HDHP requirement20262027Change
Minimum deductible, self-only$1,700$1,750+$50
Minimum deductible, family$3,400$3,500+$100
Maximum out-of-pocket, self-only$8,500$8,700+$200
Maximum out-of-pocket, family$17,000$17,400+$400

Once you enroll in any part of Medicare you can no longer contribute to an HSA, although you can keep spending from it[4].

SIMPLE plans and charitable IRA distributions

SIMPLE IRA / SIMPLE 401(k) limits and the qualified charitable distribution (QCD) limit[2][2].
Limit20262027Change
SIMPLE deferral$17,000Not yet publishedn/a
SIMPLE deferral, certain smaller employers$18,100Not yet publishedn/a
SIMPLE catch-up, age 50+$4,000Not yet publishedn/a
SIMPLE catch-up, ages 60–63$5,250Not yet publishedn/a
QCD limit per IRA owner (age 70½+)$111,000Not yet publishedn/a

A qualified charitable distribution goes straight from an IRA to a charity, counts toward the owner’s RMD and never enters AGI; the cap is per IRA owner.

How the limits stack

The limits are mostly independent, which is what makes late-career “stuffing” possible. With the 2026 plan and 2027 HSA figures, a 61-year-old with a 401(k) and family HSA coverage could defer $35,750 to the 401(k), add $8,600 to an IRA (deductible or backdoor, depending on income) and $10,000 to an HSA. That is $54,350 of tax-advantaged space before any employer match. The interactions that bite are the phase-outs: workplace-plan coverage shrinks the traditional-IRA deduction, and MAGI over the Roth range forces the backdoor route.

Try it in Deorbit Plan

The simulator still uses 2026 rules. Its tax engine is built on the 2026 figures and indexes them along each simulated inflation path; the 2027 figures on this page are published for reference and will become the simulator’s base when it rolls over to 2027.

The Income & Savings panel takes annual amounts for Pre-tax 401(k), Roth 401(k), Mega-backdoor Roth, Backdoor Roth IRA and HSA while you (and a spouse) are working; the simulator caps each at an annual limit, indexed along every simulated path, including the §415(c) cap on mega-backdoor contributions. The 401(k) cap includes the age-50 catch-up and the larger ages 60 to 63 amount, and HSA contributions stop once a worker is on Medicare. Watch the Account buckets chart to see how pre-tax, Roth and HSA balances diverge by retirement.

This page explains how the rules work. It is not financial, tax or investment advice. Read the disclaimer.

See how this plays out with your own numbers. Try it in the simulator →

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