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401(k) Contribution Calculator

What will your 401(k) be worth — and are you leaving employer match money on the table? Enter your contribution rate and match formula to see the per-paycheck cost, the full match decoded, and an age-by-age projection against the classic savings milestones.

Are you contributing enough to your 401(k)?

Enter your salary, contribution rate, and your employer's match formula — the calculator projects the balance at retirement, decodes the match, and checks you against the 15% rule and the 2026 IRS cap.

Your age now

Starting earlier beats contributing more — compounding needs time.

Retirement age

When you plan to stop working and start drawing it down.

Annual salary $

Gross salary before taxes — the base every percentage is figured on.

Current 401(k) balance $

What is in the account today — it compounds too.

Your contribution % of salary

The percent of each paycheck you send to the 401(k).

Employer match rate %

100 = dollar-for-dollar, 50 = fifty cents per dollar you put in.

Match applies on first % of salary

"50% up to 6%" → rate 50, cap 6. This is the line people misread.

Expected annual return %

A stock-heavy 401(k) has averaged around 7–10% before inflation.

Salary growth % per year

Raises lift your contributions — and your employer match — automatically.

Try:

Projected 401(k) balance at age 65$2,572,347$288.46 a paycheck (biweekly) · $7,500 you + $4,500 employer = $12,000 a year

Projected balanceTotal put in

Full match captured — $4,500 a year of free money.

How it works: your yearly contribution is salary × your contribution rate; the employer match is salary × min(your rate, match cap) × match rate. The projection compounds the starting balance plus each year's contributions and match at your expected return, while your salary — and therefore every contribution — grows at your salary-growth rate. The 2026 employee deferral caps are $24,500 (under 50), $32,500 (50+), and $35,750 (ages 60–63).

How the 401(k) contribution math works

The part of a 401(k) that trips people up is not the investing — it is the match formula. Once you can decode "50% up to 6% of salary," the rest is arithmetic: your money, their money, and time.

The formula

your contribution = salary × your rate · employer match = salary × min(your rate, match cap) × match rate · total in = yours + match · per paycheck = yours ÷ 26 · balance at retirement = (start × (1+r)^years) + each year's contributions compounded at r

Worked example: 30, earning $75,000, contributing 10%, 100% match on the first 6%

Year 1: your 10% is $7,500 — that is $288.46 per biweekly paycheck. The employer matches 100% of your first 6% of salary: 6% of $75,000 = $4,500, so they add $4,500. Total going in the first year: $12,000.

Run for 35 years with a $20,000 starting balance, 7% returns, and 3% salary growth, and the balance reaches $2,572,347 at 65 — of which about $1.83 million is pure compound growth, not money you ever put in.

Against the age-based targets it is a mixed scorecard: at 40 the projection is $226,314 vs a 3×-salary target of $302,381 (behind), at 50 it is $696,466 vs $812,750 (behind), but by 60 the compounding catches up — $1,707,743 vs the 8× target of $1,456,357 (on track).

Where this comes in handy

Decoding your match formula: "50% up to 6%" means the match rate is 50 and the cap is 6 — enter those two numbers and the calculator shows exactly how much match you capture and how much you leave on the table.
Answering "am I contributing enough?": the verdict tests your rate against the 15% rule (your rate plus the match), the honest band financial planners actually use.
Checking the IRS cap before payroll does: if your yearly contributions top the 2026 limit for your age, the tool warns you about excess deferrals and the twice-taxed trap.
Seeing the compounding share: the growth chart draws your balance against the total you ever put in — the widening gap is the reason starting early beats optimizing later.
Testing the "one more point" fix: bump your contribution rate by one or two points and watch the retirement number move — the cheapest retirement raise you will ever get.
Comparing match scenarios: flip between "just the match" and "15% rule" presets to see what an extra $200 a paycheck turns into over 30 years.

For the full method — the three-step contribution strategy, decoding match language, and the 2026 limits — see the guide How much should you contribute to your 401(k)?. For the Roth-vs-traditional tax choice, use the Roth vs Traditional 401(k) calculator.

401(k) contributions — frequently asked questions

What percent of my salary should I contribute to my 401(k)?

Financial planners usually land on 10–15% of salary including the employer match, held over a full career. At minimum, contribute enough to capture the entire employer match — that is a guaranteed, instant return before the market does anything. If 15% is too much today, start at the match floor and raise your rate one point with every raise.

How does an employer 401(k) match actually work?

A match is two numbers: a rate and a cap. "50% up to 6% of salary" means the employer adds 50 cents for every dollar you contribute, but only on your first 6% of salary — so you must contribute the full 6% to get the full 3%-of-salary match. Contributing 4% leaves part of the match unclaimed; contributing 10% does not earn any extra match beyond the cap. The calculator decodes this and shows the dollars you capture and the dollars left behind.

What is the maximum I can contribute to a 401(k) in 2026?

The 2026 employee elective deferral limit is $24,500 if you are under 50, $32,500 if you are 50 or older, and $35,750 if you are 60–63 (the super catch-up). Employer contributions do not count against your limit — they count toward a separate combined ceiling. The calculator warns you if your contribution rate would push you over the limit for your age.

Do employer contributions count toward my $24,500 limit?

No. Your $24,500 limit (2026) covers only your own elective deferrals — pre-tax or Roth. Employer matches and profit-sharing count toward a higher combined annual additions limit instead ($72,000 in 2026, plus any catch-up you are eligible for). That is why a generous match never eats into your personal contribution room.

What happens if I contribute too much to my 401(k)?

You create an excess deferral. Withdraw the extra amount plus any earnings it generated before the tax filing deadline, and you pay tax on it once. Miss the deadline and the excess gets taxed twice — once when earned, again when withdrawn. Tell payroll to cap your elections at the IRS limit; the calculator flags it before you get there.

Should I max out my 401(k) or invest somewhere else?

The usual priority order: first, contribute enough to get the full employer match; second, max an IRA ($7,000 in 2026) if you are eligible, since IRAs often offer more investment choice at lower fees; third, come back and push the 401(k) toward the annual cap. A taxable brokerage account comes last, after the tax-advantaged space is full — unless you need the money before age 59½.

How do I know if I am on pace to max out my 401(k)?

Take the IRS limit for your age, subtract what you have contributed so far this year, and divide by your remaining paychecks. For 2026 that is ($24,500 − contributed so far) ÷ paychecks left, or $32,500 / $35,750 if you are catch-up eligible. One trap: if you hit the cap too early in the year, you can miss later paychecks of match — check whether your plan has a "true-up" before you front-load.

Should I contribute to a 401(k) if my employer does not match?

Usually yes. The tax deferral (or Roth tax-free growth) and decades of compounding are still doing the heavy lifting — in the worked example above, growth produced about two-thirds of the final balance. Without a match, just make sure you are also using your IRA room, and compare pre-tax vs Roth with the Roth vs Traditional 401(k) calculator.