401(k) Calculator

How this result is built

Project a 401(k) with your contribution, an employer match, and the 2026 deferral limit.

The valuable line in a 401(k) is often the match, because it is compensation you only receive if you contribute. This page caps your deferral at the 2026 employee limit of $24,500, and it adds the $8,000 age-50 catch-up only when you switch it on. The higher catch-up for ages 60 to 63 is $11,250 and is not automatic here.

What the opening example is for

Match formulas differ. The default is 50% of what you contribute, on contributions up to 6% of pay. If your plan matches differently, change those two fields rather than forcing the story.

The walkthrough below uses the numbers already sitting in 401(k) Calculator. Press Calculate and the headline should match this page. Then put your own figures in. The math does not run until you press the button, and Clear hides the result.

What each field is doing

The “Annual salary” line on 401(k) Calculator starts at $85,000.00. Leave that figure only when it matches the statement, the quote, or the plan you are testing. Press Calculate after the edit so the chart and the schedule move with it.

401(k) Calculator treats “You contribute” as its own entry, and the form opens with 8%. A round example is useful for learning the page. It is a poor substitute for the number on your own paperwork, so replace it and run the form again.

Before you replace it, “Match on contributions” reads 50% on 401(k) Calculator. 50 means the employer adds 50 cents per dollar you contribute, up to the cap below. The other fields stay put while you change this one. That is the clean way to see what this line is doing inside the result.

Look at “Match applies up to” first if you are checking 401(k) Calculator: the filled value is 6%. Percent of salary. If the label is a rate, type the annual figure the contract uses. If it is money, type the amount that will actually move, not a rounded hope.

The remaining fields

The “Age 50 catch-up” line on 401(k) Calculator starts at No. Leave that figure only when it matches the statement, the quote, or the plan you are testing. Press Calculate after the edit so the chart and the schedule move with it.

401(k) Calculator treats “Current balance” as its own entry, and the form opens with $35,000.00. A round example is useful for learning the page. It is a poor substitute for the number on your own paperwork, so replace it and run the form again.

Before you replace it, “Annual return” reads 7% on 401(k) Calculator. The other fields stay put while you change this one. That is the clean way to see what this line is doing inside the result.

Look at “Years” first if you are checking 401(k) Calculator: the filled value is 25. If the label is a rate, type the annual figure the contract uses. If it is money, type the amount that will actually move, not a rounded hope.

The opening result, line by line

Press Calculate on the opening form and Projected balance is $831,570.50. That is the number the rest of this section is talking about.

Your contribution this year is $6,800.00 when you run the opening figures on 401(k) Calculator. That line is part of the same calculation as the headline. It is not a second balance you can spend on top of the result. Change one input and press Calculate if you want to see whether this line moves.

On this opening pass, employer match this year is $2,550.00. That line is part of the same calculation as the headline. It is not a second balance you can spend on top of the result. Change one input and press Calculate if you want to see whether this line moves.

How those lines were produced

401(k) Calculator reports that 2026 elective deferral used as the cap is $24,500.00. That line is part of the same calculation as the headline. It is not a second balance you can spend on top of the result. Change one input and press Calculate if you want to see whether this line moves.

The 2026 employee deferral cap is $24,500. Age-50 catch-up of $8,000 is included only if you switch it on. Match formulas vary by plan.

A second pass changes only “Annual salary”, from $85,000.00 to $93,500.00. Projected balance moves from $831,570.50 to $894,688.58. Nothing else on the form was edited, so the gap between those two results is the effect of that one field on 401(k) Calculator. If the gap is tiny, this page is not very sensitive to that entry. If the gap is large, get that entry from a document before you plan around the result.

What this page will not claim

401(k) Calculator follows the contribution, the return, and the years you enter. It does not look up your income, a workplace-plan phase-out, or a custodian balance. The 2026 limits named on this desk are ceilings, not instructions to contribute the maximum.

401(k) Calculator stops at its own formula. When the next question is different, open Retirement Calculator (Savings at retirement, next to the nest egg spending implies.); Traditional IRA Calculator (A deduction now, tax later, growth in between.); Roth IRA Calculator (After-tax contributions, tax-free qualified growth.). Do not add those results to this one as if they were the same kind of dollar.

Check the result before you use it

Start on 401(k) Calculator by reading the labels, not the headline. The opening labels are Annual salary ($85,000.00), You contribute (8%), Match on contributions (50%), Match applies up to (6%), Age 50 catch-up (No), Current balance ($35,000.00), Annual return (7%), Years (25). If a label is not the fact you have, the result cannot turn into that fact later. The illustration on the form lands on $831,570.50. When you press Calculate and see that same figure, the button and this explanation are using one formula.

Change one field at a time. Write down the headline, edit a single line, and press Calculate again. A large jump means that line carries the result. A line that does not move is a line the formula ignores, which is a reason to confirm you opened the right page. 401(k) Calculator is built for one job: Your deferral, the match, and the 2026 cap. The description on the page says the same thing in a sentence: Project a 401(k) with your contribution, an employer match, and the 2026 deferral limit.

When the paperwork disagrees

Then hold the headline next to a source outside the site. That source might be a loan estimate, an account statement, a pay stub, or the public limit named in the methodology. A few cents of difference on a long schedule is ordinary rounding. A different rate, a fee you never typed, or a tax the form does not ask for is not rounding. Correct the input. Do not average the page with the paperwork.

When the outside source still disagrees, 401(k) Calculator has reached the edge of what it will claim. It will not phone a lender, pull a county record, or apply a credit you left blank. Send the calculator name, every input, and the result you expected through the contact page if you think the formula itself is wrong. Until that is settled, read $831,570.50 as the output of the fields above and nothing else.

FAQs