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Generally, contributions to an employee’s 403(b) account are limited by:
- the limit on annual additions, or
- the limit on an employee’s elective deferrals
Limit on employee elective salary deferrals
The limit on elective salary deferrals - the most an employee can contribute to a 403(b) account out of salary - is $24,500 in 2026.
Employees who are age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can also make catch-up contributions of $8,000 in 2026 beyond the basic limit on elective deferrals.
These amounts are subject to cost-of-living adjustments.
Limit on annual additions
The limit on annual additions (the combination of all employer contributions and employee elective salary deferrals to all 403(b) accounts) generally is the lesser of:
Catch-ups for employees with 15-years of service
If permitted by the 403(b) plan, an employee who has at least 15 years of service with the same eligible 403(b) employer - a public school system, hospital, home health service agency, health and welfare service agency, church, or convention or association of churches (or associated organization), has a 403(b) elective deferral limit that is increased by the lesser of:
- $3,000,
- $15,000, reduced by the amount of additional elective deferrals made in prior years because of this rule, or
- $5,000 times the number of the employee’s years of service for the organization, minus the total elective deferrals made for earlier years.
For plans that offer “15-years of service catch-up” contributions, if an employee making these contributions doesn’t have the required 15 years of full-time service with the same employer, find out how to correct this mistake.
Catch-ups for employees age 50 or over
If permitted by the 403(b) plan, employees who are age 50 or over at the end of the calendar year can also make catch-up contributions of $8,000 in 2026 beyond the basic limit on elective deferrals.
Under a change made in SECURE 2.0, a higher catch-up contribution limit applies for employees age 60, 61, 62 and 63 who participate in these plans. For 2026, this higher catch-up contribution limit is $11,250.
These amounts are subject to cost-of-living adjustments.
If the 403(b) plan doesn’t have the age 50 catch-up and an employee made deferrals over the 402(g) limit (or the 402(g) limit adjusted for a 15-year catch-up), find out how to correct this mistake.
If both catch-up provisions apply
While the age 50 catch-up is subject to an annual limit, the 15-year catch-up is subject to a use test, lifetime limit and an annual limit. When both catch-up opportunities are available, the law requires deferrals exceeding the standard limit ($24,500 in 2026) to be first applied to the 15-year catch-up (to the extent permitted), and then to the age 50 catch-up.
Example: Assume Pat, age 50, has worked as a teacher in the XYZ School District for 15 years; is eligible for the 15 years of service catch-up; and has eligible compensation of $70,000 for 2023. The maximum employee and employer contributions to the XYZ 403(b) plan for 2023 for Pat would be $73,500 ($66,000 annual addition + $7,500 age 50 catch-up):
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- Pat made elective salary deferrals to the 403(b) plan in 2023 totaling $25,500 ($22,500 plus $3,000 15 years of service catch-up)
- An employer contribution of $40,500, brings the total employee and employer contributions to $66,000, the annual additions limit in 2023.
- Pat may also defer an additional $7,500 age 50 catch-up contribution in 2023.
Example: Now assume that Pat deferred $26,500 of their salary under the 403(b) plan for 2023. The plan provides both the 15-year and age 50 catch-up deferral opportunities. Under the use test, Pat is eligible for a 15-year catch-up of $3,000. Of the total $26,500 deferred for 2023, the maximum standard deferral of $22,500 is first applied, followed by application of the 15-year catch-up deferral of $3,000, and finally application of the remaining $1,000 to the age 50 catch-up deferral.
Employees who also participate in another plan
Employees must combine contributions made to their 403(b) accounts with contributions made to all other plans in which they participate (other than 457 plans): 401(k)s and other qualified plans, and SIMPLE IRAs. The employee's total elective deferrals to all of these plans combined cannot exceed the annual deferral limit ($24,500 in 2026). See How Much Salary Can You Defer if You're Eligible for More Than One Retirement Plan.