401(k) Employer Match Calculator
Put 4% of $60,000 in your 401(k), and the basic safe harbor match adds $2,100 a year. Put in 5% and it adds the most it pays, $2,400.
Last reviewed
Your employer match this year
Your employer adds this year
$2,100.00
Going in this year
$4,500.00
Match left on the table
$300.00
Your employer adds $2,100.00 this year, 87.5 cents for each dollar of the $2,400.00 you put in.
You leave $300.00 behind: each dollar you add up to 5% of pay brings 50 cents, so putting in 5%, or $3,000.00 a year, gets the full $2,400.00.
Paid every two weeks, you would lose match without a true-up only if you put in more than 42.2% of pay.
Your match vests at once, so the $4,200.00 your employer has added in 2 years stays yours if you leave.
Your pay and your plan
- slice tops: 3% × $60,000.00 = $1,800.00; 5% × $60,000.00 = $3,000.00
- you put in: 4% × $60,000.00 = $2,400.00
- first slice: 100% × $1,800.00 = $1,800.00
- next slice: 50% × ($2,400.00 − $1,800.00) = $300.00
- match = $1,800.00 + $300.00 = $2,100.00
What your employer adds at each share of pay
Your match with and without a true-up
Your match slice by slice
| Slice of pay | Rate | You put in | Match | Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 3% of pay | 100% | $1,800.00 | $1,800.00 | $1,800.00 |
| Next 2% (3% to 5%) | 50% | $600.00 | $300.00 | $1,200.00 |
| Total | — | $2,400.00 | $2,100.00 | $3,000.00 |
$600.00 of the next 2% (3% to 5%) slice is still empty; filling it adds $300.00 of match.
What each share of pay brings
| You put in | Match | Next point adds | A year | Per dollar |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0% | $0.00 | $600.00 | $0.00 | — |
| 1% | $600.00 | $600.00 | $600.00 | a dollar |
| 2% | $1,200.00 | $600.00 | $1,200.00 | a dollar |
| 3% | $1,800.00 | $300.00 | $1,800.00 | a dollar |
| 4%yours | $2,100.00 | $300.00 | $2,400.00 | 87.5 cents |
| 5% | $2,400.00 | $0.00 | $3,000.00 | 80 cents |
| 6% | $2,400.00 | $0.00 | $3,600.00 | 66.7 cents |
| 8% | $2,400.00 | $0.00 | $4,800.00 | 50 cents |
| 10% | $2,400.00 | $0.00 | $6,000.00 | 40 cents |
Your next point of pay, from 4% to 5%, adds $300.00 of match; from 5% to 42.2% of pay, more adds nothing, and above 42.2% the match is less.
Formulas compared at your pay and share
| Formula | Most it pays you | Put in for all of it | At your share | Left behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100% of the first 3%, 50% of the next 2% (basic safe harbor, yours) | $2,400.00 | 5% | $2,100.00 | $300.00 |
| 100% of the first 4% | $2,400.00 | 4% | $2,400.00 | $0.00 |
| 100% of the first 1%, 50% of the next 5% (QACA) | $2,100.00 | 6% | $1,500.00 | $600.00 |
| 50% of the first 6% | $1,800.00 | 6% | $1,200.00 | $600.00 |
| 50% of the first 5% (the IRS's example) | $1,500.00 | 5% | $1,200.00 | $300.00 |
| 100% of the first 6% | $3,600.00 | 6% | $2,400.00 | $1,200.00 |
At 4% of $60,000, these formulas pay from $1,200.00 to $2,400.00; 100% of the first 4% and 100% of the first 6% pay the most at your share.
When the limit stops your match
| You put in | Limit reached | With a true-up | With no true-up | Lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4%yours | not reached | $2,100.00 | $2,100.00 | $0.00 |
| 5% | not reached | $2,400.00 | $2,400.00 | $0.00 |
| 40.9% | paycheck 26 of 26 | $2,400.00 | $2,400.00 | $0.00 |
| 42.2% | paycheck 26 of 26 | $2,400.00 | $2,400.00 | $0.00 |
| 42.3% | paycheck 26 of 26 | $2,400.00 | $2,390.49 | $9.51 |
| 47.2% | paycheck 23 of 26 | $2,400.00 | $2,123.13 | $276.87 |
| 52.2% | paycheck 21 of 26 | $2,400.00 | $1,938.51 | $461.49 |
| 62.2% | paycheck 18 of 26 | $2,400.00 | $1,653.16 | $746.84 |
Paid every two weeks, you lose match without a true-up only above 42.2% of pay; at 52.2% you would lose $461.49.
What you keep if you leave
| Years | Match so far | At once | 2-year cliff | 3-year cliff | 6-year graded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 1 | $2,100.00 | $2,100.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| 2 (yours) | $4,200.00 | $4,200.00 | $4,200.00 | $0.00 | $840.00 |
| 3 | $6,300.00 | $6,300.00 | $6,300.00 | $6,300.00 | $2,520.00 |
| 4 | $8,400.00 | $8,400.00 | $8,400.00 | $8,400.00 | $5,040.00 |
| 5 | $10,500.00 | $10,500.00 | $10,500.00 | $10,500.00 | $8,400.00 |
| 6 | $12,600.00 | $12,600.00 | $12,600.00 | $12,600.00 | $12,600.00 |
Under a 3-year cliff, year 3 alone turns $0.00 into $6,300.00; under 6-year graded vesting, year 6 alone adds $4,200.00.
How a 401(k) match works
A match is money your employer puts in your 401(k) because you put money in. The IRS's page on matching contributions says they "are contributions your employer makes to your retirement plan account if you contribute to the plan from your salary," so putting in nothing gets nothing. Whether your employer matches at all, and how, is set by your plan.
The formulas on this page match a share of what you put in, but only on a slice of your pay. Read 100% of the first 3% of pay and 50% of the next 2% as two slices. On $60,000 the first slice is the first $1,800 you put in, and each of those dollars brings a dollar. The second slice is the next 2% of pay, and each of those dollars brings 50 cents. Past $3,000, or 5% of pay, nothing more is matched.
Why your match stops growing
Your match follows a bent line, not a straight one. On the default $60,000 under the default formula, each point of pay you add up to 3% brings $600 of match. The next two points bring $300 each. Paid every two weeks with no true-up, the points from 5% to 42.2% bring nothing. Above 42.2% the match is less than $2,400, because your last paycheck then puts in less than the 5% of its pay that the formula matches. When a formula's rate falls from one slice to the next, as this one's does, your next dollar is worth the most inside the first slice you have not filled. The table of each share of pay shows where your own formula bends.
What your match is worth per dollar
You can also read a match per dollar you put in. At 3% of pay you get a dollar for each dollar. At 5% it is 80 cents, and at 10% it falls to 40 cents, because the match stopped growing at 5%. A falling figure is not a reason to save less. It means the extra dollars are yours alone, and they still count toward your $24,500 limit for 2026.
Why some paychecks lose match
A plan may work out the match one paycheck at a time. If you put in a large share of pay, you can reach the $24,500 limit before December. Your deferrals then stop, and so does the match on the paychecks that are left. Say you earn $150,000, are paid every two weeks and put in 20%. You reach the limit with paycheck 22, so the last four paychecks bring no match. You get $5,067.29 instead of $6,000.00, or $932.71 less.
How often you are paid changes the loss. The same saver loses $1,000.00 when paid monthly or twice a month, and $1,038.23 when paid weekly. Paid every two weeks, any share up to 16.7% of pay keeps the whole match, because even your last paycheck still puts in at least the 5% of its pay that the formula matches. A plan may add the missing match after the year ends, which is called a true-up. Treasury's rule, 26 CFR 1.401(k)-3(c)(5)(ii), lets a safe harbor plan make its match "separately with respect to each payroll period". Your summary plan description says whether yours trues up.
The IRS limits on a match
Three IRS limits can cut a match, and IRS Notice 2025-67 sets them for 2026. The first caps what you put in at $24,500. From the year you turn 50 you can add $8,000 more, or $11,250 more in the years you turn 60 to 63. This page assumes your plan matches those catch-up dollars like any others. The second caps the pay a plan may count at $360,000. The third caps what goes in from you and your employer together at $72,000, or 100% of your pay if less, and catch-ups do not count toward it.
Under a plan that cuts the match to fit, that third limit can make putting in less pay more. On $360,000 under a match of 200% of the first 10%, putting in 10% stops at $24,500, and the formula's $49,000.00 is cut to $47,500.00. Putting in 6.7% instead brings $47,880.00. A plan may instead hold back what you put in. Then 10% puts in $24,000.00 and keeps $48,000.00 of match, and putting in less never brings more. The IRS's limits page also notes that your plan's terms may set a lower limit than the IRS allows.
When the match becomes yours: vesting
Vesting decides how much of the match you keep if you leave. The IRS's vesting page says your own contributions "are always 100% vested, or owned, by the employee." The match can follow a schedule your plan sets. The slowest schedules the law allows are two, in 26 U.S.C. 411(a)(2)(B). Under a cliff, you own none of it until 3 years of service and then all of it. Under graded vesting, you own 20% after 2 years and 20% more each year until 6. A basic safe harbor match must be yours at once, and an automatic plan called a QACA may make you wait up to 2 years.
On graded vesting the last years vest the most. With $2,100 of match a year, year 3 raises what you keep from $840 to $2,520. Year 6 alone adds $4,200, twice the year's own match. It adds that year's $2,100 and vests the last 20% of the five years before it, another $2,100. So if you plan to leave, check how close you are to your next vesting date.
Employer match formulas
you put in = your share × pay counted, at most your limit pay counted = your pay, at most $360,000 limit = $24,500, plus $8,000 from 50, or $11,250 instead at 60 to 63 slice top = the share of pay at the slice's top × pay counted, rounded to the cent slice match = slice rate × the part of what you put in between the slice's bottom and top match = the slice matches added, at most the cap and, under a plan that cuts the match, the room left under $72,000
Worked examples
The IRS's own example. The IRS's matching page gives "50% of your contributions up to 5% of your annual salary" as a sample formula. On a $30,000 salary, putting in $1,200 brings $600.00 of match, and putting in $2,000 brings $750.00, because only the first $1,500 is matched. Enter it as your plan's tiers.
Half of what you put in, up to 6% of pay. Under this formula, $40,000 at 4% brings $800.00, and 6% brings all $1,200.00. Picking it from the formula list fills in the tiers for you.
The automatic plan formula. A QACA matches every dollar on the first 1% of pay and half of each dollar on the next 5%. At 3% of $80,000 that is $1,600.00, and you need 6% for all $2,800.00.
A dollar cap. Say your plan matches every dollar up to 6% of pay but caps the match at $1,500 a year. On $60,000 you reach the cap at 2.5% of pay, so putting in 6% brings the same $1,500.00 as 2.5% does.
Check your match on your plan papers, pay stub and W-2
Your summary plan description is the plan's own guide, and it is where your formula is written. The Labor Department's booklet calls it "a booklet that describes the key plan rules". Under 29 CFR 2520.102-3(l) it must also describe what can lead to a "loss, forfeiture, suspension" of benefits, which is where the vesting schedule appears. Look in it for four terms: the formula, the pay it counts, whether there is a true-up and the vesting schedule. Enter those terms here, not a figure you heard.
Your pay stub shows each paycheck's part. On $60,000 paid every two weeks, the 401(k) line is $92.31, which is 4% of a $2,307.69 paycheck, and the match on it is $80.77. Your stub may list the match, or your plan may show it only on its website. Over 26 paychecks those come to $2,400.06 and $2,100.02, a few cents over the year's figures, because payroll rounds each paycheck to the cent.
Your W-2 shows what you put in, not the match. Box 12 with code D is pre-tax 401(k) deferrals, $2,400.06 here, and code AA is Roth deferrals. No box 12 code is for a match. If your employer makes a Roth match, the W-2 instructions say those contributions "must be reported on Form 1099-R."
Your plan statement shows the match and how much of it is vested. If you choose your own investments, 29 U.S.C. 1025(a) requires a statement "at least once each calendar quarter". It must show your vested benefits, or "the earliest date on which benefits will become nonforfeitable". Compare its vested share with the vesting table above: after 2 years on a 6-year graded schedule it should say 20%. To test this page against figures the IRS published, enter the IRS's example from the worked examples and compare both results.
When your match works differently
If you are 50 or older
From 50 your limit is higher, so you reach it later in the year. At 61, on $150,000 paid every two weeks at 25%, you reach the $35,750 limit with paycheck 25, and with no true-up you lose $230.75 of match. If your plan does not match catch-up dollars, the most you can get is the match on your first $24,500; your summary plan description says whether it does.
If your plan offers a Roth match
A plan may now let you take the match as Roth money. IRS Notice 2024-2 says a match can be Roth "only if the employee is fully vested in matching contributions at the time the contribution is allocated to the employee’s account." You pay income tax on it in the year it goes in: on a $2,100 match that is $252 in the 12% bracket or $462 in the 22% bracket. The Roth vs traditional calculator compares paying tax now with paying it later.
If your plan matches student loan payments
IRS Notice 2024-63 says SECURE 2.0 lets employers make "matching contributions on account of employees’ qualified student loan payments". Your plan treats those payments like deferrals for the match. To see that match here, enter your loan payments as a share of pay: $150 a month on $45,000 is 4%, which brings $1,575 under the default formula. The student loan repayment calculator works out the payment itself.
If you have two jobs
The $24,500 limit covers what you put in at all your jobs together, but each plan matches only its own deferrals, on its own pay. Splitting $24,500 between two plans does not let either match more than its formula allows. If you put in too much in total, the excess deferral calculator shows how to take the extra out.
If you earn more than $360,000
Your plan counts at most $360,000 of pay for 2026. On $500,000 at 6%, the default formula pays $14,400.00, not the $20,000.00 that 4% of all your pay would be. Every share of pay is then a share of $360,000 only, so the match stops growing at 5% of it, or $18,000 a year.
If you get a bonus
Plans differ on whether a bonus counts as pay for the match. The IRS's fix-it guide tells plans to check the "bonuses, commissions and overtime pay that is or is not included in the definition of compensation." If your plan counts a $5,000 bonus, the default formula at 4% adds $200 to what you put in and $175 to the match. If it does not, enter your base pay only.
If you leave and come back
If you leave before you are fully vested, the part you do not own can go back to the plan. The IRS's vesting page says employees may forfeit amounts that are not vested "when they are paid their account balance", or when they "don’t work more than 500 hours in a year for five years". Under a 3-year cliff, leaving after 2 years on the default case gives up all $4,200.00 of match. If you come back, your plan may count your earlier years again.
Assumptions and limits
- You put in the same share of every paycheck all year, and every paycheck is the same size.
- Your plan matches catch-up contributions like any other dollars you put in, up to the formula's slices; your summary plan description says whether yours does.
- The match so far is this year's match times your years at this employer, before any growth or past raises. Your plan statement shows the real amount.
- The IRS limits are those for 2026, and your plan year is the calendar year.
- Figures for the year are rounded to the cent once. Your payroll rounds each paycheck, so your pay stub and W-2 can be a few cents off; the section on your pay stub shows by how much.
- If you and your employer would go over $72,000, this page assumes your plan cuts the match, not what you put in; your plan document says which.
- After-tax contributions, a safe harbor contribution made whether or not you save, profit sharing and the tests that can refund a high earner's deferrals are left out.
- The default pay and formula are an example, not typical figures for any employer. Pay runs up to $2,000,000 and a match rate up to 200%.
These figures are estimates for learning and planning, not financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Terms of use.
What to do about your match
Put in at least the share of pay where your match stops. On the default formula that is 5%, or $3,000.00 a year, and it adds $300.00 of match to what 4% brings. The take-home pay calculator shows what the extra point costs each paycheck.
If you put in a large share early in the year, ask whether your plan trues up. If it does not, spread your saving out so that $24,500 lasts to your last paycheck, as the section on paychecks that lose match shows. The 401(k) contribution limit calculator shows the amount per paycheck.
Before you change jobs, check your vested share on your plan statement. On a 3-year cliff with $2,100 a year, completing your third year of service turns $0.00 into $6,300.00. The 401(k) calculator shows what the match you keep can grow to.
Check whether what you put in earns a tax credit too. The saver's credit calculator starts from your $2,400.00 for the year.
Frequently asked questions
How is the employer match calculated?
Your plan multiplies what you put in by its match rate, one slice of pay at a time. Under 50% of the first 6%, putting in 6% of $45,000, or $2,700, brings $1,350. Dollars past the last slice are not matched.
What does a 100% match up to 6% mean?
Your employer adds a dollar for each dollar you put in, up to 6% of your pay. On $75,000 that is up to $4,500 a year. If you put in 4%, you get $3,000 and leave $1,500 behind.
How much should I contribute to get the full employer match?
Enough to fill the last matched slice. Under the QACA formula that is 6% of pay: on $70,000, $4,200 a year brings $2,450. At 4% you would get $1,750.
Does the employer match count toward the 401(k) limit?
Not toward the $24,500 limit on what you put in: the IRS's matching page says matching contributions "don’t reduce the amount you can contribute to the plan from your salary". It does count toward the $72,000 limit on what goes in from you and your employer together. On $100,000, $24,500 from you and a $4,000 match leave $43,500 of room.
What happens to unvested employer match if I quit?
You give it up, and it goes back to the plan. On 6-year graded vesting after 3 years of a $3,000 match, you keep $3,600 of $9,000 and give up $5,400. Your own contributions are always yours.
Is the 401(k) match really free money?
The IRS's matching page says "You may be walking away from free money by not contributing to your employer-sponsored retirement plan." It costs you nothing extra, but you get it only by putting in your own pay, and only the vested part is yours. Under the default formula, putting in 2% of $60,000, or $1,200, brings a $1,200 match that you keep once it vests.
Why might I miss match even if I contribute enough?
If your plan matches each paycheck and you reach the limit early, the last paychecks bring no match. On $200,000 paid monthly at 15%, under the basic safe harbor formula, you reach $24,500 with your October paycheck and get $6,666.70 instead of $8,000.00. A true-up, or putting in 12.9% or less, keeps it all.
How are employer contributions taxed?
A pre-tax match is not taxed until you take it out. A Roth match is taxed as income in the year it goes in: $660 on a $3,000 match in the 22% bracket, or $360 in the 12% bracket. Under section 402A(f)(3) it must also be fully vested.
Sources
- IRS, Matching contributions help you save more for retirement (page reviewed Apr 8, 2026)
- IRS, Retirement topics - 401(k) and profit-sharing plan contribution limits (page reviewed Apr 8, 2026)
- IRS, Notice 2025-67, 2026 amounts relating to retirement plans and IRAs, as adjusted for changes in cost-of-living (page modified Nov 13, 2025)
- IRS, Retirement topics - Vesting (page reviewed Apr 8, 2026)
- IRS, Issue Snapshot - Vesting schedules for matching contributions (page reviewed Jun 28, 2026)
- IRS, Internal Revenue Bulletin 2024-2, Notice 2024-2 (guidance on the SECURE 2.0 Act) (page reviewed Apr 30, 2026)
- IRS, Notice 2024-63, matching contributions made on account of qualified student loan payments (page modified Aug 19, 2024)
- IRS, 401(k) plan fix-it guide - Not using the plan definition of compensation for all deferrals and allocations (page reviewed Aug 1, 2026)
- IRS, General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 (2026) (page reviewed Apr 30, 2026)
- 26 U.S.C. 401, qualified pension, profit-sharing, and stock bonus plans (Cornell LII text) (current version)
- 26 U.S.C. 411, minimum vesting standards (Cornell LII text) (current version)
- 26 CFR 1.401(k)-3, safe harbor requirements (eCFR) (current version)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, What You Should Know About Your Retirement Plan (page modified Oct 6, 2024)
- 29 CFR 2520.102-3, contents of summary plan description (eCFR) (current version)
- 29 U.S.C. 1025, reporting of participant's benefit rights (Cornell LII text) (current version)
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