Solo 401(k) Calculator
Sketch self-employed plan room — enter compensation/profit, employee deferral, employer profit-share %, age-50+ catch-up, and editable 2026-style limits. Click any i for detail.
Self-employed contribution
Compensation / profit ($)
i
Compensation
Simplified earned-income / compensation base for this educational sketch. |
|
|---|---|
Employee deferral wanted ($)
i
Employee deferral
Elective deferral you plan to contribute (capped by limit + catch-up). |
|
Employer profit share (%)
i
Profit share
Employer contribution as % of compensation (often up to 25% in plan design — simplified here). |
|
Age 50+ catch-up
i
Catch-up
Toggle age-50+ catch-up into employee and overall room. |
|
Employee deferral limit ($)
i
2026 deferral limit
Editable educational default for elective deferrals. |
|
Catch-up limit ($)
i
Catch-up limit
Editable educational age-50+ catch-up amount. |
|
Overall limit ($)
i
Overall limit
Editable educational annual additions limit before catch-up stacking sketch. |
How to use this calculator
- Enter compensation/profit.
- Set desired employee deferral and employer %.
- Toggle age 50+ if applicable.
- Edit 2026-style limits if IRS figures differ.
Results explained
Headline is combined employee + employer after caps. Real solo 401(k) earned-income definitions can reduce the employer base — treat this as a planning sketch.
Quick reference: solo 401(k)
Limits are user-editable educational defaults.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employee | Min(wanted, deferral±catch-up, compensation) |
| Employer | % of compensation, limited by overall room |
| Overall | Annual additions sketch + catch-up toggle |
Confirm Form 5500 / plan document and current IRS limits.
How the estimate is built
Employee capped by deferral limit (+ catch-up). Employer = min(comp × %, overall(+catch-up) − employee).
Example scenario
$160k compensation, $24,500 deferral, 20% profit share → employer fills remaining overall room until the annual additions sketch is hit.
FAQ
Are 2026 limits final here?
Defaults are educational placeholders — edit them to match published IRS figures.
W-2 employees?
This page targets self-employed / solo plan sketches, not workplace mega backdoors.
SEP vs solo 401(k)?
Solo 401(k) allows employee deferrals plus employer; SEP is employer-only style contributions.