2026 IRS Limits & Tax Brackets — 401(k), IRA, HSA, More

The numbers personal finance content depends on — contribution caps, phase-outs, brackets, deductions — change every November when the IRS publishes the next year’s inflation adjustments. Below are the 2026 figures, sourced to IRS Notice 2025-67 and Revenue Procedure 2025-32.

This is a reference page. Treat the dollar amounts as authoritative, treat any decision-making framing as starting questions for a CPA, not endpoints.

Retirement contribution limits

Account	2026 limit	2025 limit	Catch-up (age 50+)	Special catch-up
401(k) / 403(b) / 457	$24,500	$23,500	+$8,000	+$11,250 (ages 60–63)
IRA / Roth IRA	$7,500	$7,000	+$1,100	—
SIMPLE IRA	$17,000	$16,500	+$4,000	+$5,250 (ages 60–63)
HSA — self-only	$4,400	$4,300	+$1,000 (age 55+)	—
HSA — family	$8,750	$8,550	+$1,000 each spouse	—
FSA — health	$3,400	$3,300	—	—
529 superfund (5-yr lump)	$95,000 / $190,000 MFJ	$90,000 / $180,000 MFJ	—	—

Roth IRA income phase-outs

Direct Roth IRA contributions phase out as income rises. Above the upper number you can’t contribute directly; you can still use a backdoor Roth.

Filing status	Phase-out begins	Phase-out ends
Single / Head of Household	$153,000	$168,000
Married filing jointly	$242,000	$252,000
Married filing separately	$0	$10,000

Federal income tax brackets — 2026

The thresholds below are taxable income (after deductions). Each rate applies only to dollars within that bracket — the marginal rate, not your effective rate.

Rate	Single	Married filing jointly	Head of Household
10%	$0 – $12,400	$0 – $24,800	$0 – $17,700
12%	$12,401 – $50,400	$24,801 – $100,800	$17,701 – $67,500
22%	$50,401 – $105,700	$100,801 – $211,400	$67,501 – $105,700
24%	$105,701 – $201,775	$211,401 – $403,550	$105,701 – $201,775
32%	$201,776 – $256,225	$403,551 – $512,450	$201,776 – $256,200
35%	$256,226 – $640,600	$512,451 – $768,700	$256,201 – $640,600
37%	$640,601+	$768,701+	$640,601+

Standard deduction — 2026

Filing status	Standard deduction	Additional if 65+ or blind
Single	$16,100	+$2,050
Married filing jointly	$32,200	+$1,650 each spouse
Married filing separately	$16,100	+$1,650
Head of Household	$24,150	+$2,050
Dependent	Greater of $1,350 or earned income + $450	—

If your itemizable deductions (mortgage interest, SALT capped at $10,000, charitable contributions, medical expenses over 7.5% AGI) don’t exceed the standard deduction, take the standard. Roughly 90% of filers do.

Capital gains — long-term (asset held > 1 year)

Rate	Single	Married filing jointly
0%	up to $49,450	up to $98,900
15%	$49,451 – $545,500	$98,901 – $613,700
20%	$545,501+	$613,701+

Short-term capital gains (asset held ≤ 1 year) are taxed as ordinary income at the rates in the income bracket table above.

The 2026 changes worth knowing about

Roth-only catch-up for high earners. Starting in 2026, if your prior-year Social Security wages exceed $150,000, your 401(k) catch-up contributions must go into the Roth side of the plan. No more pretax catch-ups for high earners. This was originally scheduled for 2024, delayed twice, and lands now.

Standard deduction continues climbing. The OBBB amendments to TCJA continue to phase in. The 2026 standard deduction sits at $32,200 MFJ — up from $30,000 in 2025 and $29,200 in 2024.

HSA limit jumped 2.3%. A larger-than-usual bump for self-only HSA coverage ($4,300 → $4,400). Family stayed near the 2.3% trend at $8,750.

Glossary — the words this stuff uses

Term	What it means
Marginal rate	The rate paid on the next dollar you earn
Effective rate	Total tax paid ÷ total income — usually well below your marginal rate
AGI	Adjusted Gross Income — total income minus “above the line” deductions
MAGI	Modified AGI — AGI with some deductions added back; the number used for Roth IRA phase-out
Catch-up	Extra contribution amount allowed once you turn 50 (or 55 for HSAs)
Phase-out	Income range over which a deduction or contribution shrinks linearly to zero
Standard vs itemized	The two ways to subtract deductions from income — pick whichever is larger
Backdoor Roth	Contributing to a non-deductible traditional IRA, then converting it to Roth — bypasses the income phase-out
Mega backdoor Roth	After-tax 401(k) contributions converted to Roth in-plan; only works if your plan allows both

Where to verify

These are reference numbers. If you’re making a real decision (changing payroll deferrals, executing a Roth conversion, selling appreciated stock), verify against the IRS source — the link is the canonical answer:

• IRS — 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026
• IRS Notice 2025-67 — full retirement plan limits
• IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32 — full inflation adjustments
• IRS — 2026 tax inflation adjustments overview

This page is a reference, not advice. Specific situations — high-deductible health plan eligibility, ineligible IRA rollovers, state tax interactions, NIIT, AMT — turn on details no general post can capture. Talk to a CPA before doing anything that ends in “convert.”