Contribution limits change almost every year, and 2026 brought meaningful increases. If you have a 403(b) through a school, hospital, or nonprofit, here are the exact numbers to plan around, plus the traps that catch even careful savers.
The headline number: $24,500
For 2026, the most you can contribute to your 403(b) from your own salary, the "elective deferral limit", is $24,500, up from $23,500 in 2025. This covers both pre-tax and Roth contributions combined. Put $15,000 pre-tax and $9,500 Roth into the plan and you've hit the ceiling; the IRS doesn't give you a separate limit for each.
Catch-up contributions: $8,000 at 50+
If you'll be 50 or older by December 31, 2026, you can contribute an extra $8,000 on top of the base limit, for a total of $32,500. This is the standard age-50 catch-up, and it exists precisely because the last decade or so before retirement is when most people can finally afford to save aggressively.
The "super catch-up": $11,250 at ages 60–63
A SECURE 2.0 provision created a bigger catch-up for workers who turn 60, 61, 62, or 63 during the calendar year. For 2026 that number is $11,250 instead of $8,000, a $35,750 total. If your birthday falls in that window, check that your plan has adopted the provision; it's optional for employers, though most large plans have.
The $72,000 total cap
There's a second, bigger ceiling: the "annual additions" limit caps everything going into your account, your deferrals, your employer's match, and any nonelective employer contributions, at $72,000 for 2026 (or 100% of your compensation, whichever is less). Most people never get near it, but high earners with generous matches should keep it on the radar.
The 15-year service bonus: +$3,000
Unique to 403(b) plans: with 15+ years at the same eligible employer (public school, hospital, qualifying nonprofit or church organization), your plan may let you add up to $3,000 extra per year beyond the normal limits. Lifetime cap on this bonus is $15,000. Long-tenured teachers, this one's for you, but confirm with your administrator that your plan actually offers it.
The aggregation trap
Here's the one that burns people: the $24,500 elective deferral limit follows you, not the plan. If you work two jobs, say, teaching plus a part-time private-sector gig with a 401(k), your combined deferrals across every plan can't exceed $24,500. Neither payroll department sees the other, so tracking it is on you. Go over, and you'll need one plan to return the excess plus earnings by April 15 of the following year, or the money gets taxed twice.
New for 2026: high earners' catch-ups go Roth
Starting in 2026, if your wages from the employer sponsoring the plan exceeded $150,000 in 2025 and you're 50 or older, your catch-up contributions must go in as Roth (after-tax), no more pre-tax catch-ups for that group. Regular deferrals can still be pre-tax; it's only the catch-up portion that's affected.
Putting the numbers to work
Limits are just trivia until you turn them into a plan. A free 403(b) calculator lets you model different contribution levels, say, $12,000 versus the full $24,500, and see the decades-long difference compounding makes. When the gap between "good enough" and "maxed out" turns out to be hundreds of thousands of dollars, the motivation tends to take care of itself. All of these figures come straight from the IRS retirement plan limits tables, which are worth bookmarking since the numbers move every year.
