Plan limit headroom, 2026
This works out one number from the Defined Benefit Plan Limit figures published for 2026. Every amount it uses is below, with the document it was read from. What you enter is your own: this site has no way to check it, and the answer it produces is not a published figure.
Effective 2026-01-01Source: Notice 2025-67 (IRS)Verified 2026-09-01
How it is worked out
The published amount less the amount you enter, rounded to the nearest cent. Where what you enter is the larger of the two, the answer is nothing rather than a negative amount.
Which limit, from the 2 this year publishes: Annual benefit under a defined benefit plan ($290,000), Defined contribution plan limit ($72,000). The calculator uses the one you pick and says which.
Figures in this colour are computed from the amounts above. They are not published figures and no document states them.
Work it out
The live calculator needs JavaScript. The table below covers common amounts and is computed the same way.
Worked out for common amounts
| Amount so far this year | Annual benefit under a defined benefit plan | Defined contribution plan limit |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | $290,000 | $72,000 |
| 50,000 | $240,000 | $22,000 |
| 150,000 | $140,000 | $0 |
| 250,000 | $40,000 | $0 |
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Notice 2025-67 (IRS)
- Annual benefit under a defined benefit plan
Effective January 1, 2026, the limitation on the annual benefit under a defined benefit plan under section 415(b)(1)(A) of the Code is increased from $280,000 to $290,000.
- Defined contribution plan limit
The limitation for defined contribution plans under section 415(c)(1)(A) is increased in 2026 from $70,000 to $72,000.
Every 2026 Defined Benefit Plan Limit figure · Defined Benefit Plan Limit in every year · Every calculator on this site