401(k) calculator

How much will my 401(k) be worth?

It depends on what you and your employer put in, the return and the years. $60,000 a year, 6% contributed with a 50% match up to 6%, $10,000 to start, 6% return and 2% raises from age 30 to 65 grows to about $844,000 — before inflation and taxes.

How does an employer match work?

A common formula is "50% up to 6%": the employer adds 50 cents per dollar you contribute, on up to 6% of your pay. On $60,000 at 6%, you put in $3,600 and the employer $1,800.

How much can I contribute in 2026?

The IRS limit for employee contributions is $24,500. At 50 and older you can add $8,000 more; at ages 60 to 63, $11,250 instead. The calculator caps your contributions at these 2026 limits.

What return should I assume?

No return is guaranteed. The calculator uses the rate you enter every year; real returns vary and can be negative.

Does it include taxes and fees?

No — it shows the balance before taxes on withdrawal and before plan fees, in future dollars.

Is the balance shown in today's dollars?

No. It is a nominal figure in future dollars, so it does not subtract inflation. As an illustration only: if prices rose 2% a year for 35 years, the $844,497 in the example above would have the purchasing power of about $422,272 today.

When are the contributions added in the calculation?

The calculator adds your contribution and the employer match at the end of each year, after that year's growth has been applied to the existing balance. Real paychecks are invested every pay period, so a real account usually does slightly better than this simplification.

What counts toward the employer match?

Only what your plan document says. Matches are usually figured on your pay up to a cap, for example 50% of what you contribute on the first 6% of pay. Money you contribute above the cap still grows, but it earns no extra match. Ask your plan administrator for the exact formula and any vesting schedule.

How the calculation works

The calculator steps through your working years one at a time. In each year your balance first grows by the annual return you entered. Then your contribution (a percentage of that year's salary) and the employer match are added, and finally your salary is raised by the expected raise. The match is the smaller of your contribution and the match cap (a percentage of pay), multiplied by the match rate. Your own contribution is held to the IRS limit for your age that year: $24,500 in 2026, plus the catch-up amount from age 50. The 2026 limits are applied to every future year, because later limits are not known yet.

Worked example

Take a 30-year-old earning $60,000 who contributes 6% of pay, with an employer that matches 50% of contributions up to 6% of pay. The account starts at $10,000, earns 6% a year, and the salary rises 2% a year until age 65.

In the first year the employee contributes $3,600 (6% of $60,000), and the employer adds $1,800 (half of that contribution). The starting $10,000 grows to $10,600, and with the two contributions the balance at the end of year one is $16,000. Repeating this for 35 years gives $844,497. Of that, $179,980 is the employee's own money, $89,990 is employer match, and about $564,527 is investment growth.

Common mistakes

• Contributing less than the match cap. In the same example, contributing 3% instead of 6% lowers the employer match from $89,990 to $44,995 over the career and the final balance to $460,679. Money you leave unmatched is pay you turn down.
• Mixing up the two match numbers. "Match rate" is how many cents the employer adds per dollar you put in (50 means 50 cents). "Match cap" is the share of your salary that the match applies to (6 means 6% of pay). Entering the cap in the rate field changes the result a lot.
• Reading the result as spending power. The balance is in future dollars and before income tax on withdrawals (for a traditional 401(k)) and plan fees. Use it to compare scenarios, not as a promised retirement income.

Sources and related calculators

Contribution limits: the IRS annual 401(k) limits notice for 2026, the same figures that appear on this page. The compounding method is the standard year-by-year growth of a balance with periodic additions. Related: retirement calculator, compound interest calculator and Roth IRA calculator.

Estimates for planning only — not financial advice. Your plan documents and contracts decide. How we check our calculators.