415(c) annual additions limit checker.
Screen one participant's annual additions against the Section 415(c) limit. Enter compensation and the deferrals, employer contributions and forfeitures allocated for the limitation year. The default dollar limit is set to the 2026 figure and can be edited for other years.
Illustrative estimates only. Results do not determine eligibility, legal compliance, tax treatment or required corrective action.
Section 415(c) annual additions checker
Check entered annual additions against a selected plan-year dollar limit and compensation. The default 2026 dollar limit is editable.
Confirm the applicable IRS limit for the selected year and how plan-specific items are counted. This is a preliminary screen, not a correction calculation or legal determination.
Dollar limit and compensation cap applied.
The math behind the result
Maximum annual additions
The lesser of the dollar limit you enter (default $72,000 for 2026) and the participant's compensation.
Annual additions
Employee elective deferrals counted as annual additions + employer matching contributions + employer nonelective contributions + forfeitures and other additions.
Headroom or excess
The maximum minus the entered additions. A negative result is flagged as a potential excess to review.
Good uses
- Year-end review for owners and highly paid participants with large employer contributions
- Checking profit-sharing or nonelective allocations before they are made
- Explaining to a sponsor why an allocation was capped
What it does not do
- Catch-up contributions do not count toward 415(c); leave them out of the deferral input
- It checks one plan; aggregation across plans of the same employer is not modeled
- It flags a potential excess but does not calculate the correction
Frequently asked questions
What is the 415(c) limit?
It caps the total annual additions to a participant's defined contribution accounts at the lesser of a dollar limit set by the IRS each year or 100% of compensation. The calculator's default for 2026 is $72,000; confirm the current IRS figure.
Do catch-up contributions count toward 415(c)?
No. Age 50 and older catch-up contributions are not counted as annual additions for the 415(c) limit.
What happens if a participant exceeds 415(c)?
The excess has to be corrected, usually by distributing or reallocating amounts under the plan's terms and IRS correction procedures. Work with qualified staff on the specific correction.
Related tools and guides
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Free online ADP and ACP test calculator: compare HCE and NHCE average deferral and contribution percentages against the basic nondiscrimination limits.
Employer match estimator
Model a two-tier 401(k) employer match, such as 100% of the first 3% plus 50% of the next 2%, and see the match in dollars and as a percent of pay.
Contribution reconciliation check
Compare a payroll source total with the posted contribution total, see the variance in dollars and percent, and flag it against your review threshold.
See this work inside the pilot build.
Share the numbers you modeled and the workflow behind them. We will walk through how KinetiPlan handles that work and what a focused pilot could measure.