Yes, you can contribute to a Roth IRA and a 401(k) in the same year. Their contribution limits are separate, but you must meet each account's rules. For 2026, the regular IRA limit is $7,500, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older by year-end; the basic 401(k) employee-deferral limit is $24,500. Roth IRA eligibility also depends on compensation, filing status and Roth MAGI.

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Quick Facts

  • check_circleSeparate limits, shared rules within each account type. Traditional and Roth IRA contributions share one regular IRA limit; pretax and Roth 401(k) deferrals share the employee-deferral limit.
  • check_circle2026 IRA cap: $7,500, plus a $1,100 age-50 catch-up for a total of $8,600, subject to compensation and eligibility.
  • check_circle2026 401(k) deferrals: $24,500; if the plan permits catch-ups, $32,500 at ages 50–59 or 64+, or $35,750 at ages 60–63.
  • check_circleRoth IRA phase-outs: $153,000–$168,000 for single/head of household and $242,000–$252,000 for married filing jointly in 2026; married filing separately has special rules.
  • check_circleNo Roth-IRA-style MAGI cutoff for a 401(k). Plan eligibility, compensation, contribution limits and any applicable nondiscrimination restrictions still matter.

How the Two Limits Interact

A 401(k) contribution does not use your regular IRA contribution room. For example, assume a 35-year-old single filer has $100,000 of wages, Roth MAGI below $153,000, no other IRA contributions and a plan that permits the full deferral. In 2026, that person can contribute:

  • $7,500 to a Roth IRA;
  • $24,500 to a 401(k), divided between pretax and Roth deferrals as the plan allows;
  • plus any employer contribution allowed under the plan.

The employee's total is $7,500 + $24,500 = $32,000. An employer match does not use the $24,500 employee-deferral limit. It does count toward the separate §415(c) annual-additions ceiling: generally the lesser of $72,000 or 100% of compensation for 2026. That ceiling includes non-catch-up employee deferrals, employer contributions and ordinary after-tax plan contributions; it excludes eligible catch-up contributions and does not include the separate IRA deposit.

For a direct Roth IRA contribution, the 2026 limit reaches zero at $168,000 of single/head-of-household Roth MAGI or $252,000 for joint filers. Married filing separately generally has a $0–$10,000 phase-out if the spouses lived together at any time during the year; living apart all year uses the single range. See Roth IRA eligibility for the full calculation.

Roth 401(k), Roth IRA or Both?

A Roth 401(k) is an employer-plan account with after-tax employee contributions and tax-free qualified withdrawals. It is not a Roth IRA. Congress authorized designated Roth contributions in EGTRRA 2001 §617, effective beginning in 2006; the Pension Protection Act of 2006 did not create them.

There is no one contribution order that fits everyone. Compare your plan's match and vesting terms, fees, investment choices, access restrictions and the tax trade-off between pretax and Roth savings. Check which contributions earn the match; you do not necessarily have to choose pretax employee deferrals to receive one.

Pretax 401(k) salary deferrals generally reduce current federal wages and AGI, which can help with Roth IRA MAGI eligibility. Roth 401(k) deferrals do not produce that reduction. Both use the same employee-deferral limit, generally aggregated with your deferrals to other 401(k) and 403(b) plans.

Starting in 2026, covered catch-up contributions must be Roth when the participant's prior-calendar-year Social Security wages from the employer sponsoring the plan exceed the applicable threshold: more than $150,000 of 2025 wages for 2026 catch-ups. This is not a household-MAGI test and does not make every contribution Roth. The statutory rule operates in 2026 after the 2024–2025 transition relief; the final regulations generally apply beginning in 2027. See Roth 401(k) rules for coverage and special applicability provisions.

If Your Income Exceeds the Roth IRA Phase-Out

A high Roth MAGI does not itself bar Roth 401(k) deferrals. Other Roth routes require their own checks:

  • Backdoor Roth IRA: a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution followed by a conversion. The contribution still requires eligible compensation and unused annual IRA room. Conversions have no income cap, but pretax traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRA balances can make a conversion partly taxable under the annual pro-rata calculation. See Backdoor Roth.
  • Mega backdoor Roth: the plan must permit ordinary after-tax contributions and an available in-plan conversion or eligible distribution to Roth. With sufficient compensation, a $24,500 basic deferral and no employer or other annual additions, $72,000 − $24,500 leaves an illustrative $47,500 of after-tax room. Employer contributions reduce that room, plan limits or testing may restrict it further, and pretax earnings can be taxable when converted. This is not a separate guaranteed Roth allowance. See Mega Backdoor Roth.

Sources: Notice 2025-67, 2026 limits; Publication 590-A (2025), IRA eligibility and conversions; IRS 401(k) contribution-limit rules; Notice 2006-44, section II (Roth plan origins); TD 10033, final catch-up regulations; Notice 2023-62, transition relief.