Tool · SECURE 2.0 §103
Saver's Match Eligibility Checker
Starting tax year 2027, SECURE 2.0 replaces the Saver's Credit with a direct federal deposit into your Roth IRA or 401(k) — up to $1,000 per person. Enter your numbers to see if you qualify and what the match will look like.
All calculations run locally in your browser. Your inputs are never transmitted or stored.
Your Situation
For MFJ, this is the combined household figure.
IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), or SIMPLE. Only the first $2,000 per person counts.
Disqualifiers
Base match rate
50% of the first $2,000 contributed
Phase-out factor
Counted contribution
Only the first $2,000 per person counts
Where your AGI falls
Your AGI:
In plain terms
Eligibility checks
How it works
The Saver's Match, decoded
What SECURE 2.0 §103 actually does
Section 103 of the SECURE 2.0 Act replaces the long-standing Saver's Credit (a nonrefundable tax credit that helped almost no one because most eligible savers owed little tax) with a Saver's Match — a federal contribution deposited directly into your qualifying retirement account.
match = 50% × min($2,000, your contribution) × phase_out_factor
The maximum match is $1,000 per person ($2,000 for a married couple where both qualify). It is effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026 — in other words, tax year 2027 and later.
Phase-out ranges
The statute sets AGI thresholds that phase the match down linearly from 50% to 0%. The base thresholds (pre-inflation) are:
| Single / MFS | $20,500 → $35,500 |
| Head of household | $30,750 → $53,250 |
| Married filing jointly | $41,000 → $71,000 |
At or below the lower threshold, you get the full 50% match. Above the upper threshold, the match is zero. In between, it scales linearly.
Important: These brackets are inflation-adjusted for 2027 and later. The IRS is expected to publish the exact TY 2027 figures in a Revenue Procedure in fall 2026. This calculator uses the statutory base values; the final 2027 numbers will be modestly higher.
Who does NOT qualify
Even if your AGI is in range, you are disqualified if any of the following are true:
- Under age 18 on the last day of the tax year.
- Full-time student for any five months during the tax year (same definition used for the dependency exemption).
- Claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.
A custodial Roth for a minor with summer-job earnings, for example, does not get the match — but a 19-year-old working full-time who isn't a student and isn't anyone's dependent does (subject to the income test).
How the money actually lands
Unlike the old credit, which flowed through your 1040, the match is claimed on a new schedule and then directly deposited by Treasury into a qualifying account. You specify the destination (a Roth IRA, 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), or SIMPLE IRA) when you file. If you don't designate an account, Treasury defaults the deposit into an IRA.
Deposits into an IRA or Roth IRA do not count toward your annual contribution limit — the match is on top of the $7,500 / $8,600 regular limit (2026 figures per IRS Notice 2025-67).
What counts as a "qualifying contribution"
Almost any elective retirement contribution counts: traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), and SIMPLE IRA deferrals. Employer matching contributions do not count — only what you put in. Rollovers and recharacterizations are excluded, as are contributions that are later withdrawn.
Sources
- SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (Division T of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023) — Section 103, codified as IRC §6433
- IRC §25B (the prior Saver's Credit) — sunset for post-2026 tax years
- Joint Committee on Taxation General Explanation of Public Law 117-328 — §103 narrative
User Guide
How to use the Saver's Match Eligibility Checker
The Saver's Match is a new federal matching contribution (SECURE 2.0 §103) that replaces the old Saver's Credit effective for tax years 2027 and later. Eligible savers receive a federal match of up to 50 % on the first $2,000 contributed to a retirement account, phasing out by income. The match is deposited directly into your retirement account — it's not a tax credit, which is a meaningful improvement over the old Saver's Credit that required sufficient tax liability to use. This tool checks whether you qualify and shows the exact dollar match you'd receive.
The policy intent of the match is to partly replace the decades-old Saver's Credit, which was nonrefundable and therefore useless to most of the low-income households it was supposedly designed to help. The match fixes that: if you qualify, the dollars arrive in your retirement account regardless of your tax liability. It's the most meaningful pro-savings legislation for lower-income workers in a generation.
Who should use this tool
Low- and moderate-income workers contributing to any eligible retirement account (Roth IRA, Traditional IRA, 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b)). The match is most valuable for full-time workers in the $0–$40,000 AGI range, where the match can boost the effective value of each contribution dollar by up to 50 %. It's also relevant for part-time workers, second earners in a household, and anyone whose income phases them out of other benefits but who still has modest retirement-contribution capacity.
High earners can ignore the match — the phase-out zeros it out well before the 24 % bracket. But anyone whose household AGI is below roughly $80,000 should at least check, because the credit-to-match transition in 2027 is the kind of change that's easy to miss.
Walking through the inputs
Your AGI or MAGI. The match phases out by income; exact thresholds vary by filing status and are inflation-indexed. The tool uses the current published thresholds for 2027 (when the match takes effect); expect small adjustments upward in later years as the thresholds are indexed.
Filing status. Single, Married Filing Jointly, and Head of Household each have different phase-out bands. The MFJ bands are roughly twice the Single bands.
Annual retirement contribution. The match applies to the first $2,000 per year, so contributing above $2,000 doesn't increase the match — but contributing at least $2,000 maximizes it. For households able to afford only smaller contributions, the match scales down proportionally.
Dependency status and student status. Full-time students and taxpayers claimed as dependents are excluded from both the old Credit and the new Match. The tool asks about both.
Age. You must be 18 or older to claim the match. There's no upper age limit, unlike the pre-SECURE rules on Traditional IRA contributions.
How to read the result
The tool shows your qualifying contribution, your effective match percentage (50 %, reduced, or 0 %), and the dollar match you'd receive. It also explains how to claim the match — Treasury will administer it via an election attached to Form 8880 starting with tax year 2027, with the match flowing directly into a qualifying retirement account of your choice.
If you don't yet have a qualifying account open, the tool shows a one-step instruction for opening one before the contribution deadline. You need an account in place so the match has somewhere to land.
Common mistakes this tool prevents
- Confusing the Saver's Match with the Saver's Credit. The Credit (still in effect through tax year 2026) is a nonrefundable tax credit — it reduces tax owed but doesn't generate a refund if your tax is already zero. The Match (starting tax year 2027) is a direct deposit into your retirement account, regardless of your tax liability. Major improvement in design.
- Thinking the match is automatic. It isn't. You must contribute to a qualifying retirement account and claim the match on your tax return. Default-elected 401(k) contributions qualify automatically; so do Roth IRA contributions, but only if you actively fund the account.
- Missing the dependency exclusion. Students and dependents can still contribute to a Roth IRA and receive the tax-free growth benefit, but they don't qualify for the match until they're off their parent's return. If you're 22 and finishing your last semester, check whether your parents still claim you — that affects match eligibility for the year.
- Ignoring the phase-out cliff. The match phases out over a band and hits zero at the upper threshold. Near the cliff, a small AGI reduction — say, another $500 into a Traditional 401(k) or HSA — can recover hundreds or thousands of dollars of match. This is one of the highest-ROI "bracket management" moves in the code.
- Treating the $2,000 cap as a contribution cap. It isn't — you can still contribute up to the full Roth IRA limit ($7,500/$8,600 for 2026, likely higher by 2027). The $2,000 is just the cap on match-eligible contributions.
- Forgetting the five-year hold. Matched amounts are subject to a five-year holding rule. Early withdrawal of the matched dollars (before the five years) requires returning the match. This isn't punitive — it's a reasonable anti-abuse provision — but budget around it.
After you check eligibility
If you qualify for the full match, contribute at least $2,000 before the tax-filing deadline of the relevant year to maximize it. If you're near the phase-out, consider pre-tax 401(k) or HSA contributions to reduce AGI below the threshold — each dollar of pre-tax contribution can recover many dollars of match in the phase-out band. If you don't have an account open yet, a Roth IRA at any major brokerage takes about fifteen minutes to open and requires no minimum balance.
The Saver's Match pillar covers the statutory text (SECURE 2.0 §103), the Treasury implementation guidance issued so far, and worked examples across filing statuses. If you're simultaneously eligible for the old Credit (through 2026) and planning for the Match (from 2027), both articles are worth reading.
Worked example: Jasmine, 28, earning $32,000 in Ohio
Jasmine is 28, earns $32,000 as a registered nurse, files single, and is not a student or dependent. She contributes $2,400 to her Roth IRA each year — roughly $200/month through automatic transfers. Under the projected 2027 Saver's Match thresholds, she falls well below the phase-out ceiling for single filers.
At 50 % match on the first $2,000, her annual match is $1,000 — deposited directly into her Roth IRA each year via the Treasury administrative channel attached to her Form 8880. Her effective annual retirement contribution becomes $3,400 ($2,400 from her plus $1,000 federal match), which represents a 10.6 % savings rate on her $32,000 income — well into the "adequate for retirement" range.
Over a 35-year horizon at 5 % real return, the match alone compounds to roughly $90,000 (in today's dollars). This is the equivalent of receiving a modest raise she decides to save entirely. No other feature of the retirement tax code provides this much benefit to workers in her income band.
Contrast with the old Saver's Credit regime (ending after 2026). Under the Credit, Jasmine would be eligible for a 50 % nonrefundable tax credit on her first $2,000 of contributions — but her federal tax liability on $32,000 as a single filer after the standard deduction is only about $1,800, and after the Credit she'd need to have at least $1,000 of remaining federal tax liability to absorb the Credit. For many low-income filers, the Credit was worth less than its headline amount because the nonrefundable design wasted it. The Match fixes this: $1,000 lands in her Roth account regardless of her tax liability.
Planning action: Jasmine should ensure her 2027 contributions of at least $2,000 are made before the tax-filing deadline (April 15, 2028), then claim the match via Form 8880 when she files. If she hasn't opened a Roth IRA yet, she should do so now; brokerages like Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard have no-minimum, no-fee Roth IRAs that accept small contributions. The setup takes under 15 minutes online.