401k Contribution Calculator
401k employee, match, and yearly total.
What it does
A 401k match is free pay for saving: you put in a percent, the employer adds a percent of that base up to a cap. This page turns salary and three percents into employee dollars, match dollars, and the yearly total.
The default is $80,000 with 6% in and a 50% match up to 6%. The employee adds $4,800.00, the match adds $2,400.00, and the year totals $7,200.00. Contributing 3% instead would halve both lines since the base sets the match.
Cap is where matches stop. A 50% match up to 6% pays on the first 6% of salary only, so the seventh point earns no match. Contribute at least to the cap before taxable accounts when cash allows.
Limits and vesting sit outside. IRS caps can clip high earners, matches vest on schedule, and Roth versus pretax changes tax without changing these dollars.
How to use
- Enter yearly salary.
- Enter your contribution percent.
- Enter employer match percent.
- Enter the match cap percent.
- Read employee first, then match and total.
Formula
- salary
- Yearly gross salary.
- contrib
- Your contribution percent.
- match
- Employer match percent on matched base.
- up to
- Salary share the match counts, in percent.
Match base is the smaller of your contribution and the cap salary share, so contributing past the cap adds no match. Percents are yearly plan rates; catch ups, Roth splits, and IRS caps need their own pass against current limits.
Worked example
Example: 6% with half match
$80,000 salary, 6% in, 50% match up to 6%.
- Employee: 80,000 x 6 / 100 = $4,800.00.
- Match base: min(4,800, 80,000 x 6/100) = $4,800.00.
- Match: 4,800 x 50 / 100 = $2,400.00.
- Total: 4,800 + 2,400 = $7,200.00.
- Tool shows $4,800.00, $2,400.00, $7,200.00.
Reference table
| Match | Match $ | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 25% to 6% | $1,200.00 | $6,000.00 |
| 50% to 6% | $2,400.00 | $7,200.00 |
| 100% to 3% | $2,400.00 | $7,200.00 |
| 100% to 6% | $4,800.00 | $9,600.00 |
| 0% | $0.00 | $4,800.00 |
Limits
- Contribution math only. No IRS caps.
- No vesting schedule.
- No growth, fees, or tax split.
- One salary and rate per pass.
Common mistakes
- Contributing below the match cap.
- Reading match percent as salary percent.
- Forgetting the cap clips extra points.
- Mixing Roth and pretax tax effects.
- Skipping catch ups past 50.
Try it yourself
Quick checks. Answers sit tucked under each question.
$100,000 at 5%, full match to 5%?
Employee $5,000.00, match $5,000.00, total $10,000.00.
$60,000 at 10%, 60% match to 5%?
Employee $6,000.00 (60,000 x 10), match $1,800.00 (3,000 x 60%).
Questions
How much do I put in?
Salary times percent. Here $4,800.00.
How much does the match add?
Matched base times match percent. Here $2,400.00.
Yearly total?
Both together. Here $7,200.00.
Match cap?
The cap on salary the match counts. Here 6%, so raises past it add no match.
IRS limits?
No. IRS yearly limits sit outside; enter a lower percent if capped.
Growth included?
No. Growth, vesting, and fees sit outside contribution math.