403(b) Contribution Calculator
How to Use This Calculator
- 1
Enter your Annual Salary
Provide your gross annual salary before taxes. This determines your contribution amounts and employer match.
- 2
Set your Contribution Rate
The percentage of salary you elect to defer into your 403(b). IRS annual limits cap the dollar amount regardless of rate.
- 3
Set the Employer Match Rate
The maximum percentage of your salary the employer will contribute when you meet the match cap requirement.
- 4
Set the Employer Match Cap
The contribution rate you must reach to receive the full employer match. If you contribute less, the match is prorated.
- 5
Set the Annual Return Rate and Years to Contribute
Enter your expected average annual investment return and how many years you plan to keep contributing.
- 6
Optionally expand Advanced Options
Set your Current 403(b) Balance and Current Age for more accurate projections. Age determines IRS catch-up eligibility: $31,000 (50-59/64+) or $34,750 (60-63).
- 7
Review your results
Examine the Projected 403(b) Balance, Annual Employee Contribution, Annual Employer Match, Total Contributed, Investment Growth, and Effective Contribution Rate. The breakdown bar shows the composition of your final balance.
Example Calculation
A 30-year-old nonprofit employee earning $75,000 wants to project their 403(b) balance over 30 years, contributing 10% of salary with a 5% employer match rate on a 10% cap, a 7% expected return, and a $15,000 existing balance.
Annual Salary
$75,000
Your Contribution Rate
10%
Employer Match Rate
5%
Employer Match Cap
10%
Annual Return Rate
7%
Years to Contribute
30
Current 403(b) Balance
$15,000
Current Age
30
Results
Projected 403(b) Balance
$1,214,062
Annual Employee Contribution
$7,500
Annual Employer Match
$3,750
Total Contributed
$352,500
Investment Growth
$861,562
Effective Contribution Rate
15.0%
Insights card shows 403(b) growth breakdown with employer match value and compound growth power.
Tips
Maximize Your Employer Match
Contribute at least enough to hit the employer match cap. If the cap is 10% and you only contribute 5%, the match is prorated — you leave free money on the table.
Know Your 2026 IRS Limits
The 2026 elective deferral limit is $23,500 (under 50), $31,000 (ages 50-59 and 64+), or $34,750 (ages 60-63 with the enhanced catch-up). The calculator automatically applies the correct limit based on your age.
Start Early for Maximum Compounding
In the example above, $352,500 in total contributions grew to $1,214,062 — that is $861,562 in pure investment growth. Starting at age 30 gives compounding 30 years to work, more than doubling your money beyond contributions alone.
What the projected 403(b) balance includes
The projected balance combines your current 403(b) balance, employee contributions, the employer match calculated from your inputs, and estimated investment growth. It does not account for taxes, fees, inflation, or plan-specific rules that are not represented by the calculator’s inputs.
How the projected balance is calculated
The calculator limits your annual employee contribution to the age-based limit in its code. It estimates the employer match from your salary, match rate, and match cap, then adds both contributions to the balance. The annual growth estimate applies the return rate to the starting balance and to half of that year’s contributions.
Employee contribution = min(salary × contribution rate, age-based limit)
Employer match = salary × employer match rate × min(employee rate, match cap) / match cap
Ending balance = starting balance + annual contributions + growth
Growth = starting balance × annual return rate + annual contributions × annual return rate × 0.5
With the default inputs, the employee contribution is min($75,000 × 10%, $23,500) = $7,500, and the employer match is $75,000 × 5% × (10% / 10%) = $3,750. Total annual contributions are $11,250. Applying the calculator’s annual recurrence for 30 years at 7%, starting with $15,000, gives $15,000 × 1.07³⁰ + $11,250 × 1.035 × ((1.07³⁰ − 1) / 0.07) = $1,214,061.61, or $1,214,062 rounded to the nearest dollar.
What changes the projected balance
Reducing the contribution rate from 10% to 8% changes the annual employee contribution from $7,500 to $6,000 and the employer match from $3,750 to $3,000. Keeping the other default inputs unchanged, the projected balance changes from $1,214,062 to $994,086.
When this formula does not apply
Contributions made monthly rather than using this calculator’s annual contribution schedule need the monthly-contribution compound-interest calculator. If you are estimating after-tax contributions rather than the contributions modeled here, use the after-tax contribution calculator. If you are estimating contributions to a 401(k), use the 401(k) contribution calculator.
The IRS limit next to the result
The calculator’s code uses a $23,500 standard employee deferral cap, which was the IRS limit for 2025; the IRS set the standard limit at $24,500 for 2026, so projections that hit the cap may not reflect the current limit (IRS 2025 limits; IRS 2026 limits).
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum I can contribute to a 403(b) in 2026?
For 2026, the IRS elective deferral limit is $23,500 for those under age 50. Ages 50-59 and 64+ can contribute up to $31,000 (includes $7,500 catch-up). Ages 60-63 get an enhanced catch-up limit of $34,750. This calculator automatically applies the correct limit based on the age you enter.
How does the employer match calculation work in this calculator?
The Employer Match Rate is the maximum percentage of your salary the employer will contribute. The Employer Match Cap is the contribution rate you must meet to receive the full match. If your contribution rate is below the cap, the employer match is prorated proportionally. For example, with a 5% match rate and 10% cap on a $75,000 salary, contributing 10% or more gets you the full $3,750 match (5% of salary). Contributing only 5% gives you half: $1,875.
What does Effective Contribution Rate mean?
The Effective Contribution Rate combines your employee contribution percentage with the employer match percentage relative to your salary. For example, if you contribute 10% and your employer adds 5%, your effective rate is 15%. Financial advisors often recommend targeting 15% or more total for a strong retirement.
How does the calculator handle investment growth?
The calculator uses a mid-year approximation: your existing balance earns the full annual return, while new contributions made during the year earn half a year of returns (assuming contributions are spread throughout the year). This provides a more realistic projection than simple end-of-year compounding.