Maximum SEP IRA contribution for 2026 or 2025: 25% of pay or 20% of self-employed earnings
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 30 Oct 2026.On $150,000 of net profit, a self-employed person can put $27,880.57 into a SEP IRA for 2026: 20% of $139,402.84, the net earnings after half of self-employment tax. For an employee the limit is 25% of pay. Both are capped at $72,000 for 2026 ($70,000 for 2025), and pay above $360,000 is not counted. Enter your own figures.
Rates and rules read from the sources listed on this page (the earliest on 30 Oct 2026); they may have changed since.
Pick the "Tax year", and choose "For myself (self-employed)" or "For an employee (W-2)" under "Who it is for".
If self-employed, type your "Net profit (Schedule C line 31 or K-1 box 14)" and any "Social security wages from a job (W-2 box 3)".
For an employee, type the "Employee’s pay for the year" instead.
Set the "Plan contribution rate (from your SEP plan)".
Read the "SEP IRA contribution", the rate applied and the "Dollar limit", then press "Share result".
A simplified employee pension (SEP) lets a business put money into a traditional IRA for each eligible worker, including the owner. Only the employer contributes; there are no employee deferrals and no catch-up contributions. This calculator works out the maximum for one person for 2026 or 2025.
For an employee. The contribution cannot exceed the lesser of 25% of the employee's compensation or the dollar limit: $72,000 for 2026 and $70,000 for 2025, from IRS Notice 2025-67. Compensation above $360,000 ($350,000 for 2025) is ignored. Publication 560's own example: an employee who earned $21,000 can receive at most $5,250.
For yourself, if self-employed. The percentage does not apply to your net profit directly. Your compensation is net earnings from self-employment, which already subtracts the deduction for half your self-employment tax and the contribution itself. Publication 560 handles the circle with a reduced rate: the plan rate divided by one plus the plan rate, so a 25% plan becomes 20%, and 10% becomes 9.0909%. The calculator figures self-employment tax the way Schedule SE does and then runs steps 1 to 8 of the Deduction Worksheet for Self-Employed.
The plan rate. Your SEP plan document sets the percentage, from 1 to 25. The rate in the Rate Table applies only to whole percentages, which is what this page accepts.
Who must be covered. An employee aged 21 or over who worked for you in 3 of the last 5 years and was paid at least $800 in 2026 ($750 in 2025) is eligible.
What this does not do: SARSEPs, combining a SEP with other plans, or the tax saved. An estimate, not tax advice.
For 2026 a SEP IRA contribution for one person cannot exceed the lesser of 25% of compensation or $72,000, according to IRS Notice 2025-67. Compensation above $360,000 is not counted. For 2025 the figures were $70,000 and $350,000. There is no catch-up contribution in a SEP.
A self-employed person's compensation is net earnings after subtracting the contribution itself. Publication 560 turns the plan's 25% into a reduced rate of 25 divided by 125, which is 20%, applied to net profit less half of self-employment tax. Both routes give the same dollar amount.
Start from net profit on Schedule C line 31 or Schedule K-1 box 14. Self-employment tax is 15.3% of 92.35% of that profit, with the 12.4% social security part stopping at $184,500 for 2026. Half of that tax is deducted, and the remainder is net earnings for the SEP.
A SEP contribution from your own business and deferrals to a 401(k) at another employer are separate. Combining a SEP with another plan of the same business brings extra limits this calculator does not cover. Publication 560 explains the rules for more than one plan.
Publication 560 lists an eligible employee as someone aged 21 or over, who worked for you in at least 3 of the last 5 years and received at least $800 of pay in 2026, or $750 in 2025. A plan may use looser rules than these, but not stricter ones.
Contributions for a year can generally be made up to the due date of the business's tax return for that year, including extensions. Deadlines are not part of this calculator, which only works out the maximum amount, so check Publication 560 for the timing that applies to your return.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
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