The 2026 numbers, and where they come from
Every figure on this site is read from one file and cited once. This is that file, in public. If a number here is wrong, the calculators are wrong too — so it is worth being able to check.
Some figures are marked can change by legislation. Those do not follow the annual indexing calendar and can move at any time, so we re-check them before every update rather than once a year. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Contribution limits
Notice 2025-67 — 2026 retirement plan cost-of-living adjustments — Internal Revenue Service. Last checked 2026-07-11.
Also the source for the $150,000 mandatory-Roth catch-up wage threshold — widely misquoted as the $145,000 statutory base.
- 401(k) / 403(b) / 457 / TSP elective deferral
- $24,500
- Catch-up, age 50+
- + $8,000
- Super catch-up, ages 60-63
- + $11,250
- IRA
- $7,500
- IRA catch-up, age 50+
- + $1,100
- Mandatory Roth catch-up threshold
- $150,000
- Total employee + employer limit
- $72,000
- Qualified charitable distribution limit
- $111,000
Ages 60 to 63 only. At 64 it drops back to the standard catch-up.
Indexed for the first time in 2026 — it was $1,000 for years.
If your prior-year Social Security wages from the plan sponsor exceeded this, your catch-up MUST be Roth. Commonly misquoted as $145,000.
The ceiling on everything going into the account.
Federal income tax
Rev. Proc. 2025-32 — 2026 inflation adjustments — Internal Revenue Service. Last checked 2026-07-11.
- Standard deduction — single
- $16,100
- Standard deduction — married filing jointly
- $32,200
- Standard deduction — head of household
- $24,150
- Extra deduction if 65+ or blind
- $2,050 unmarried / $1,650 married
- 0% capital gains bracket ceiling
- $49,450 single / $98,900 joint
- Charitable deduction without itemising
- $1,000 / $2,000
Long-term gains below this are taxed at zero.
New for 2026, cash gifts only. Itemisers now face a 0.5%-of-income floor before charitable gifts count at all.
The senior deduction
Can change by legislationOne Big Beautiful Bill Act — deductions for seniors — Internal Revenue Service. Last checked 2026-07-11.
Expires after 2028. This is NOT 'no tax on Social Security' — the benefit-taxation thresholds are untouched.
- Amount, per person aged 65+
- $6,000
- Starts phasing out above
- $75,000 single / $150,000 joint
- Gone entirely at
- $175,000 single / $250,000 joint
- Years it applies
- 2025–2028
Reduced by 6.0% of income above the threshold — per person, not per household.
It expires. Plans that assume it lasts forever are wrong.
Medicare
2026 Medicare Parts A & B Premiums and Deductibles — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Last checked 2026-07-11.
- Eligibility age
- 65
- Part B standard premium
- $202.90/mo
- Part B deductible
- $283
- Part A hospital deductible
- $1,736 per benefit period
- Part D out-of-pocket cap
- $2,100
- Part D maximum deductible
- $615
- IRMAA surcharge starts above
- $109,000 single / $218,000 joint
Up from $2,000 in 2025.
Based on your income from 2 years earlier — so a Roth conversion at 63 lands on your premium at 65.
Health coverage before 65
Can change by legislationHow will the loss of enhanced premium tax credits affect older adults? — KFF. Last checked 2026-07-11.
The enhanced credits expired 2025-12-31 and the 400%-of-FPL cliff returned. An extension was live in Congress and could change this overnight, possibly retroactively.
- The subsidy cliff
- 400% of the poverty level
- That cliff, in dollars — one person
- $62,600
- That cliff, in dollars — two people
- $84,600
- Enhanced credits
- Expired 2025-12-31
One dollar over and the premium tax credit is zero — not reduced, gone.
Four times the poverty level of $15,650.
Not extended. This is what brought the cliff back for 2026.
Paying the credit back
Can change by legislationRev. Proc. 2025-32 §3.04 and Fact Sheet FS-2025-10 (Q31) — Internal Revenue Service. Last checked 2026-07-11.
OBBBA §71305 repealed §36B(f)(2)(B) for tax years after 2025: there is now NO cap on repaying excess advance premium tax credit, at any income level. Most sites still publish the old capped table. Underestimate your income and you repay every dollar you received.
- Cap on repaying excess advance credit
- None
- What that means in practice
- Estimate high, not low
Repealed for tax years after 2025. There used to be a graduated cap; there is now no limit at any income.
An unplanned bonus, capital-gains distribution or Roth conversion in December can claw back the entire year's advance credit. You may also decline the advance credit and claim it at filing instead.
Why age changes the premium
Final Guidance Regarding Age Curves and State Reporting (Appendix I) — Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, CCIIO. Last checked 2026-07-11.
45 CFR 147.102. The statutory 3:1 age band: a 64-year-old may be charged exactly three times a 21-year-old for the same plan. An ACA estimate that ignores your age is not an estimate.
- Age 21 (and under)
- 1.000×
- Age 50
- 1.786×
- Age 60
- 2.714×
- Age 64
- 3.000×
The baseline rate.
About $10,473 a year for the benchmark plan.
About $15,914 — the age our published benchmark is quoted for.
About $17,591. The law caps the ratio at exactly 3:1, and 64 is where it bites.
Required minimum distributions
Retirement plan and IRA required minimum distributions FAQs — Internal Revenue Service. Last checked 2026-07-11.
- RMDs start at (born 1951–1959)
- 73
- RMDs start at (born 1960 or later)
- 75
Two ages, not one. Most calculators assume 73 for everyone, which is wrong for anyone born in 1960 or later — and two years of runway is what a conversion plan is built in.
How the RMD is calculated
Publication 590-B, Appendix B — Uniform Lifetime Table (Table III) — Internal Revenue Service. Last checked 2026-07-11.
The divisor behind every RMD. It shrinks each year, so the forced withdrawal grows as a share of the account even while the balance compounds.
- Divisor at 73
- 26.5
- Divisor at 75
- 24.6
- Divisor at 85
- 16.0
- Divisor at 95
- 8.9
Balance ÷ 26.5 — about 3.8% of the account.
About 4.1%.
About 6.3%.
About 11.2%. The divisor shrinks every year, so the forced withdrawal grows as a share of the account — which is what lifts your Medicare premium and taxes more of your Social Security.
Safe withdrawal rates
What's a Safe Retirement Withdrawal Rate in 2026? — Morningstar, State of Retirement Income (2025 edition). Last checked 2026-07-11.
3.9% is forward-looking (30 years, 90% success, 30-50% equity). Bengen's 4.7% is a historical worst case with a more aggressive portfolio. They answer different questions and must never be averaged.
- Morningstar (forward-looking)
- 3.9%
- Bengen (historical worst case)
- 4.7%
- The classic '4% rule'
- 4.0%
What survives 90% of simulated futures over 30 years, given today's valuations.
The highest rate that would have survived the worst 30-year start in US history, with a more aggressive portfolio.
Famous, and the least useful of the three on its own.
These are the figures, not advice about what to do with them. Tax and benefit rules have exceptions this page does not cover, and your own situation may not match the assumptions behind any of them. For a decision that actually matters, check with a qualified professional.
Social Security
2026 Social Security Changes (COLA fact sheet) — Social Security Administration. Last checked 2026-07-11.
A permanent reduction, not a temporary one.
Delayed credits of 8% a year past full retirement age.
$1 withheld for every $2 above this — and recalculated upward later, so it is not lost.
These have never been indexed to inflation — unchanged since the 1980s and 90s, and the 2025 tax law did not touch them.