This chart shows some of the annually adjusted dollar limits that impact employee benefits, as published by the Internal Revenue Service, the Social Security Administration and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
(a) Indexed in $500 increments.
(b) Indexed in $5,000 increments.
(c) Indexed in $1,000 increments.
(aa) Starter 401(k) plan: Effective Jan. 1, 2024; employers cannot contribute; autoenrollment range 3% to 15%; no nondiscrimination testing.
(d) Rounded down. See, https://www.pbgc.gov/workers-retirees/learn/guaranteed-benefits/monthly-maximum. For multiemployer plans, PBGC guarantees a maximum monthly payment based on a formula = (100% of first $11 of monthly benefit rate + 75% of next $33 of monthly benefit rate) x years of credited service. The guaranteed monthly benefit is limited to $35.75/month x years of credited service and disregards any benefit amount greater than $44/month. This formula has been in place since 2001 and is not adjusted for inflation or COLA. See, https://www.pbgc.gov/prac/multiemployer/multiemployer-benefit-guarantees.
(e) Indexed in $50 increments.
(f) Indexed in $50 increments. IRC §223(g). See Rev. Proc. 2025-19 (May 2025), available at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-19.pdf.
(g) Indexed in $50 increments. The 21st Century Cures Act, Pub. L. 114-255 (Dec. 13, 2016), beginning January 2017 amended IRC §9831, ERISA §733, and PHSA §2791 to create QSEHRAs, which allow employer payment plans without creating group health plans. Available for employers with fewer than 50 FT employees or equivalents.
(gg) Indexed in $50 increments. Under 26 CFR §54.9831-1(c)(3), certain group health plans qualify as limited excepted benefits not subject to the requirements of IRC Chapter 100. See Rev. Proc. 2025-19 at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-19.pdf (May 2025).
(h) Indexed in $5 increments. IRC §132(f).
(hh) Section 105 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016, Pub. L. 114-113, created parity after Dec. 31, 2014, between (i) the transit benefit exclusion for the aggregate of transportation in a commuter highway vehicle and any transit pass and (ii) the exclusion for qualified parking. `IRS Notice 2016-6, https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-16-06.pdf.
(hhh) IRC §132(f)(8), as amended by §211(a) of Division B of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”) removed qualified bicycle commuting reimbursements from the definition of “qualified transportation fringe” for years beginning after 2017 and before 2026; thus, these benefits are taxable to employees during this 8-year period, although the employer can take a deduction for its reimbursements. The TCJA also provides that no employer tax deduction allowed for qualified transportation benefits (whether provided directly by an employer or through a bona fide reimbursement arrangement or a compensation reduction agreement) incurred or paid after 2017, with the exception of transportation for employee safety and qualified bicycle commuting benefits. Although employers may no longer take a deduction for their payments for these qualified transportation benefits, the fringe benefit exclusion rules still apply and the employer payments may be excluded from employees’ wages. In 2017, prior to TCJA, the bicycle amount was $20 per month, up to $240 per year. For tax years after Dec. 31, 2025, the exclusion from gross income as qualified transportation fringe will apply (assuming no other law changes).
(i) Adjustment for inflation to begin after 2026. “Educational assistance” includes employer payments of principal or interest on any qualified education loan.
(j) $3,750 (2026), $2,500 (2025) if married filing separate return. Section 9632 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (“ARPA”) temporarily increased the dollar limit to $10,500 for the period after Dec. 31, 2020, and before Jan. 1, 2022 (50% of this amount in the case of married filing separate return); See also Notice 2021-26: increase does not apply to non-calendar year plans. Amount fixed by statute. First increase since 1986. Pub. L. 119-21 (Jul. 4, 2025).
(jj) Indexed in $10 increments. IRC §137(f). Revised by Rev. Proc. 2018-18, IRB 2018-18 (Mar. 5, 2018).
(k) Indexed in $10 increments. IRC §213(d)(10)(B). Based on taxpayer’s age before the close of the tax year.
(l) Indexed in $300 increments. For 2026, the FICA tax rate is 7.65% for employees and 15.30% for self-employed. The maximum 2026 OASDI portion of FICA tax payable by each employee is 6.2% of the applicable wage base. Employer contribution amount matches the employee amount. These percentages are set by statute. There is no wage base limit for the Medicare (HI) portion of FICA taxes, thus all wages earned are subject to the HI tax, which also is paid by employers and employees (each pays at a 1.45% rate, and self-employed pay 2.9%), although employees pay an additional 0.9% on wages greater than $200,000 ($250,000 for married, filing jointly). The OASDI tax rate for self-employment income is 12.4%. See https://www.ssa.gov/news/en/cola/factsheets/2026.html and “Contribution and Benefit Base” at https://www.ssa.gov/oact/cola/cbb.html.
See: IRS Notice 2025-67, “2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs, as Adjusted for Changes in Cost-of-Living,” found at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-25-67.pdf (Nov. 13, 2025) (includes IRA information), and Rev. Proc. 2025-32 found at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-25-32.pdf (Oct. 9, 2025) (includes adjustments for return failure penalties).
