“Unfortunately, my income is too high to make Roth 401k contributions.” We hear this sentence a lot. And — good news — this is 100% a myth.
There is no income limit to make Roth 401k contributions. If you have access to a 401k that offers a Roth option, you can contribute to it no matter how much money you make.
The confusion arises because of the income limit on Roth IRA contributions. For 2026, if you’re single, your ability to contribute to a Roth IRA starts phasing out at $153,000 in Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI). It fully phases out at $168,000. For married filing joint, the range is $242,000 – $252,000. In those income ranges, you may still wish to consider the Backdoor Roth Strategy.
But for Roth 401k, there is no income limit.
In fact, beginning in 2026, if your income exceeded $150,000 for the prior year with the same employer, you are required to make any catch-up contribution as Roth. If your employer doesn’t offer Roth 401k, high income earners are ineligible to make a catch-up contribution. Many employees are feeling the affect of this change in their paycheck right now. As they maxed out their pre-tax contributions for the year, they switched to Roth for their catch-up. With this change, they saw their paycheck reduce because Roth 401k contributions are made with after-tax dollars.
So, now you know you’re eligible to make Roth 401k contributions. But should you? We’re glad you asked. We think this is such an important decision that we dedicated a full blog to the Roth or Regular 401k contribution decision.
One other note on this myth: Some employees with access to a Roth 401k may still find their contributions limited to less than the federal maximum ($24,500 for 2026). If your employer doesn’t offer a safe harbor 401k and fails discrimination testing, highly compensated employees will have their contribution amounts limited. Discrimination testing fails when highly compensated employees receive greater benefit from the plan than non highly compensated employees. There’s not much you can do about this other than advocate with your company executives to shift to a safe harbor match.
Jean Keener, CFP®, CRPC™ provides fee-only, as-needed financial planning and investment advice. She works with clients of all ages but spends the majority of her time with those in the pre-retirement and retirement years. Jean focuses on helping people make the best decision for their situation about retirement, investments, taxes, and other financial considerations.