The maximum contribution limit for 2021 is $58,000 ($57,000 for 2020), or 25% of qualifying compensation for your employees (or 20% of your net profits from self-employment, as defined under SEP IRA rules), whichever is smaller.
How much can I contribute to a SEP-IRA in 2021?
Employer contributions to an employee’s SEP-IRA cannot exceed the lesser of:
SEP plans do not allow for elective wage deferrals or catch-up payments.
Find out how to fix a mistake where you contributed more than the annual restrictions to an employee’s SEP-IRA.
SARSEPS (established before 1997)
Prior to 1997, participants in Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension (SARSEP) plans could make elective salary deferral contributions. A participant’s optional deferral contributions are limited to $20,500 in 2022 ($19,500 in 2020 and 2021) or 25% of their income, whichever is less, for these plans that are still in operation. This limit does not apply to catch-up contributions. The overall contribution limit is the same as the SEP maximum (containing both employer and employee contributions but excluding catch-up payments).
How much can a self-employed person contribute to a SEP?
The contributions you or your employer make to your employer’s SIMPLE IRA plan do not affect your contributions to your SEP plan (that is not a SARSEP).
Employer contributions are the only way to fund SEP plans that aren’t SARSEPs. Payments for self-employed individuals are limited to 25% of net self-employment earnings (excluding contributions for yourself), up to $61,000 in 2022 ($58,000 in 2021; $57,000 in 2020). Using the tables and worksheets in Publication 560, you may calculate your plan contributions.
If your company sponsors another defined contribution plan in addition to your SEP plan (for example, a profit-sharing or 401(k) plan), your personal contributions to all of these plans cannot exceed 25% of your net earnings from self-employment (excluding personal contributions), up to $61,000 in 2022 ($58,000 in 2021; $57,000 in 2020). Salary deferrals are exempt from the 25% cap, and catch-up contributions are not included toward the $61,000 limit.
How much can I contribute to my SEP?
You can’t contribute more than the lesser of the following amounts to each employee’s SEP-IRA each year:
- $61,000 in 2022 ($58,000 in 2021; $57,000 in 2020; and later years subject to annual cost-of-living increases).
These limits apply to all defined contribution plans, including SEPs, that you design for your employees. Employee compensation of up to $305,000 in 2022 ($290,000 in 2021; $285,000 in 2020; subject to cost-of-living increases for succeeding years) may be considered. If you’re self-employed, you’ll need to do some extra math to figure out your own contributions.
Find out how to fix it if you’ve contributed more than the annual restrictions to your SEP plan.
How much can I contribute if I’m self-employed?
Contributions to SEP-IRAs made by workers are subject to the same limits as contributions made by self-employed people. When calculating the maximum deductible contribution, however, certain criteria apply. Details on calculating the contribution amount can be found in Publication 560.
Must I contribute the same percentage of salary for all participants?
The IRS model Form 5305-SEP, like most SEPs, requires you to make allocations commensurate to your employees’ salaries/wages. This means that everyone’s share of the salary is the same percentage.
Find out what you may do if you haven’t made contributions to participants’ SEP-IRAs equal to the same percentage of each participant’s remuneration.
If you’re self-employed, deduct your SEP contribution from your net profit, minus one-half of the self-employment tax. For information on calculating the contribution amount, see IRS Publication 560.
If I participate in a SEP plan, can I also make tax-deductible traditional IRA contributions to my SEP-IRA?
If your SEP-IRA allows non-SEP contributions, you can make normal IRA contributions to your SEP-IRA up to the maximum yearly limit (including IRA catch-up contributions if you are 50 or older). However, because of your membership in the SEP plan, the amount of your ordinary IRA contribution that you can deduct on your tax return may be decreased or eliminated.
If I participate in a SEP plan, can I contribute to a Roth IRA in addition to receiving contributions under the SEP plan?
A traditional IRA that holds contributions provided by an employer under a SEP plan is known as a SEP-IRA. You can contribute to a standard or Roth IRA on a regular basis and receive employer contributions to a SEP-IRA. Employer contributions to a SEP plan have no bearing on the amount you can put into an IRA on your own.
Because a SEP-IRA is a typical IRA, you may be allowed to contribute to it on a yearly basis rather than starting a new IRA account. Any money you put into a SEP-IRA, however, will restrict the amount you can put into other IRAs, including Roth IRAs, for the year.
Example 1: JJ Handyman, Nancy’s employer, contributes $5,000 to Nancy’s SEP-IRA at ABC Investment Co. based on the JJ Handyman SEP plan’s provisions. Nancy, 45, is allowed to contribute $3,000 to her SEP-IRA account at ABC Investment Co. through regular IRA contributions. If Nancy wishes to contribute to her Roth IRA at XYZ Investment Co. for 2019, she has until April 15, 2020 to do so ($6,000 maximum contribution minus $3,000 previously put into her SEP-IRA).
Example 2: JJ Investment Advisors is owned and operated by Nancy, who is 45 years old. Nancy puts the maximum amount to her SEP-IRA for the year, which is $56,000. Nancy can also contribute to her SEP-IRA on a monthly basis, if her SEP-IRA allows it, or to her Roth IRA at XYZ Investment Co. Her total conventional IRA and Roth IRA contributions for 2019 can’t exceed $6,000, and they can’t be combined with her SEP contributions.
Can I make catch-up contributions to my SEP?
Employer contributions are the only source of funding for SEPs. Only employee elective deferrals are eligible for catch-up payments. You may be able to make catch-up IRA contributions if you are allowed to make traditional IRA contributions to your SEP-IRA account.
Must I contribute to the SEP every year?
No, you are not obligated to make a contribution each year. Contributions to the SEP must be made to the SEP-IRAs of all qualified employees in years when you contribute to the SEP.
Do I have to contribute for a participant who is no longer employed on the last day of the year?
If they are otherwise qualified for a contribution, you do. A need for work on the last day of the year cannot be included in a SEP. If the employee is otherwise eligible, they must contribute to the SEP. This includes employees who pass away or quit their jobs before the contribution is made. Find out how to remedy a mistake in your SEP plan if you haven’t made a contribution for an eligible employee.
Can I contribute to the SEP-IRA of a participant over age 70 1/2?
Even if they are past the age of 70 1/2, you must contribute for each employee qualified to participate in your SEP. However, the employee must also take minimal distributions. Find out how to make up for it if you haven’t contributed to your SEP plan for an eligible employee.
When must I deposit the contributions into the SEP-IRAs?
Contributions for a year must be deposited before the due date (including extensions) for filing your federal income tax return for the year. If you get a tax return extension, you have until the end of the extension period to deposit your contribution, regardless of when you actually file your return.
You are not authorized to deduct any SEP plan contributions on that year’s return if you did not request an extension to file your tax return and did not deposit the SEP plan contributions by the filing due date for that return. Contributions may be deducted from your tax return the following year.
You must file an updated tax return as quickly as possible if you wrongly deducted SEP plan contributions on your return.
How much of the SEP contributions are deductible?
The lesser of your payments or 25% of remuneration can be deducted on your business’s tax return for contributions to your employees’ SEP-IRAs. (Each employee’s compensation is limited and subject to annual cost-of-living adjustments.) There is a specific calculation to figure out the maximum deduction if you are self-employed and contribute to your own SEP-IRA.
What are the consequences to employees if I make excess contributions?
Employees’ gross income includes excess contributions. Employees who withdraw the extra contribution (plus profits) before the federal return due date, including extensions, avoid the 6% excise tax on excess SEP contributions in an IRA. After that period, any excess contributions left in the employee’s SEP-IRA will be liable to the 6% IRA tax, and the employer may be subject to a 10% excise tax on the excess nondeductible contributions. Find out what you can do if you’ve made a mistake by contributing too much to your employees’ SEP-IRA.
If my SEP plan fails to meet the SEP requirements, are the tax benefits for me and my employees lost?
If the SEP does not meet the criteria of the Internal Revenue Code, the tax benefits are usually lost. If you use one of the IRS correction programs to remedy the error, you can keep the tax benefits. In general, your correction should return employees to where they would have been if the failure had not occurred.
Can you max out a 401k and a SEP IRA?
SEP (Simplified Employee Pension) plans are a type of retirement plan for small enterprises and self-employed individuals that works similarly to a 401(k).
Compared to 401(k)s, SEP IRAs are less expensive and easier to set up and manage. As a result, single-employee owner-operated firms find them appealing. The biggest disadvantage is that they offer fewer benefits than 401(k) plans. SEP IRAs, for example, do not offer a Roth option.
SEP IRAs are a tax-deferred savings vehicle, which means that contributions are tax-deductible now and distributions are taxed when the assets are withdrawn. SEP IRAs, like other tax-deferred accounts, are subject to Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) in the year you age 70 1/2.
You can have both a SEP IRA and a 401(k) plan and participate in both. The IRS expressly states, “Yes, you can set up a SEP for your self-employed business even if you have a second employment where you participate in your employer’s retirement plan.”
Can you contribute to both a SEP IRA and a 401(k) plan if you have both? Yes, to put it succinctly.
When it comes to employer-sponsored retirement plans, there are two different contribution restrictions at play.
The first is the cap on employee contributions. This is the one that most people are familiar with, and it refers to how much of an employee’s compensation can be deferred to the plan. This is referred to as the “The IRS has set a “basic voluntary deferral limit.” The current maximum for 2016 is $18,000.
This employee contribution limit refers to the total amount you can defer to all of your plans, rather than a plan-by-plan basis.
Contributions to 401(k), 403(b), and SIMPLE plans are also subject to this limit. Elective salary deferrals are not permitted in SEP IRAs.
The second contribution limit is the overall contribution limit, which is the maximum yearly contribution amount that can be made “All of your accounts are in one employer’s plan.” Because this restriction is higher, the only person who can cause an employee’s contributions to exceed their overall maximum is the employer. As a result, it’s easier to think of this as the contribution maximum for employers. This is a per-plan limit because your employer has no means of knowing what your other employers are doing.
The maximum amount an employer can contribute varies depending on the kind of plan. For 2016, the aggregate contribution maximum for combined 401(k)s and SEP IRAs is $53,000.
However, there is one more complication with SEP IRAs. With the SEP plan, you can contribute up to $53,000, but your contribution is limited to 25% of your entire pay from the job. To legally contribute the maximum amount to your SEP IRA, you must earn $212,000 per year. More information is available in our article “What is the maximum amount I may put into my SEP IRA?”
Employee elective deferrals are included in this overall contribution limit. That means that if the individual contributes $18,000, the company can only contribute $35,000 of the maximum contribution limit. This applies to 401(k) plans that enable employee deferrals, but not to SEP IRAs, which do not allow such deferrals.
Assuming you run a firm with a SEP IRA and work for a second, unrelated company with a 401(k) plan, your combined retirement contributions are limited to $71,000. This is derived from:
- Employee salary deferral of $18,000 to your 401(k), preferably to your Roth 401(k) (k)
- If you earn more than $212,000 from your SEP IRA firm, your employer will contribute $53,000 to your SEP IRA.
Your 401(k) plan company may also contribute another $35,000 to your 401(k) plan, bringing your total employer-sponsored retirement plan savings to $106,000, but this is a decision made by your employer, not by you.
You can contribute to your workplace plan(s) as well as an IRA, such as your Roth IRA, as you can to any other employer plan. This means you can contribute an additional $5,500 to your Roth IRA, bringing your total retirement savings to $111,500.
This is wonderful news for folks who want to start a new business but can’t quit their day job quite yet.
SEP IRAs, like 401(k) plans, offer a powerful option to provide for your own retirement with high contribution limits. Don’t let doubts about your past savings deter you from putting money down for the future.
Is SEP IRA based on gross income?
Deductible in its entirety SEP-IRA contributions are 100% deductible as a business expense for business owners. Employee contributions are not included in gross income, therefore they are treated as pre-tax income, much like in a 401(k) (k). For establishing a SEP-IRA, the same deadlines apply.
Is there a catch up contribution for SEP IRA?
SEP IRAs, which solely accept contributions from employers, do not allow catch-up payments. Employers can contribute to a typical IRA set up for their employees through a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) Plan.
Can a sole proprietor have a SEP IRA?
To prepare for retirement as a sole proprietor, you can normally select between two types of tax-advantaged plans: the SEP IRA and the individual 401(k). The SEP (Simplified Employee Pension) may be the answer if you’re looking for simplicity and ease of management.
Should I max out my SEP IRA?
SEP IRAs for 2020 and 2021 For 2020 and 2021, the maximum annual amount is $57,000 and $58,000, respectively. The crucial point to remember with SEP IRAs is the “up to 25%” part. This means that in order to contribute the maximum amount to your SEP IRA in 2021, your net self-employed income for the year must be $232,000 or more. SEP IRAs are great for folks who do not have a job.
Is a SEP IRA worth it?
A SEP IRA is a wonderful alternative if you’re self-employed and want to contribute to a tax-advantaged retirement plan. It allows you to make a significant annual contribution while your funds grow tax-free. If you don’t have any additional employees and don’t plan to hire any in the future, a SEP IRA can be extremely beneficial.
Can a SEP be a Roth?
Yes. The SEP IRA is a traditional IRA that accepts SEP contributions from employers and follows the same criteria.
But first, let’s define our terminology. A classic individual retirement account (IRA) is a long-term savings plan that allows a person or couple with taxable income to invest up to a certain amount of their yearly gross income each year. The account holder obtains a tax break for the amount contributed that year, and the money is not taxed as it accumulates over time. It is taxable as ordinary income when the account owner retires and begins withdrawing funds.
A SEP IRA is a type of IRA that is meant for freelancers and small business owners who have at least one employee. An employee cannot contribute to the fund, unlike a typical IRA. However, an employer may contribute to both the employee’s and his or her own fund.
How is SEP taxed?
SEP-IRAs are tax-deferred accounts, which means you can contribute pre-tax cash today (and get a deduction), but you’ll have to pay ordinary income tax on withdrawals (whether early or during retirement).