Overcontribution Definition

What Is an Overcontribution?

The term overcontribution refers to any amount that a taxpayer contributes to a tax-deductible retirement plan that exceeds the maximum allowable contribution for a given period. Contribution limits are determined and regularly adjusted by a retirement plan's registrar or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Overcontributing to your retirement plan can trigger penalties if taxpayers don't deal with the excess amounts within a certain period of time.

Understanding Overcontribution

The IRS sets limits on how much taxpayers can invest each year in their retirement savings accounts. The agency imposes different limits for different plans and adjusts them annually for inflation. For instance, individual taxpayers can contribute a maximum of:

• $20,500 in 2022 ($22,500 in 2023) to a 401(k), 403(b), or profit-sharing plan. People 50 and older can make an additional catch-up contribution of $6,500 in 2022 ($7,500 in 2023).
• $6,000 in 2022 ($6,500 in 2023) to an individual retirement account (IRA) with an additional $1,000 per year for those 50 and older.
• $61,000 in 2022 ($66,000 in 2023) to a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) IRA
• $14,000 in 2022 ($15,500 in 2023) to a SIMPLE IRA

Although it's important to max out your contribution limits, don't go overboard. Any amount you invest in these accounts above the limits is considered overcontributions. As such, they're ineligible for any tax breaks you may receive—like those associated with IRAs, which reduce your tax bill. In fact, overcontributions run the risk of costing you more money in the tax year they're made.

The IRS imposes a 6% penalty on the amount of the excess every year until you fix the situation. And any excess contributions made toward an IRA cannot be used to reduce your taxable income. Here's what you can do to fix the situation:

• You have until the tax filing deadline of that year (generally April 15) to withdraw the excess and any related earnings. The earnings on that excess must be reported as income on your tax return. Keep in mind that you'll incur a 10% early withdrawal penalty if you aren't 59½.
• You may apply the excess to the following year's contribution limit. But this means that you'll have to pay the 6% penalty in the current year.
  

Special Considerations

Be sure you notify your plan administrator or employer if you breach the IRS limit for your 401(k), 403(b), IRA, or any other kind of retirement account. The earlier you make the notification the year after the overcontribution, the better. It’s up to the plan administrator to return any excess payments to employees (in the case of an employer-sponsored plan), as well as any earnings on the excess contributions.

Sending this notification as early as possible provides plan administrators enough time to do the necessary paperwork—especially when the plans are held through an employer. This typically includes adjusting any contributions that came out of employees' checks on a pretax basis and counting them as wages on employees' W-2 forms. This allows employees enough time to issue new forms before the annual tax filing deadline.

Risks of Overcontribution

As noted above, it's important to correct overcontributions quickly. Otherwise, tax trouble often ensues. If the excess amount is not returned to affected employees in enough time to file taxes, employees run the risk of double taxation. That is, they could pay taxes in the year the excess occurred, and still need to pay the following year, as well.

To avoid double taxation, some employees can file an amended return with the excess contribution taken out, plus any related earnings from the overcontribution. This must be done by the tax extension deadline, however.

Overcontributions to IRAs are a bit easier to correct but they still result in penalties. Employees can leave their accounts alone and designate any overcontribution toward next year’s limit. Remember, that a 6% penalty applies on any excess per year. Of course, any individual contributions must be adjusted going forward to keep from again creating an overcontribution the following year.