topic self employment retirement in Retirement tax questions

self employment retirement

jwdunn333-gmail-com — Mon, 09 Mar 2026 05:55:33 GMT

Regarding self employment retirement allowable contribution, what is the difference between maximum deferral and maximum allowable contribution?

Re: self employment retirement

DavidD66 — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 01:59:28 GMT

Can you clarify your question by providing some context for the use of "deferral" and "contribution"? The two terms are often used interchangeably when discussing retirement plan funding.

Re: self employment retirement

jwdunn333-gmail-com — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 16:01:26 GMT

I'm self-employed. In the section on "Your retirement Contributions" it says "Here are your self-employed retirement deductions using the maximum allowable contribution. Note: The maximum you can defer to all your 401(k) plans is $xxxx, and you can put more into your plan as profit sharing. Maximum Allowed to Qualified plans: $xxxx" I understand the words Maximum Allowed, but it's the part talking about deferring that I don't understand. Thanks.

Re: self employment retirement

RobertB4444 — Thu, 17 Feb 2022 23:08:59 GMT

In this case 'defer' just means 'putting the taxes off until later.' That's what 401k plans do. So it is being used in the exact same context as 'contribution' in this case.

Re: self employment retirement

jwdunn333-gmail-com — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 13:18:47 GMT

I'm afraid I still don't get it. If the maximum I can defer to all my 401(k) plans is, according to TurboTax, around $25,000, and/but I'm allowed to put a maximum of almost twice that amount, into my qualified plan as profit sharing, can you tell me what the actual options I'm being given look like? If I'm being given an option here, why would one choose one or the other? Sorry if I'm being a bit dense. Thanks for helping.

Re: self employment retirement

DianeW777 — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 18:00:47 GMT

Here are some plans that a self-employed individual can choose from.

What is a good retirement plan for self-employed?

Here are five self-employed retirement plans that may work for you:

Traditional or Roth IRA.(best when starting out)
- For 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019, the total contributions you make each year to all of your traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs can't be more than:
  - $6,000 ($7,000 if you're age 50 or older), or
  - If less, your taxable compensation for the year
Solo 401(k)
- The limit on employee elective deferrals (for traditional and safe harbor plans) is:
- $20,500 in 2022 ($19,500 in 2021 and 2020; and $19,000 in 2019
SEP IRA.
- Contributions you make for 2021 to a common-law employee's SEP-IRA can't exceed the lesser of 25% of the employee's compensation or $58,000. (See special limitation for contributions for yourself)
SIMPLE IRA. (Must allow employees to participate, see details)
- The amount the employee chooses to have you contribute to a SIMPLE IRA on his or her behalf can't be more than $13,500 for 2021 and increases to $14,000 in 2022

More information can be found in IRS Publication 560.

Compensation limits for 2021 and 2022. For 2021, the maximum compensation used for figuring contributions and benefits is $290,000. This limit increases to $305,000 for 2022

Elective deferral limits for 2021 and 2022. The limit on elective deferrals, other than catch-up contributions, is $19,500 for 2021 and $20,500 for 2022. These limits apply for participants in SARSEPs, 401(k) plans (excluding SIMPLE plans), and a couple of others.

Overall limit on contributions

Total annual contributions (annual additions) to all of your accounts in plans maintained by one employer (and any related employer) are limited. The limit applies to the total of:

elective deferrals (but not catch-up contributions)
employer matching contributions
employer nonelective contributions
allocations of forfeitures

The annual additions paid to a participant’s account cannot exceed the lesser of:

100% of the participant's compensation, or
$58,000 ($64,500 including catch-up contributions) for 2021; $57,000 ($63,500 including catch-up contributions) for 2020.

However, an employer’s deduction for contributions to a defined contribution plan (profit-sharing plan or money purchase pension plan) cannot be more than 25% of the compensation paid (or accrued) during the year to eligible employees participating in the plan (see Employer Deduction in IRS Publication 560 (above).

Re: self employment retirement

jwdunn333-gmail-com — Sat, 19 Feb 2022 21:23:35 GMT

Thanks everyone. I've obviously not done a good job of wording my question. Or I've got a thick skull. I still don't understand deferring $25K. That I can deposit up to $45K in my individual 401(k) is clear. But the deferring? Why not just say I can put up to $45K into my 401(k)? I think what I may be missing is the "profit sharing" component that allows over $25K.

In any case, I appreciate everyone's efforts to assist me.