457b Contribution Limits

[joebair]

The IRS Publication shows 22,500 as the limit for 2023, why is turbo tax showing an over contribution at 7800.00?  The catch up limit is 7500.00 once you reach the 22,500.00 limit

[RobertB4444]

It's the lesser of 100% of your includable compensation or the $22,500.  Is your includable compensation higher than $7800?

Assuming that it is are you entering the contributions through a payroll deduction on your W2 or as a retirement plan contribution.  If it is not through a W2 the system may be assuming that you are contributing to a traditional IRA.  You will have to go back through the entries that you have made in order to make sure that you have told it what type of retirement plan this is correctly.

@joebair 

[joebair]

Not sure of the definition of includable compensation.  I did make sure that the 7800.00 is listed as a W2 entry Box 12 EE 457B.  Thanks for the help

[dmertz]

Make sure that you have entered amount shown in box 12 of your W-2 only in box 12 of TurboTax's W-2 form, nowhere else in TurboTax.  Make sure that you have not entered it under Deduction & Credits as an IRA contribution.  A 457(b) is not an IRA.

[joebair]

I listed it on my W2 entries, Box 12  EE Roth Contribution to 457 (b).  IRS Publication states my maximum to be 22,500 pus a 7,500.00 catch up for people over 50, which I am.  Turbo tax software kicks it out as a 300.00 over contribution at 7800.00.  I talked to a CPA and he tells me I am correct, I will not be able to use Turbo tax to file my taxes.

Thanks

[CatinaT1]

Many things have been corrected in the latest updates to TurboTax. Are you still experiencing this problem?

Make sure you have ran all updates. 

If using TurboTax Online: Clear your cache and cookies. See this FAQ, for your particular browser.

If using TurboTax Desktop: Please see this FAQ.

[Opus 17]

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@joebair wrote:

I listed it on my W2 entries, Box 12  EE Roth Contribution to 457 (b).  IRS Publication states my maximum to be 22,500 pus a 7,500.00 catch up for people over 50, which I am.  Turbo tax software kicks it out as a 300.00 over contribution at 7800.00.  I talked to a CPA and he tells me I am correct, I will not be able to use Turbo tax to file my taxes.

Thanks

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Are you 100% certain that you did not also enter a Roth contribution in the Roth IRA section?  That's the only explanation I can think of, because the W-2 interview works correctly for this situation and Turbotax applies the correct limits for qualified workplace plans.  Remember that workplace plans should only be entered through your W-2 and never later in the program.  A workplace plan is NOT the same thing as an IRA, even though they are similar. 

[shiv360]

I am having the same issue now in turbotax online 2025. I haven't entered any manual entry for the 457b contribution, which is shown only in the W-2. However, TurboTax is still showing this as an excess IRA contribution.

How can I get over this issue.

Thanks

[RogerD1]

For 2025, the contribution limits to a 457(b) plan are $23,500.  There is an additional $7,500 catch-up contributions for those over age 50 and a super catch-up of $11,250 for those who are aged 60 to 63.

When entering your W-2 in TurboTax, the contributions to the 457(b) plan will either appear in Box 12 with a code G for Elective Deferrals to a 457(b) or code EE for Roth contributions to a 457(b) plan.  After entering your W-2, you will click through screens until you get to a screen "We need a little more info about box 12".  The question will ask if your employer is a state or local government - if yes, it will ask if you elected to have your employer make contributions to your deferred compensation plan.  If answering no here, that would trigger an excess contribution warning for the 457(b)

An excess IRA contribution would be if you had contributed to a traditional or Roth IRA account, but were ineligible because of income and/or because you were covered by the 457(b) at your workplace.

If you could provide more information about whether this is an excess IRA or excess 457(b) contribution, that would be helpful in getting a correct response to you.

[Edited 2/12/2026, 11:46 AM PST] @shiv360