Saver's Match calculator for 2027
The Saver's Match pays up to 50% of the first $2,000 a person puts into a retirement plan or IRA, a maximum of $1,000 a year, and the rate falls to zero as income rises. Enter a filing status, income, and contributions to apply the IRS formula. The box starts at the IRS's own worked example: $30,000 of income and a $1,500 contribution earn 19%, a $285 match.
Estimate the match
2027 income limits from the IRS. An estimate only: the IRS sets the final figure from the return, and final regulations have not been issued.
Adjusted gross income plus pre-tax retirement contributions made in the year.
IRA contributions and 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) deferrals. Rollovers do not count.
2025 through the 2027 filing deadline, not rolled over. On a joint return, include your spouse's.
$285
A 19% match on $1,500 of counted contributions.
Rate: 50 × ($30,000 − $20,500) ÷ $15,000 = 31.6667, rounded down to 31. 50 − 31 = 19%.
What a yearly fee takes from the matched balance
The balance below is your contributions plus your match. The flat fee starts at $235 a year, the custody and storage total that Birch Gold Group's usual custodian and depository published as of September 21, 2026. The percentage starts at a hypothetical 1%. Replace either one with a quote you hold.
On a $1,785 first-year balance, a flat $235 fee is 13.2% of the account. A 1% fee is $17.85. The match equals 1.2 years of the flat fee.
The formula
Reduction = 50 × (MAGI − threshold) ÷ phase-out range, rounded down to a whole number.
Match rate = 50% − the reduction, in percentage points.
Match = rate × the lesser of $2,000 or (contributions − testing-period withdrawals).
The threshold is the top of the full-match band for the filing status. The phase-out range is the distance from the threshold to the income at which the match reaches zero. The reduction is rounded down to a whole percentage point before it is subtracted, which is the step in Notice 2026-48 that a plain proportion misses. In the IRS's Example 1, a single filer has $30,000 of income and puts $1,500 in a traditional IRA. The excess over $20,500 is $9,500, and $9,500 ÷ $15,000 × 50 is 31.6667, rounded down to 31. That leaves 19%, and 19% of $1,500 is $285.
2027 income limits
| Filing status | Full 50% match | Partial match | No match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Married filing jointly or qualifying surviving spouse | Up to $41,000 | $41,001–$70,999 | $71,000 or more |
| Head of household | Up to $30,750 | $30,751–$53,249 | $53,250 or more |
| Single or married filing separately | Up to $20,500 | $20,501–$35,499 | $35,500 or more |
The IRS indexes these amounts for inflation after 2027. The income measure is modified adjusted gross income: adjusted gross income with pre-tax retirement contributions added back, along with a few exclusions for income earned abroad or in US territories. Lowering taxable income by deferring more into a 401(k) does not lower it.
Who can claim it
- Age 18 or older by the end of the tax year.
- Not a full-time student, as section 152(f)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code defines one.
- Not claimed as a dependent on another person's return.
- A US resident for tax purposes. A bona fide resident of a US territory files through the territory's tax agency.
Owing little or no federal income tax does not disqualify anyone. The match is claimed on Form 8880-A with the 2027 return, filed in 2028, and it is not reduced to pay other federal tax debts. A person whose match would be under $100 can choose to take it as a refundable tax credit instead of a deposit.
Where the money lands
Treasury deposits the match into a 401(k), 403(b), or governmental 457(b) plan, or a traditional IRA, that the saver designates and that accepts Saver's Match contributions. No plan or IRA provider is required to accept them. Treasury does not deposit to a Roth IRA directly; the notice describes a route through a traditional "conduit" IRA and a Roth conversion, which is a proposal rather than a final rule. The match is not taxed when deposited, does not count against the annual IRA or 401(k) limit, and is taxed when withdrawn. Saver's Match and a gold IRA covers whether a precious-metals custodian can receive it, and moving a matched balance later by trustee-to-trustee transfer.
Why the fee line matters
A full match produces a small account: $2,000 of contributions and a $1,000 match make $3,000. Flat yearly fees do not shrink with the balance, so a flat $235 is about 7.8% of $3,000, while a 1% fee on the same balance is $30. Published gold IRA minimums ran from $5,000 to $50,000 on October 3, 2026, which a first-year matched balance does not reach. Gold IRA minimum investment lists the published figures, and custodian fees compared sets five dated fee schedules side by side.
Frequently asked
- How much is the Saver's Match?
- Up to 50% of the first $2,000 a person contributes to a retirement plan or IRA in a year, so at most $1,000 per person. The rate falls as modified adjusted gross income rises, and reaches zero at $35,500 for a single filer, $53,250 for head of household, and $71,000 for a married couple filing jointly, the 2027 figures.
- How is a partial Saver's Match calculated?
- Take the amount by which income exceeds the full-match threshold, divide it by the width of the phase-out range, and multiply by 50 percentage points. Round that down to a whole point and subtract it from 50%. In the IRS example, a single filer with $30,000 of income and a $1,500 contribution gets 19%, a $285 match.
- Does each spouse get a separate Saver's Match?
- Yes. On a joint return, each spouse's own contributions are matched separately, up to $1,000 each, using the couple's joint income to set the rate.
- Do withdrawals reduce the Saver's Match?
- They can. Withdrawals from a retirement plan or IRA during the testing period reduce the contributions the match is based on. The period runs from two years before the contribution year through the filing deadline for that year's return, and on a joint return it counts the spouse's withdrawals too. Rollovers, trustee-to-trustee transfers, and a few other amounts are excluded.
- Can the Saver's Match go into a gold IRA?
- Only into a traditional IRA whose provider has chosen to accept Saver's Match deposits. No IRA provider is required to accept them, and Treasury does not deposit the match directly into a Roth IRA. As of October 21, 2026, no gold IRA custodian could be confirmed as accepting the match.
- When is the Saver's Match paid?
- The match applies to contributions made starting in 2027. It is claimed on Form 8880-A with the 2027 federal return, filed in 2028, and Treasury deposits it into the designated account after the return claiming it is filed.
Related research
- Saver's Match and a gold IRA — which accounts can receive the match, and the tax on moving it.
- Gold IRA fee calculator — fee drag over the life of an account.
- Gold IRA fees — every cost layer and who charges it.
- Gold Roth IRA — Roth rules for a metals account.
- Gold IRA tax rules — deductions, distributions, and transfers.
Sources
- IRS, Saver's Match — eligibility, 2027 income limits, and Form 8880-A; page last reviewed September 29, 2026.
- IRS Notice 2026-48 — the phase-out formula and rounding, the withdrawal testing period, receiving accounts, and tax treatment.