Tool · SECURE 2.0 §103
Saver's Match Eligibility Checker
Starting tax year 2027, the Saver's Match replaces the Saver's Credit for eligible retirement contributions, with a federal retirement contribution of up to $1,000 per person. Build the Match's special MAGI, review recent distributions, and estimate the amount you may qualify for.
Corrected November 4, 2026: the checker separates federal and territorial claims, checks part-year nonresident status and preserves small Match amounts. View correction history.
This checker is for tax-year 2027 contributions. An IRA deposit made early in 2027 and designated for 2026 belongs under the 2026 Saver’s Credit rules, which this tool does not calculate. See the contribution-year calendar.
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Your situation · one saver at a time
Bona fide territory residents claim through their territory tax agency; the IRS cannot process their claims. If separate federal public-benefit restrictions might apply, choose “Not sure.” This checker cannot decide immigration status. Replace the example entries below with your own figures.
Start with Form 1040 AGI. On a joint return, use joint AGI and include both spouses’ applicable add-backs below.
Pre-tax elective deferrals and other salary-reduction retirement contributions already excluded from AGI.
Enter only the traditional-IRA deduction included in the return.
Specified exclusions under IRC §§911, 931, and 933.
Saver's Match MAGI
AGI plus the three add-back fields above.
Your own eligible IRA contribution, elective deferral, or voluntary after-tax plan contribution. Employer contributions and ABLE contributions do not count.
Distribution records check
For a 2027 claim, review 2025, 2026, 2027, and the period before the 2027 return due date in 2028, including extensions. Rollovers, trustee transfers, and specified corrective distributions generally do not count. Include your spouse’s counted distributions if you file jointly for both the claim year and the year the distribution was made.
Disqualifiers
Base match rate
Maximum rate on up to $2,000 of net qualifying contributions
Income-based match rate
Counted contribution
After entered distributions; capped at $2,000
Where your Saver's Match MAGI falls
Your Match MAGI:
In plain terms
Eligibility checks
How it works
The Saver's Match, decoded
What SECURE 2.0 §103 actually does
For eligible retirement contributions starting in tax year 2027, Section 103 of the SECURE 2.0 Act replaces the Saver's Credit with the Saver's Match — a federal retirement contribution that is not limited by income-tax liability. The Credit continues for eligible ABLE contributions.
net contributions = max($0, contributions − counted distributions)
match = min($2,000, net contributions) × applicable whole-number percentage
The maximum match is $1,000 per person ($2,000 for a married couple where both qualify). It is effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2026 — in other words, tax year 2027 and later.
Phase-out ranges
Notice 2026-48 gives the exact 2027 Match-MAGI thresholds:
| Single / MFS | $20,500 → $35,500 |
| Head of household | $30,750 → $53,250 |
| MFJ / qualifying surviving spouse | $41,000 → $71,000 |
At or below the lower threshold, the rate is 50%. At or above the upper threshold, it is zero. In between, the law calculates a percentage-point reduction, rounds that reduction down to the next lower whole point, and subtracts it from 50. Indexing begins after 2027; the phase-out range widths are not indexed.
Who does NOT qualify
Even if your Match MAGI is in range, you are disqualified if any of the following are true:
- Under age 18 on the last day of the tax year.
- Full-time student during any part of five calendar months of the tax year (same definition used for the dependency exemption).
- Claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return.
- Ineligible nonresident alien. Nonresident-alien status during any part of the tax year bars the federal Match unless a §6013(g) or (h) election treats the person as a U.S. resident. Separate federal public-benefit restrictions may also apply.
A custodial Roth for a 16-year-old with summer-job earnings, for example, does not get the Match. A 19-year-old worker may qualify only if the separate student, dependent, residency, income, contribution, and distribution tests are also satisfied.
How the money actually lands
For an ordinary federal claim, file Form 8880-A with your 2027 return in 2028. A direct Treasury payment can go only to a qualifying non-Roth plan portion or traditional IRA that accepts the payment. Notice 2026-48 also describes a possible Roth route: Treasury would first use a conduit traditional IRA, followed by an immediate trustee-to-trustee Roth conversion that is taxable and reportable. The IRS says the operational method is still under development.
The Match does not use your regular IRA contribution limit. If the federal Match is positive but less than $100, Form 8880-A will allow an election to receive it as a refundable income-tax credit instead of a retirement-account payment.
What counts as a "qualifying contribution"
Qualifying amounts include traditional- and Roth-IRA contributions, specified elective deferrals (including 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b), SIMPLE IRA, and SARSEP deferrals), voluntary after-tax employee contributions to a qualified plan, and contributions to a §501(c)(18) plan. Employer contributions, rollovers, trustee transfers, and ABLE contributions do not qualify for the Match.
Certain retirement distributions during the claim year, the two preceding years, and the period before the return due date reduce the contribution amount used for the Match. That is why you should include expected withdrawals when planning and check actual records before filing.
Sources
- SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (Division T of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023) — Section 103, codified as IRC §6433
- IRC §25B (Saver's Credit) — replaced for retirement contributions after 2026; continues for eligible ABLE contributions
- Joint Committee on Taxation General Explanation of Public Law 117-328 — §103 narrative
- IRS Notice 2026-48 — 2027 calculation, MAGI, distribution, eligibility, destination, and Form 8880-A guidance
- IRS Saver's Match overview — current reader-facing implementation summary
User Guide
How to use the Saver's Match Eligibility Checker
The Saver's Match is a federal retirement contribution under SECURE 2.0 §103 that replaces the Saver's Credit for eligible retirement contributions starting in tax year 2027. Eligible savers can receive up to 50 % of the first $2,000 of net qualifying contributions. This checker produces an estimate after you build the Match's special MAGI and enter actual or projected counted distributions.
For eligible retirement contributions, the Match replaces the Saver's Credit starting in tax year 2027. The Credit is nonrefundable and cannot exceed the available federal income-tax liability. The Match is not limited by that liability: an otherwise eligible saver can receive the calculated retirement contribution even when no federal income tax is due.
Who should use this tool
This tool is for workers making their own eligible IRA contributions or workplace-plan deferrals. It can be useful for full-time or part-time workers and for either spouse on a joint return. The income test uses Saver's Match MAGI, not wages or ordinary household AGI by itself.
For 2027, the rate reaches zero at $35,500 for Single/MFS, $53,250 for Head of Household, and $71,000 for MFJ/QSS. A filer near those amounts should build Match MAGI from the fields below before deciding whether the income test is met.
Walking through the inputs
Your Saver's Match MAGI. This is not simply Form 1040 AGI and it is not Roth-contribution MAGI. Start with AGI, then add pre-tax elective and salary-reduction retirement contributions, deductible traditional-IRA contributions, and specified foreign or territorial income exclusions. The 2027 thresholds are fixed; inflation adjustments begin after 2027.
Filing status. Single and Married Filing Separately share one phase-out band, Head of Household has another, and Married Filing Jointly and Qualifying Surviving Spouse share the joint-return band.
Contributions and recent distributions. Enter your own eligible contributions, not employer contributions. Then review retirement distributions during the claim year, the two prior tax years, and the post-year period before the return due date. The checker subtracts the entered distributions before applying the $2,000 cap. Notice 2026-48 lists exceptions, including qualifying rollovers and trustee-to-trustee transfers.
Dependency status and student status. The student exclusion applies to qualifying full-time study or full-time on-farm training during any part of five calendar months, not necessarily consecutive. Being claimed as a dependent is a separate exclusion. The tool asks about both.
Age. You must be 18 or older to claim the match. There's no upper age limit, unlike the pre-SECURE rules on Traditional IRA contributions.
How to read the result
The tool shows your net counted contribution, the whole-number match percentage required by §6433, and an estimated dollar Match. The federal route uses Form 8880-A in 2028; bona fide territory residents instead contact their territory tax agency. Direct Treasury payment is limited to an accepting non-Roth destination; Notice 2026-48 describes a possible conduit traditional-IRA route to a taxable Roth conversion, with final operational instructions still pending.
Before claiming, confirm which account and provider can accept the payment. Having a Roth IRA that receives your own contributions does not, by itself, establish a destination for a direct Treasury payment. Follow the final account-designation instructions when available.
Common mistakes this tool prevents
- Confusing the Saver's Match with the Saver's Credit. For retirement contributions, the Credit applies through tax year 2026 and the Match starts in 2027. The Credit is nonrefundable and cannot exceed the federal income-tax liability available for it to offset; the Match is not limited by that liability. Eligible ABLE contributions can still qualify for the Credit after 2026, but not the Match.
- Thinking the Match is automatic. It isn't. Eligible elective deferrals can count whether workplace enrollment was automatic or voluntary, and Roth-IRA contributions can count too. But the saver still has to claim the Match on the tax return and satisfy the other rules.
- Combining the student and dependent tests. They are separate. A full-time student for five calendar months is excluded even if nobody claims that person as a dependent; someone claimed as a dependent is excluded even if not a student. Either status can block the Match for the year.
- Trying to lower Match MAGI with a pre-tax 401(k) deferral. That deferral may lower Form 1040 AGI, but §6433 adds it back for this particular MAGI calculation.
- Treating the $2,000 cap as a contribution cap. It isn't. The $2,000 figure caps the contributions used in the Match calculation; the applicable annual account limit is a separate rule.
- Skipping the distribution lookback. Certain distributions during the statutory testing period can reduce or erase the contribution amount used for the Match, even when the current-year contribution itself was valid.
After you check eligibility
Contribution deadlines depend on the account. A 2027 IRA contribution can generally be designated for 2027 through the unextended 2028 filing deadline; workplace elective deferrals generally must be made by December 31, 2027. For a federal claim, use Form 8880-A and its eventual instructions to confirm the claim and destination mechanics.
The Saver's Match guide covers the statutory text (SECURE 2.0 §103), implementation guidance and worked examples across filing statuses. Its early-2027 IRA calendar separates deposit dates from contribution and claim years.
Worked example: Jasmine, 28, with $32,000 of Match MAGI
Assume Jasmine qualifies for the federal filing route. She is 28, has $32,000 of Saver's Match MAGI, files single, and is not a student, dependent, or ineligible nonresident alien. She contributes $2,400 to her Roth IRA and confirms that she has no counted distributions in the statutory testing period.
At $32,000 of Match MAGI, her phase-out reduction is 38 whole percentage points, so her applicable rate is 12 %. Applied to the first $2,000 of net qualifying contributions, her estimated Match is $240. She will claim it on Form 8880-A with her 2027 return. Treasury cannot pay it directly into her Roth; Notice 2026-48 describes either a direct non-Roth destination or a possible conduit traditional IRA followed by a taxable Roth conversion.
Why not $288? Her $2,400 deposit qualifies, but only $2,000 can enter the Match calculation. The rest stays in her IRA; it just doesn’t increase this Match.
Contrast with the Saver's Credit for retirement contributions through 2026. The Credit is nonrefundable, so its usable value is limited by federal income-tax liability. The Match is not limited that way: an otherwise eligible saver can receive the calculated retirement contribution even with no federal income tax due. The Credit remains available for eligible ABLE contributions after 2026.
For a 2027 IRA contribution, Jasmine can generally designate the contribution through the unextended 2028 filing deadline. She will use Form 8880-A, keep contribution and distribution records, and follow the final destination instructions when the IRS publishes them.
Corrections and updates
November 4, 2026 — correction. Added a filing-route check and clarified part-year residency. The estimator now accepts negative AGI, withholds numbers for invalid entries, and no longer rounds small Matches to whole dollars before checking the under-$100 election. The rate calculation also no longer overstates the Match at certain exact income thresholds. For both the Credit and Match, the distribution window ends before the filing due date, including extensions.
September 21, 2026 — correction. Corrected the unqualified 50% badge and blanket Credit-ending statements, identified the example’s income as Match MAGI, and added the missing $0 floor to the displayed formula. The calculation already applied that floor and has not changed. Full correction record.
September 21, 2026 — update. Added a reminder and calendar link explaining that early-2027 IRA deposits designated for 2026 use Credit rules, not this checker.