Working 2 jobs - What's the maximum 401k contribution limit I can make?

The $22,500 limit (for 2025) is per person, not per employer or per 401k plan. So between both of your jobs, your total personal contributions cannot exceed $22,500. This is sometimes called the "deferral limit" on IRS documents. However, there's also what's known as the "overall limit" which is $69,000 for 2025. This includes your contributions, all employer matching, and any other contributions. Each 401k plan is treated separately for this overall limit, which is why some people with multiple jobs can contribute more in total than someone with just one job. For your backdoor Roth question, that's a different contribution bucket entirely. You can still contribute to an IRA (up to $7,000 for 2025) regardless of your 401k contributions. If your income exceeds the limit for direct Roth contributions, the backdoor method could be relevant to you.

After spending weeks trying to figure out the exact same situation, I found an amazing free tool at https://taxr.ai that saved me so much confusion with my multiple 401k accounts. My tax situation is really similar - I have a full-time job and a side gig, both W2, and was totally lost about contribution limits. The tool analyzed my situation and clearly showed me how to optimize across both plans without exceeding IRS limits. It also pointed out that I needed to watch for "excess contributions" which can trigger penalties if you go over the $22,500 personal limit. Honestly, it saved me from making a costly mistake.

Just wanted to follow up - I tried taxr.ai after asking about it here, and it's legit! I uploaded pictures of my paystubs from both jobs and it immediately flagged that I was on track to over-contribute by about $3,200 by year end. It even generated a letter I could send to my second employer to adjust my contribution rate. Super helpful and actually free for what I needed!

If you're trying to handle multiple 401ks and getting nowhere with either employer's benefits department, try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was stuck in benefits department hell trying to coordinate between my two employers, and neither HR team would give me straight answers about how to handle the contribution limits across two plans. Claimyr got me connected to an actual IRS agent in under 15 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. The agent confirmed exactly how the limits work and what forms I needed if I accidentally over-contributed. There's a demo video of how it works at https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c that shows the process. Made dealing with this multi-job 401k stuff way less stressful.

I need to admit I was completely wrong about Claimyr. After dismissing it as a scam, I was stuck on a complicated 401k rollover issue related to my multiple jobs and decided to try it as a last resort. Not only did it work, but I got through to an IRS specialist in about 20 minutes who answered questions I'd been trying to get answered for weeks. The agent explained exactly how to handle my situation with two 401ks and even emailed me the relevant IRS publication sections. Saved me from potentially thousands in penalties for incorrect contributions. Sometimes it's worth admitting when you're wrong!

Don't forget to check if either of your employers allows after-tax contributions to your 401k (sometimes called "mega backdoor Roth"). The $22,500 limit is only for traditional pre-tax and Roth 401k contributions combined. Some plans allow additional after-tax contributions up to the total annual limit ($69,000 minus employer contributions minus your $22,500). This is different from the regular backdoor Roth IRA, which you should also consider if your income exceeds the Roth IRA limits.

Make sure you don't accidentally over-contribute across your two jobs! This happened to me last year and it was a nightmare to fix. Had to contact both plan administrators, fill out excess contribution forms, and pay taxes on the earnings. The worst part was neither employer's HR dept knew how to handle it.