TSP Contribution Timing Optimizer

Enter your rank, election %, and year-to-date contributions to see whether you'll exhaust the IRS limit before December — and the exact % to enter in myPay to avoid forfeiting BRS match.

Rank

Years of service

Your TSP election (%)

YTD contributions

Current pay period

Age

I'm under BRS (entered active duty on or after Jan 1, 2018, or opted in)

MONTHLY CONTRIBUTION

$206/mo

MONTH LIMIT IS HIT

On track

BRS MATCH FORFEITED

You won't hit the IRS limit this year — $0 match forfeited. No action needed.

How the IRS contribution limit works

IRC § 402(g) sets an annual elective deferral limit on how much you can contribute to your TSP from your own pay. For 2026 the base limit is $24,500 (under age 50), with catch-up contributions available for members aged 50–59 and 64+ ($31,000) and a higher limit for ages 60–63 ($34,750). Once your contributions reach that ceiling in any month, DFAS stops your TSP elections for the remainder of the year — even if you intended to keep contributing.

Under the Blended Retirement System, front-loading your contributions creates a compounding problem: the DoD match (dollar-for-dollar on the first 3%, then 50 cents on the next 2% of basic pay) only pays in months where you are actively contributing from your own pay. Once you hit the IRS ceiling, your contributions stop and so does the match — with no make-up provision. Members who exhaust the limit in June, for example, forfeit roughly six months of DoD matching that can never be recovered.

The fix is straightforward: lower your election percentage so your contributions reach the IRS limit in December rather than mid-year. This calculator computes the exact percentage to enter in myPay for your rank, YOS, and current year-to-date balance so you capture every dollar of available DoD match through the final pay period.

Authority: TSP.gov — Contribution Limits · IRC § 402(g) · IRS Notice 2025-67 · DFAS 2026 pay tables

How the IRS contribution limit works