The 401(k) regulations allow for contributions to multiple 401(k) plans. This is especially advantageous for those who have a full-time job and participate in that employer’s 401(k), and those who also have a self-employed business and participate in that self-employed business solo 401(k).
A solo 401(k) is made up of employee and employer contributions.
The employee contribution which for 2019 is $19,000 plus $6,000 for those age 50 or older is aggregated among all 401(k) plans.
However the profit-sharing contribution (employer contribution) is not subject to this aggregation rule.
As a result, if you have a solo 401(k) plan for your self-employed business and have already contributed the $19,000 plus $6,000 to the full-time employer 401k plan, you can still contribute the profit-sharing portion to the solo 401(k) plan even though you have already contributed the maximum of $62,000 (includes the catch up amount and employer profit sharing contribution) to the daytime job 401k plan.
For example, let’s assume that your self-employed business is an S corporation and that you want to make a contribution to the solo 401(k). Let’s further assume that you have $100,000 of W-2 income from your S corporation.
Example & The Voluntary After-Tax Solo 401k Exception
Therefore, you would be able to contribute a profit-sharing contribution (employer) amount of $25,000 into the solo 401(k) which was calculated by multiplying 100,000 × 25%. The end result, means that you would have contributed a total of $87,000 ($62,000 plus $25,000) in aggregate to both your daytime job employer 401(k) and your self-employed business solo 401(k) plan. However, if you also want to make voluntary after-tax contributions , you could contribute the difference up to the $56,000 ceiling to your voluntary after-tax solo 401k account since this contribution type is not subject to the aggregation rules described above. VISIT HERE to learn more about this exception.