You’re the boss. Your retirement plan should act like it.

Self-employed people get the biggest retirement tax breaks in the code — if they pick the right plan. SEP-IRA, Solo 401(k), SIMPLE: same you, same income, three very different ceilings. Here’s the maximum each one lets you put away, and what it saves.

Built on the current IRS limits — $72,000 combined cap, $24,500 deferral, and the new SECURE 2.0 catch-up rules for 2026.

You & your income

Plan year

How you’re paid

Net self-employment profit

Schedule C net profit — before any retirement contribution.

Your age

50+ unlocks catch-ups; 60–63 unlocks the bigger SECURE 2.0 catch-up.

Your federal bracket

State tax

Indiana county rate

Every county adds its own rate on top of the 3.000% — it’s on your county’s line of last year’s IT-40, or ask us. 0 to skip.

Prior-year wages over $150,000

Triggers the 2026 SECURE 2.0 rule: catch-ups must go in as Roth (no deduction on that slice).

Your three ceilings show up here.

Income, age, bracket — and you’ll see exactly how much each plan lets you shelter, side by side.

Biggest ceiling

SEP-IRA

Biggest ceiling

Solo 401(k)

Biggest ceiling

SIMPLE IRA

Solo 401(k) edge over SEP

Catch-up available

—

Combined tax rate

Have employees (other than a spouse)? Stop here — a SEP must cover them at the same percentage you give yourself, and a SIMPLE must cover them too. That flips this entire comparison, and it’s the most expensive surprise in small-plan land. Talk to us before adopting anything.

Here’s how it lands

How each ceiling is built ▶

Your moves

Numbers without a next step are just trivia.

Estimate only — a Delta review is required before acting. Plan documents, deadlines, and employee coverage rules decide whether these ceilings are actually available to you — and a plan adopted wrong is worse than no plan. We set these up with clients; don’t adopt one off a calculator.

What these ceilings assume — out in the open

Owner-only business (spouse on payroll is fine — it can even double the ceilings). Any other employee changes the answer completely.
Sole prop math: plan compensation is net profit minus half your self-employment tax, and the employer share is effectively 20% of that. SE tax uses the Social Security wage base ($184,500 for the year shown).
S-corp math: everything keys off your W-2 wages — not the K-1. A low salary quietly caps every one of these plans; that’s the hidden cost of an aggressive salary number.
Tax saved = deductible contribution × your federal + Indiana rate. Retirement contributions don’t reduce self-employment tax or payroll tax — the savings are income tax only.
SECURE 2.0 (2026): if your prior-year Social Security wages topped $150,000, catch-up contributions must be Roth — still allowed, still growing tax-free, just no deduction on that slice. The math here accounts for it when you flip the toggle.
Deadlines differ: a Solo 401(k) generally must exist by year-end to capture deferrals; a SEP can be opened and funded up to your filing deadline. SIMPLE plans have an October 1 setup cutoff.
Not modeled: Roth versions of each plan, mega-backdoor strategies, defined-benefit plans (for very high incomes, the ceiling above all of these), and spouse payroll. All review items — good ones.

The right plan, adopted right, funded on time. That’s the whole game.

These three ceilings are just the standard menu — spouse payroll, Roth options, and defined-benefit plans can push shelter far beyond them. Send us your numbers and we’ll match the plan to the business, handle the setup timeline, and make sure the deduction actually lands.

Reach your Delta team at (260) 440-2747 or info@deltacpagroup.com and we’ll walk through it with you.

You can’t get a better return on investment than saving on taxes — and this page is where most business owners leave the most behind. We are always happy to talk it through.

Thank you,
Amy Grego, CPA Delta CPA Group, LLC · (260) 440-2747