Calculating maximum 401k contribution

[Jtrey17]

Hello friends, I need some help understanding the maximum 401k yearly contribution. Does the $18,500 include employer contributions?

[Joel]

The employee can only contribute $18,000 per year. It does not include employer contributions or catch-up contributions for those age 50 or older.

[MrDelane]

The maximum is $18K (not 18,500), and no it does not include employer matching.


EDITED TO ADD:

DOH!  Joel beat me to it.

[Nothlit]

The above responses are correct.

To add a little detail that many are not aware of: the $18,000 limit is for "elective deferrals" only. If your retirement plan has a mandatory contribution component (mine does, but it's a 403b so not sure if the same can apply to a 401k), that mandatory amount does not count against the elective deferral limit. As a result, I will end up contributing about $20,500 to my 403b this year, in addition to my employer's contributions of about $13,000.

Edit to add: The first comment here explains the details behind this nuance, in case anyone is curious.

[MrDelane]

I will end up contributing about $20,500 to my 403b this year, in addition to my employer's contributions of about $13,000.

I'm not adding anything useful to the thread...just wanted to say WOW, that's fantastic.
I wish I could get that level of matching.