TSP 2026 for service members: limits, catch-ups and the BRS match

The 2026 limits

The IRS announced the 2026 amounts in Notice 2025-67, and TSP.gov applies them to the TSP:

Your room for your own contributions in 2026 depends on the age you reach this year:

TSP.gov lists it by birth year. Born 1963–1966, you get the $11,250 catch-up in 2026. Born 1962 or earlier, or 1967–1976, the $8,000 one. In the year you turn 64, the limit drops back to the regular catch-up, so TSP.gov suggests lowering a higher election at the start of that year.

The new Roth catch-up rule, and combat-zone catch-ups

From January 1, 2026: if you earned more than $150,000 in 2025, your catch-up contributions must be Roth. TSP.gov says the switch happens automatically for most people and to check with your payroll office if you aren’t sure. The rule doesn’t apply if your 2025 wages were $150,000 or less.

In a combat zone: if you earn tax-exempt pay in a combat zone, any catch-up contributions must be Roth, whatever your income. You can’t use traditional tax-exempt money for them, or contribute to catch-ups from incentive, special or bonus pay.

Catch-ups can count toward the BRS match, up to the 5% the match covers. But TSP.gov notes that catch-ups made after you reach the $72,000 annual additions limit aren’t matched.

Combat-zone pay and the $72,000 ceiling

This is where service members differ most from civilian TSP savers:

• Contributions from tax-exempt pay are tax-exempt (the pay was excluded under the combat zone tax exclusion).
• Traditional contributions from combat-zone pay don’t count toward the $24,500, so a member with tax-exempt combat-zone pay can put in more than that.
• Everything counts toward the $72,000: your contributions, tax-exempt ones included, plus the automatic 1% and matching. TSP.gov says contributions above the elective deferral limit go into the traditional part of your account from tax-exempt pay.
• You can contribute from special pay, incentive pay and bonuses, 1% to 100% of each, as long as you contribute at least 1% of basic pay. You can’t contribute from housing or subsistence allowances.

How much of a month’s pay is tax-free, and the officer cap, are in the combat zone tax exclusion guide.

BRS: the automatic 1% and the match

5 U.S.C. 8440e(e) sets the timing for members who entered on or after January 1, 2018:

• Automatic 1% of basic pay for pay periods starting 60 days after you first enter a uniformed service.
• Matching starting 2 years and 1 day after entry.
• Both end on the day you complete 26 years of service.
• Members who opted into BRS in 2018 got both from the date of their election.

TSP.gov describes the match. The first 3% of basic pay you contribute is matched dollar for dollar and the next 2% at 50 cents on the dollar, so the service’s total tops out at 5% of basic pay:

The match is figured each pay period from that period’s contribution. If you stop contributing, the match stops, though the automatic 1% continues. The automatic 1% is also subject to TSP’s vesting rule if you leave early. High-3 (legacy) members get neither contribution.

Dates, exactly. For a member who entered on March 15, 2024, our calculator starts the automatic 1% on May 14, 2024 and the match on March 16, 2026.

Worked example: E-5 at “Over 4”, 5%

Basic pay for an E-5 at “Over 4” is $3,946.80 a month (table from the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, DFAS, effective January 1, 2026). Under BRS, with 3 years of service and a 5% contribution:

At 4% instead of 5%, the match drops to $138.14 (3.5%). At 10%, it stays at $157.87, because the match stops at 4%. With 18 months of service, the same member gets the $39.47 automatic contribution but no match yet.

Reaching $24,500 from basic pay alone. Our calculator puts that at 51.73% of this E-5’s basic pay: $2,041.67 a month, or $1,020.83 a paycheck at 24 paychecks a year (two a month). The services take elections as a whole percentage, a dollar amount or both, as each service sets it up (5 CFR 1600.21(b)). In whole percentages, 51% would put in $24,154.44 over 12 months. 52% would put in $24,628.08, more than the limit; split over 24 equal paychecks, it reaches the limit during the year’s last one. TSP.gov’s advice is to plan so you don’t hit the limit before the end of the calendar year, because a pay period with no contribution has no match. Contributions from special pay or a bonus are separate elections.

Your TSP account belongs to you either way. What to contribute, and how to invest it, depends on your budget and goals. The personal financial counselor on your installation can work through it with you at no cost, and TSP.gov has the plan’s own guidance.

What isn’t set yet

The 2027 limits aren’t published as of October 6, 2026, and we don’t estimate them. Our calculator adds them when the IRS announces them. The High-3 vs BRS guide shows how this TSP money fits next to the smaller BRS pension.

Next step

Enter your grade and years (or your basic pay), months of service, contribution percent and age in the TSP calculator. It shows what you, the automatic 1% and the match add each month, and your room left under each 2026 limit.