Ready For Finance

After-tax contribution

Ready-For-Finance Dictionary

An after-tax contribution is money you put into your 401(k) or other employer sponsored retirement savings plan either instead of or in addition to your pretax contribution.

You make an after-tax contribution if you've chosen to participate in a Roth 401(k) or similar tax-free plan rather than a traditional tax-deferred 401(k).

However, if you make excess deferrals, any earnings on the after-tax amount accumulate tax deferred. The disadvantage is that figuring the tax that's due on your required distributions may be more complicated than if you had made only pretax contributions.

TERM ID: 24