Max out your self-employment benefits with one of the most powerful retirement accounts on the market.
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The Solo 401(k) can be a game-changer for the self-employed. Contribute up to $70,000 (that’s 10x more than a personal IRA!)5 and help lower your taxes while enjoying all the benefits of a standard 401(k).
And best of all? Guideline handles the hard parts with automated compliance, fully digital contributions, plan admin, IRS filings, and much more — all at no extra cost.
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Probably. Any business is eligible to open a Solo 401(k) plan, provided only owners, partners, or spouses will be eligible to participate in the plan.
While a business sponsoring a Solo 401(k) can have common-law employees, they must not be eligible for the plan based on the eligibility requirements in the plan document. Allowable eligibility requirements will be discussed here. Note that non-owners cannot be excluded as a class.
It is also important to note that if you are part of a controlled or affiliated service group, you are not able to open a Solo 401(k) plan at Guideline.
Ready to get started? Set up your plan
A solo 401(k) is identical to a standard 401(k) in most ways, including the combined employee and employer contribution limit. At Guideline, solo 401(k) and standard 401(k) plans enjoy all the same features, including direct payroll integrations, automated compliance and admin, a mobile app for tracking
The main differences come in who is eligible.
A Solo 401(k) plan is limited to owners and their spouses, and cannot include common-law employees. A Solo 401(k) plan also allows owners to make contributions as both employee and employer. A Solo 401(k) is ideal for owner-only (or owner plus spouse) businesses that don’t have non-owner common-law employees.
A standard 401(k), on the other hand, is open to all eligible employees. Employees can only make contributions out of their paycheck, and employers can choose whether or not to provide contributions to their employees’ 401(k) accounts (often called an “employer match” or “profit sharing contribution”). A standard 401(k) is ideal for businesses with 1 or more non-owner common-law employees.
A Solo 401(k) is a flexible, low-maintenance plan that adapts to your business.
All 401(k) plans at Guideline include an auto-enrollment feature by default, meaning you automatically qualify for the Auto-Enrollment Tax Credit with a Guideline Solo 401(k) plan.
SECURE 2.0 introduced the Auto-Enrollment credit, which offers businesses who include auto-enrollment as a feature of their plan $1,500 over the first 3 years of the plan.
