Spouses With Outside 401(k)s and a Shared Business

Review each person's deferrals across plans and the business's employer contribution rules. An outside job does not automatically eliminate business planning, but personal limits and related-employer rules require coordination.

A business-owner scenario

Two spouses own a consulting business while each has a separate employer plan. Their payroll provider sees only the consulting wages. A complete review needs outside deferrals, business compensation, plan terms and ownership relationships.

Illustrative scenario, not a client result.

Work through the transaction

Collect each person's year-to-date outside deferrals.
Identify employer relationships and plan types.
Have the administrator calculate available contributions for each person.

The mistake that changes the result

A provider handling one payroll cannot reliably police contributions it has not been told about.

Records that resolve the question

Outside pay statements.
Business payroll.
Ownership chart.
Plan documents.

The decision to document

Ask for a person-by-person contribution schedule showing employee and employer amounts separately. Update it before the final payroll rather than after an excess contribution has already been deposited.

Which fact changes the answer?

Employee deferral tracking belongs to each individual, while employer contribution analysis depends on the participating business and applicable rules. Keep those calculations in separate columns. A household total can conceal which spouse or plan has an issue.

Explore owner retirement commitments advisory · Discuss your situation with AE Tax Advisors

Sources and scope

General educational information prepared with AI assistance. No individual professional review is represented. Apply the relevant tax-year rules to the actual records. Editorial policy · AI disclosure.

My spouse and I each have outside 401(k)s. What can our business add?