The Design · Cross-Tested 401(k)
The same 401(k), actually designed.
Your practice already funds it. It may not be built around what you can contribute. US law lets a plan's employer contributions be tilted toward the owners, lawfully and testably, in exchange for a defined minimum to staff. Most small-practice plans were never structured to use it.
What one owner's 401(k) can receive in a year, at the published 2026 limits:
| Source | Per owner, per year |
|---|---|
| Salary deferral | $24,500 |
| From the practice | up to $47,500 |
| Total per owner | up to $72,000 $80,000 from age 50; $83,250 at 60 to 63 |
Published 2026 federal limits, subject to technical validation; a payroll-tied deduction limit also applies.
More into your 401(k). A potential tax benefit too.
Example: $40,000 of additional deductible contribution into one owner's 401(k) is about $14,800 of illustrative gross current federal tax deferral, at a 37% owner marginal rate. This is a gross figure, not net savings. A redesign usually adds a contribution for the team; the design study calculates that and our fee from your census before any net figure is shown.
The design, in three lines.
- 01
The practice's contribution is decided after year-end, so you fund the fat years and skip the lean ones.
- 02
It doubles as staff retention, because your team sees a defined employer contribution every year it runs.
- 03
Every figure is tested against IRS nondiscrimination rules before it ships.
What we need to confirm it.
Employee ages + compensation + ownership. We can't calculate your exact number from the public filing alone. Employee ages and compensation determine whether the economics work.
Fee: $2,500–3,500/yr flat
Flat fees. No asset charges. No revenue sharing.
Our fee sits against up to $72,000 a year per owner, more from age 50, before the team contribution that the design study prices. And as the plan grows, the fee doesn't.
Limits shown are published 2026 federal limits. Your figures come from your census. Not legal or tax advice.
What happens next
We spend 20 minutes reviewing whether the opportunity could work for your practice.
Your CPA is welcome. If the numbers make sense, the next step is a $2,000 flat-fee design study using your actual workforce data.
If the numbers don't work, we'll tell you.