The Home Depot, Inc. 401(k) match: 3.5% max
The Home Depot FutureBuilder · HD · CIK 354950
Maximum employer match, as a share of pay
3.5%
The Home Depot, Inc. matches 150% of the first 1% of pay, then 50% of the next 4% of pay, for a maximum employer match of 3.5% of pay.
Home Depot's Form 11-K filings for plan year 2025 describe two separate 401(k) plans. The terms on this page are read from the Home Depot FutureBuilder. Both state the same maximum match.
From the Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026 ↗, covering the plan year ended December 31, 2025. Page data last updated July 28, 2026, when the Form 5500 bulk data was last refreshed. Why filings lag
On this page: which plan you are in · what the employer actually paid in · the formula, word for word · when the money becomes yours · who can join · what the plan reports to the DOL · how it compares · what to do next
Which Home Depot 401(k) plan are you in?
Home Depot's Form 11-K filings for this plan year describe two plans and all of them state the same maximum employer match. The group each plan covers still differs, and so can the vesting and enrollment terms further down this page, which are read from the Home Depot FutureBuilder.
The Home Depot FutureBuilder (the plan this page answers for)
The filing states no limit on who this plan covers · Form 11-K ↗
3.5% of pay, at most
The Home Depot FutureBuilder for Puerto Rico
Employees in Puerto Rico · Form 11-K ↗
3.5% of pay, at most
One row per plan, taken from the two Form 11-K reports this site has read for the plan year ended December 31, 2025. Each maximum comes from that plan’s own filing and describes only that plan.
What Home Depot puts in, and what the plan costs
What Home Depot put into the plan, per active participant
$691
The Home Depot, Inc. put $691 into this plan for each of its 391,522 active participants in plan year 2024. This is the whole employer side of the plan: matching money, profit sharing, non-elective and safe-harbor contributions, and reallocated forfeitures. The Form 5500 does not separate them, so this is what the employer put in and not the match.
Home Depot put in less per active participant than 51% of plans with 5,000+ participants in retail. The middle plan in that group of 196 reported $700. Retail comes from business code 444110, which Home Depot entered on its own Form 5500. Sponsors pick that code themselves, so a code that does not describe what the employer does ranks the plan against the wrong companies.
Matched to this employer by sponsor name, not by an identifier stated in the filing. This record could cover another plan of the same employer.
What this figure cannot separate: how much Home Depot pays, and how much it puts in
This is dollars, not a rate. A Form 5500 carries no payroll, so the figure reflects both how much the employer puts in and how much the employer pays: two plans running the same formula report different amounts when one pays better. Crossing the peer group with industry holds most of that difference still, and none of it disappears.
This is one plan year, not an average. A true-up, a plan merger or a one-off contribution moves a single year on its own.
Source: DOL Form 5500 for the plan year ended December 31, 2024, EIN 953261426, plan 001 · DOL EFAST2 ↗
The $691 above is the Form 5500 figure for plan year 2024, and it counts every employer dollar on one line. The Home Depot, Inc. also files a Form 11-K, which states the match formula for plan year 2025: the card below reads $1,733 a year at a $49,500 salary, and the same filing states employer contributions made outside the match. That second figure is what the formula pays one worker on that salary, and not an amount either filing reports. The two figures cover different plan years and measure different things, so neither one is the other one corrected.
What Home Depot puts in
$1,733
a year, at a $49,500 salary.
The match paragraph, word for word
“The Company provides matching contributions of 150% of the first 1% of eligible compensation contributed by a participant and 50% of the next 2% to 5% of eligible compensation contributed by a participant beginning on the first day of the calendar quarter following the completion of the earlier of (i) the date the associate completes one year of service and 1,000 hours; or (ii) the date the associate completes two years of service, regardless of hours worked. Before-tax and after-tax (Roth) contributions are eligible for matching contributions. Effective January 1, 2025, the Plan was amended in order to comply with SECURE 2.0, which made temporary associates eligible to make before-tax and after-tax (Roth) contributions after the earlier of (i) the first day of the calendar quarter beginning on or after the date the associate completes one year of service with 1,000 hours of service, or (ii) the first day of the plan year after the associate completes at least one hour of service in each of two consecutive 12-month periods, disregarding any periods before January 1, 2021. Catch-up contributions are not eligible for matching contributions. Additional amounts may be contributed by the Company.”
What you contribute to collect all of it
Contribute at least 5% of your pay to collect the full match.
That is $2,475 a year at a $49,500 salary, and it scales with your own.
Vesting score
57.14 out of 100
How fast the employer’s money becomes yours. Higher than 4% of the 253 schedules we have scored.
It measures vesting speed and nothing else. It says nothing about the size of the match, what the plan charges, or the funds inside it.
Share of the employer's money that is the worker's at hire and at each of the first 6 anniversaries: 0%, 0%, 0%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%. The score is the average of those 7 readings.
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are immediately vested in their contributions and actual earnings thereon. Vesting in the Company's matching and discretionary contributions and actual earnings thereon is generally based on years of vesting service. For vesting purposes, a year of service is any calendar year in which a participant completes at least 1,000 hours of service. A participant is cliff vested 100% in the Company's matching contributions after three years of vesting service. In addition, each participant who completes an hour of service in a calendar year becomes 100% vested in the Company's matching contributions upon completing five years of employment if such event precedes the vesting dates above. A participant becomes 100% vested in the Company's matching and any discretionary contributions and actual earnings thereon upon death, attaining age 65 while still employed, total or permanent disability, or if the Plan is terminated.”
The wait before the match starts and the year-end true-up appear above when the filing states them. Neither is part of the score, and a filing that is silent on one of them is not a plan without it.
What the plan costs, against plans of its size
40th percentile
$44.92 per participant in plan-paid administrative cost, cheaper than 60% of plans with 5,000+ participants.
What is Home Depot's 401(k) match formula?
Home Depot's 401(k) employer match tops out at 3.5% of pay. A tiered formula pays its best rate on the first slice of pay and less on the next, which is how the rate steps down.
| Match formula | 150% of the first 1% of pay |
|---|---|
| then | 50% of the next 4% of pay |
| Maximum employer match | 3.5% of compensation |
| Conditions | The 50 percent rate applies to the next 2% to 5% of eligible compensation contributed. Before-tax and after-tax (Roth) contributions are eligible for matching contributions; catch-up contributions are not. |
| Other employer contribution | Discretionary: additional amounts may be contributed by the Company |
At a $75,000 salary, contributing 5% ($3,750) earns the full employer match of $2,625 for the year.
What the filing says, word for word
“The Company provides matching contributions of 150% of the first 1% of eligible compensation contributed by a participant and 50% of the next 2% to 5% of eligible compensation contributed by a participant beginning on the first day of the calendar quarter following the completion of the earlier of (i) the date the associate completes one year of service and 1,000 hours; or (ii) the date the associate completes two years of service, regardless of hours worked. Before-tax and after-tax (Roth) contributions are eligible for matching contributions. Effective January 1, 2025, the Plan was amended in order to comply with SECURE 2.0, which made temporary associates eligible to make before-tax and after-tax (Roth) contributions after the earlier of (i) the first day of the calendar quarter beginning on or after the date the associate completes one year of service with 1,000 hours of service, or (ii) the first day of the plan year after the associate completes at least one hour of service in each of two consecutive 12-month periods, disregarding any periods before January 1, 2021. Catch-up contributions are not eligible for matching contributions. Additional amounts may be contributed by the Company.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026, SEC EDGAR, corroborated by the filing's inline-XBRL facts · SEC ↗
What is Home Depot's 401(k) vesting schedule?
Home Depot vests the employer match on a cliff schedule: nothing is yours until three years of service, then 100% at once. Leave a day early and the employer money goes back to the plan, the edge a three-year cliff creates.
| Employer match vesting | Cliff: 100% vested after 3 years of service |
|---|---|
| Your own contributions | Immediate: always 100% yours |
| Year of service | A year of service is any calendar year in which a participant completes at least 1,000 hours of service |
| Accelerated vesting | 100 percent vested upon death, attaining age 65 while still employed, total or permanent disability, or Plan termination; also 100 percent vested upon completing five years of employment if that precedes the three-year cliff |
| Other employer contributions | Company discretionary contributions vest on the same years-of-vesting-service basis as matching contributions |
Vesting, word for word
“Participants are immediately vested in their contributions and actual earnings thereon. Vesting in the Company's matching and discretionary contributions and actual earnings thereon is generally based on years of vesting service. For vesting purposes, a year of service is any calendar year in which a participant completes at least 1,000 hours of service. A participant is cliff vested 100% in the Company's matching contributions after three years of vesting service. In addition, each participant who completes an hour of service in a calendar year becomes 100% vested in the Company's matching contributions upon completing five years of employment if such event precedes the vesting dates above. A participant becomes 100% vested in the Company's matching and any discretionary contributions and actual earnings thereon upon death, attaining age 65 while still employed, total or permanent disability, or if the Plan is terminated.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
Who can join Home Depot's 401(k), and is enrollment automatic?
Home Depot's filing does not mention automatic enrollment, which is not the same as the plan having none.
| Plan entry | Associates are eligible to participate as soon as administratively practicable following the date of hire; temporary associates after the earlier of the first day of the calendar quarter following one year of service and 1,000 hours, or the first day of the plan year after at least one hour of service in each of three consecutive 12-month periods |
|---|---|
| Match eligibility | First day of the calendar quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1, October 1) beginning on or after the earlier of (i) one year of service and 1,000 hours or (ii) two years of service regardless of hours worked |
| Excluded groups | Leased associates, nonresident aliens, independent contractors, and associates covered by a collective bargaining agreement unless the agreement requires eligibility |
| Automatic enrollment | Not mentioned in the filing (not proof of absence) |
Eligibility, word for word
“Associates are eligible to participate in the Plan as soon as administratively practicable following the date of hire. Temporary associates are eligible to participate in the Plan for purposes of making before-tax and/or after-tax (Roth) contributions after the earlier of (i) the first day of the calendar quarter beginning on or following the completion of one year of service and 1,000 hours, or (ii) the first day of the plan year after the associate completes at least one hour of service in each of three consecutive 12-month periods, disregarding any periods before January 1, 2021. Participants are eligible for the Company's matching contributions on the first day of the calendar quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1) beginning on or after the earlier of (i) the date the associate completes one year of service and 1,000 hours; or (ii) the date the associate completes two years of service, regardless of hours worked. The Plan excludes leased associates, nonresident aliens, independent contractors, and associates covered by a collective bargaining agreement, unless the terms of the collective bargaining agreement require that the associate be eligible to participate in the Plan.”
Source: Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026, SEC EDGAR · SEC ↗
What does the Home Depot plan report on Form 5500?
The Home Depot plan reported $14.1B in assets and 446,735 participants for plan year 2024.
Matched to this employer by sponsor name, not by an identifier stated in the filing. This record could cover another plan of the same employer.
| Plan named in the DOL record | The Home Depot FutureBuilder |
|---|---|
| Total plan assets | $14,149,677,171 |
| Participants | 446,735 |
| Recordkeeper | Alight |
| Plan-paid admin cost per participant | $44.92 |
How that cost compares
This plan pays $44.92 per participant. The median across plans in retail is $93.99, from the 2,177 of 2,305 whose Form 5500 yields a per-participant cost.
The plan reports Alight as its recordkeeper, one of 46 plans it runs in the data we publish. Of those, the 46 with a computable fee have a median plan-paid cost of $87.90 per participant.
The Home Depot FutureBuilder on its Form 5500 filing: fees, providers and financials
How does Home Depot's 401(k) match compare?
The Home Depot, Inc.'s maximum 401(k) match of 3.5% of pay compares with a median of 4.5% across the 181 companies in our data with a computable formula.
Employers worth reading next
Of the six employers below, three file in retail, two report the same recordkeeper and one vests on the same schedule.
Maximum match 3.5% of pay. Also in retail.
Maximum match 3.5% of pay. Also in retail.
Maximum match 3% of pay. Also in retail.
Maximum match 2.8% of pay. Same recordkeeper, Alight.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Same recordkeeper, Alight.
Maximum match 4% of pay. Same 3-year cliff as Home Depot.
What do Home Depot's other 401(k) plans say?
The Home Depot FutureBuilder for Puerto Rico
Employees in Puerto Rico
The Home Depot, Inc. matches 150% of the first 1% of pay, then 50% of the next 4% of pay, for a maximum employer match of 3.5% of compensation (plan year ended December 31, 2025).
- Employer match vesting
- Cliff: 100% vested after 3 years of service
- Automatic enrollment
- Not mentioned in the filing (not proof of absence)
What the filing says, word for word
“The Company provides matching contributions of 150% of the first 1% of eligible compensation contributed by a participant and 50% of the next 2% to 5% of eligible compensation contributed by a participant beginning on the first day of the calendar quarter following the completion of the earlier of (i) the date the associate completes one year of service and 1,000 hours; or (ii) the date the associate completes two years of service, regardless of hours worked. Before-tax contributions are eligible for matching contributions. Catch-up contributions are not eligible for matching contributions. Additional amounts may be contributed by the Company.”
What can you do next?
Check your own balance and contribution rate at Alight ↗, the recordkeeper this plan reports.
- Read the Form 11-K on SEC EDGAR ↗
Form 11-K filed June 24, 2026, SEC EDGAR. Every match fact on this page comes from it.
- Changed jobs? Find an old 401(k) ↗
The Department of Labor's Retirement Savings Lost & Found, a free government database.
- This year's IRS contribution limits ↗
The official deferral and catch-up limits every formula operates under.
- Download this data (CSV)
Formula, vesting and source references for this company, one file.
Questions this filing answers
What is The Home Depot, Inc.'s 401(k) match?
The Home Depot, Inc. matches 150% of the first 1% of pay, then 50% of the next 4% of pay, for a maximum employer match of 3.5% of compensation (plan year ended December 31, 2025).
When does the The Home Depot, Inc. 401(k) match vest?
Cliff: 100% vested after 3 years of service.
Does The Home Depot, Inc.'s 401(k) plan have automatic enrollment?
Not mentioned in the filing (not proof of absence).
Cite: 401(k) Monitor, “The Home Depot, Inc. 401(k) plan facts”, from SEC Form 11-K accession 0001628280-26-045225, plan year ended 2025-12-31.