Anyone ever dealt with this?

I put 6k in company A's 401k and so far 19k in company B's plan. Under 50 y/o. Just kind of forgot about it and didn't realize company B would pull contributions from my bonus.

Interweb makes it sound somewhat painless, but should probably take care of sooner rather than later. Both plans are with Vanguard. Do I initiate the 'withdrawal' with vanguard or my company HR/benefits dept?

You'll almost certainly need to process the removal of excess via the plan administrator (Vanguard). The max contribution for 2023 is $22,500. You have until March 1, 2024 to take care of it. The plan admin will remove the excess contribution plus the earnings, which will be reflected on your W2.

Another consideration may be which plan to remove the excess from depending on what the earnings calculation on the contribution may be (less is better) plus any matching money that may be impacted.

This happened to my wife a few years back.

I would start with HR so that hopefully your W2 is correct and it's all in the same calendar year. I can't remember exactly, but I don't think my wife got it straightened out until after the first of the year. Some of the income had to be claimed for the previous year, and some the following. She received two separate checks and two 1099s. It wasn't crazy complicated come tax time, but Turbo Tax doesn't exactly have an easy button for that situation.

ATX Advisors said:

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You'll almost certainly need to process the removal of excess via the plan administrator (Vanguard). The max contribution for 2023 is $22,500. You have until March 1, 2024 to take care of it. The plan admin will remove the excess contribution plus the earnings, which will be reflected on your W2.

Another consideration may be which plan to remove the excess from depending on what the earnings calculation on the contribution may be (less is better) plus any matching money that may be impacted.

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Good point. I suspect I'll remove it from the current company's plan…better access to Hr and all that fun stuff.

AggieT said:

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This happened to my wife a few years back.

I would start with HR so that hopefully your W2 is correct and it's all in the same calendar year. I can't remember exactly, but I don't think my wife got it straightened out until after the first of the year. Some of the income had to be claimed for the previous year, and some the following. She received two separate checks and two 1099s. It wasn't crazy complicated come tax time, but Turbo Tax doesn't exactly have an easy button for that situation.

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Hopefully I can get it nipped this year and dont have issues in two tax years.

Can you pay taxes directly to the IRS on the overfunded amount and then convert it to Roth?

Short answer is no.

About a hundred years ago I fully funded my IRA, I was not in the company 401K plan at the time. About 6 months into the next year I got a letter from the IRS informing me I was fined for contributing to my IRA when a 401K was available even though I wasn't enrolled. "A 401K was available" they told me. I have no idea what the overfunding rules are today but they probably involve a penalty.