Open a SEP IRA for your business
The simplest large retirement account a self-employed person can run: roughly 20% of net earnings, up to $72,000 in 2026, no plan document, and you can still fund it after year end. Apply here, we confirm your eligibility and send your paperwork, then you fund before the deadline.
Who qualifies
A SEP — Simplified Employee Pension — is an IRA funded by the business. It is the least demanding plan to run, and it is the one that still works when you have staff.
Any business, any entity
Sole proprietor, single- or multi-member LLC, partnership, S-corp or C-corp. A side business alongside a W-2 job counts. There is no minimum income and no requirement to contribute every year.
You are willing to cover eligible employees
Unlike a Solo 401(k), a SEP works with employees — but you must contribute the same percentage of pay for every eligible one that you contribute for yourself.
You want the simplest setup
No plan document to maintain, no Form 5500-EZ at any asset level, and the account can be opened and funded after year end. The trade-off: employer money only, no employee deferral and no Roth option.
What you can contribute in 2026
A SEP has one hat, not two: everything goes in as an employer contribution. That makes the math simple and the ceiling lower than a Solo 401(k)'s at the same income, until you get high enough that 20% of net alone reaches the cap — around $375,000 of net profit.
Sole proprietor contribution
Net self-employment earnings after deducting half of self-employment tax. An approximation.
W-2 compensation basis
For an S-corp or C-corp owner, computed on the salary you pay yourself, not distributions.
Annual cap (415(c))
The same total cap as a Solo 401(k), per IRS Notice 2025-67.
Employee deferral
A SEP is funded entirely by the employer. There is no $24,500 deferral and no age-50 catch-up.
Roth option
Gigaverse offers pre-tax SEP contributions. If you want Roth treatment, a Solo 401(k) Roth deferral is the route.
Roth IRA, for scale
$8,600 at 50+. A SEP has no income phase-out; the Roth IRA does.
The rule that catches people: you must cover eligible employees
If you have employees, a SEP must cover each one who meets all three tests below. And you must contribute the same percentage of compensation for them as you do for yourself. Fund 20% for yourself and you fund 20% for every eligible employee.
Age
Reached age 21
Service
Worked for you in 3 of the last 5 years
Compensation
Earned at least $800 from you during the year
Those are the strictest conditions a SEP is allowed to impose; a plan may be more generous. If you have no employees other than yourself and a spouse, none of this applies and a Solo 401(k) usually gives you more room at the same income.
How it works: three steps
Applications are open. Accounts are not instantly self-serve inside the app — here is the actual sequence.
Apply
The form below takes about two minutes. Name, entity type, whether you have employees, and expected income. No documents to upload yet.
We confirm your eligibility and send your paperwork
A person reviews every application, usually within 2 business days. There is no plan document to maintain the way a 401(k) has one — a SEP is established on a simple adoption form — and we prepare it with our custodian partner, a FINRA/SIPC-member broker-dealer, for you to review and sign. Nothing is opened until you sign.
Fund by your filing deadline
A SEP can be opened and funded up to your business tax filing deadline for the year, including extensions. That flexibility is the SEP's main advantage, and we remind you before the date that applies to your entity.
What Gigaverse handles
- • The SEP adoption paperwork, prepared and issued with our custodian partner
- • Your contribution math from real net income, on the sole-proprietor or W-2 basis
- • The employee-coverage check: who is eligible and what you would owe them
- • Funding deadline reminders for your entity type
- • A year-end contribution summary formatted for your CPA
What you handle
- • Signing the adoption form and custodian paperwork
- • Choosing your investments inside the account
- • Moving the money, including contributions for any eligible employees
- • Your tax return, with your CPA. We hand off a clean file; we do not file for you
What it costs
Gigaverse is a subscription. The price never moves with your balance, and we are not paid on deposits or for order flow. The one asset-based fee we plan to add is an optional managed portfolio after our SEC registration is effective, disclosed in our Form ADV first.
Free
Basic tools to get started
Pro
$49.99/year
Wealth Builder
$99.99/year
Any fee for the account itself, or charged by the custodian partner, is confirmed to you in writing on your application before you sign anything. See all plans or how we make money.
The deadline, which is the forgiving one
A SEP can be established and funded up to your business tax filing deadline for the year, including extensions. In practice that is April 15 or October 15 for a sole proprietor, March 15 or September 15 for an S-corp or partnership. Nothing has to be elected by December 31, which is exactly where a Solo 401(k) deferral would have caught you.
There is also no Form 5500-EZ for a SEP at any asset level — that filing is a 401(k) obligation once plan assets pass $250,000.
Common questions
Can I open a SEP IRA with Gigaverse today?
Applications are open today. You apply on this page, we confirm your eligibility and send your paperwork with our custodian partner, and you fund by your filing deadline. It is not instant self-serve account opening inside the app — a person reviews each application, usually within 2 business days, and nothing is opened until you have reviewed and signed.
How much can I contribute to a SEP IRA for 2026?
Roughly 20% of net self-employment earnings for a sole proprietor — net profit minus half of self-employment tax, times 20% — or 25% of W-2 compensation if you pay yourself a salary from a corporation, up to the $72,000 annual additions cap (IRS Notice 2025-67). On $100,000 of net profit that is about $18,600; on $250,000, about $47,000. Those are approximations; the exact figure comes from the worksheet in IRS Publication 560 or your CPA.
What are the employee rules?
If you have employees, a SEP must cover every one who has reached age 21, worked for you in 3 of the last 5 years, and earned at least $800 from you during the year. Those are the statutory maximum conditions — your plan may be more generous but not stricter. You must contribute the same percentage of compensation for each eligible employee that you contribute for yourself, so a 20% contribution for you means 20% for them. That is the main cost consideration.
SEP IRA or Solo 401(k)?
For most independents netting between $100k and $300k with no employees, a Solo 401(k) allows meaningfully more, because the $24,500 employee deferral sits on top of the same roughly 20% employer share. The SEP wins on simplicity, on the after-year-end deadline, and when you have or expect eligible employees. Both hit the same $72,000 cap at very high income. Our side-by-side comparison walks through it.
Is there a Roth SEP?
SECURE 2.0 permits Roth SEP contributions in principle, but Gigaverse offers pre-tax SEP contributions only. If Roth treatment is what you are after, a Solo 401(k) Roth deferral is the route we support, and it has no income phase-out.
What does it cost?
Gigaverse charges a subscription, not a percentage of your balance. Free is $0, Pro is $4.99/mo ($49.99/year) and Wealth Builder is $9.99/mo ($99.99/year). Any fee for the account itself or from the custodian partner is confirmed to you in writing on your application, before you sign anything. We are not paid on deposits or for order flow. The only asset-based fee we plan to charge is on an optional managed portfolio, after our SEC registration is effective and after it is disclosed in our Form ADV.
Apply to open your SEP IRA
Apply here, we confirm your eligibility and send your paperwork, then you fund before the deadline. About two minutes, and a person reads every application.
Disclosure: Gigaverse AI, Inc. is pursuing SEC registration as an investment adviser and is not currently registered. Nothing on this page is individualized investment, tax or legal advice. Contribution limits are from IRS Notice 2025-67 and change most years; the self-employed contribution method follows IRS Publication 560, and all figures other than the statutory limits are rounded approximations that will differ from your return. Employee eligibility conditions are the statutory maximums under IRC §408(k)(2). Submitting an application does not open an account: eligibility is confirmed by a person and the account is established only after you review and sign. Accounts are held with a FINRA/SIPC-member broker-dealer custodian partner; Gigaverse does not take custody of funds. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. How we make money →