Roth IRA Calculator
Project a Roth IRA's tax-free balance and compare it, for the same take-home cost, with a traditional IRA taxed on withdrawal at your rates now and later.
Roth IRA Calculator: with the default inputs, roth ira balance at retirement (tax-free) is $708,456.
2026 limit: $7,500, or $8,600 if you're 50 or older (combined across all your IRAs).
Federal plus state rate on your last dollar of income today.
Your best guess at the rate withdrawals would face.
- Total contributed
- $225,000
- Tax-free growth
- $483,456
- Traditional IRA, after tax, for the same take-home cost
- $708,456Same out-of-pocket cost each year: the deduction lets you contribute more pre-tax, then withdrawals are taxed.
- Roth advantage (+) or disadvantage (−)
- -$0
- Tax you'd owe if this balance were traditional
- $155,860
Assumptions
- Contributions are made at the end of each year and returns compound annually at a constant rate.
- The traditional comparison uses the same current balance and grosses up contributions by 1 ÷ (1 − current rate); the traditional limit is ignored for that comparison.
- No penalties, fees, income phase-outs or state-specific rules; tax rates are single marginal rates.
How this is worked out
The formula
Roth balance = B × (1 + r)^n + C × [ (1 + r)^n − 1 ] ÷ r Traditional (same take-home cost): contribute C ÷ (1 − t_now) pre-tax, then after-tax value = [ B × (1 + r)^n + C/(1 − t_now) × ((1 + r)^n − 1)/r ] × (1 − t_retire) B = current balance, C = annual contribution, r = return, n = years Roth wins when t_retire > t_now; traditional wins when t_now > t_retire
Open How it’s calculated above to see this worked through with your own numbers.
What you enter
- Annual contribution
- 2026 limit: $7,500, or $8,600 if you're 50 or older (combined across all your IRAs).in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 7500
- Years until retirement
- A number.from 0 to 70 · whole numbers only · defaults to 30
- Expected annual return
- A number.a percentage · from -20 to 30 · defaults to 7
- Current Roth IRA balance
- A number.in dollars · 0 or more · defaults to 0
- Marginal tax rate now
- Federal plus state rate on your last dollar of income today.a percentage · from 0 to 60 · defaults to 22
- Marginal tax rate in retirement
- Your best guess at the rate withdrawals would face.a percentage · from 0 to 60 · defaults to 22
What you get back
- Roth IRA balance at retirement (tax-free)main answer
- Total contributed
- Tax-free growth
- Traditional IRA, after tax, for the same take-home cost
- Same out-of-pocket cost each year: the deduction lets you contribute more pre-tax, then withdrawals are taxed.
- Roth advantage (+) or disadvantage (−)
- Tax you'd owe if this balance were traditional
What this assumes
- Contributions are made at the end of each year and returns compound annually at a constant rate.
- The traditional comparison uses the same current balance and grosses up contributions by 1 ÷ (1 − current rate); the traditional limit is ignored for that comparison.
- No penalties, fees, income phase-outs or state-specific rules; tax rates are single marginal rates.
About this calculator
A Roth IRA is funded with money you've already paid tax on, and in exchange every dollar it grows into comes out tax-free after 59½. A traditional IRA is the mirror image: a deduction now, tax on everything later. Which is better is a bet on one thing — whether your tax rate in retirement will be higher or lower than it is today. This calculator makes that bet explicit and shows the dollars.
How to use it
Enter what you'll contribute each year (the 2026 limit is $7,500, or $8,600 from age 50), the years until you'll draw on it, a return, and any existing balance. Then set your marginal tax rate now and your guess for retirement. The comparison holds your take-home cost constant: because a traditional contribution is deductible, the same sacrifice in spending money lets you put in more pre-tax — C ÷ (1 − tax rate) — and that larger sum is then taxed when withdrawn.
Reading the results
- Roth balance is what you'll have, and it's all yours — no tax on withdrawal, no required minimum distributions in your lifetime.
- Tax-free growth is the part that would have been taxable in a traditional account.
- Traditional, after tax is the fair comparison. If the two tax rates are equal, so are the outcomes; the math is commutative. A higher rate in retirement favours Roth; a lower one favours traditional.
- Tax you'd owe if this were traditional is a sanity check on how much a Roth's tax-free status is worth at your retirement rate.
Beyond the arithmetic
Most people's income — and therefore rate — drops in retirement, which argues for traditional accounts while you're in a high bracket. But a Roth hedges against future tax increases, avoids RMDs, doesn't inflate your Social Security taxation or Medicare premiums, and passes to heirs tax-free. Many planners suggest holding some of each. Note also that the annual limit applies to nominal dollars, so a maxed-out Roth shelters more real money than a maxed-out traditional IRA of the same size (the fair comparison here assumes you can contribute the grossed-up amount, which above the limit you can't).
Roth IRA contributions phase out at higher incomes; if you're over the limit, look into the "backdoor" conversion route. Contributions (not earnings) can be withdrawn any time without penalty, which makes a Roth a reasonable emergency backstop too.
Frequently asked questions
▸What is the Roth IRA contribution limit for 2026?
$7,500, or $8,600 if you're 50 or older, shared across all your traditional and Roth IRAs combined. Eligibility to contribute directly to a Roth phases out at higher incomes.
▸Roth or traditional — which is better?
For the same take-home cost, Roth wins if your tax rate in retirement is higher than today's, traditional wins if it's lower, and they tie if equal. Uncertainty about future tax law is a reason many people hold both.
▸Is Roth growth really tax-free?
Yes, provided the account has been open five years and you're 59½ or older (or meet another qualifying condition) when you withdraw earnings. Contributions themselves can be withdrawn at any time without tax or penalty.
▸Why does the calculator gross up the traditional contribution?
Because a traditional contribution is tax-deductible, putting in $9,615 pre-tax at a 22% rate costs you the same $7,500 of spending money as a $7,500 Roth contribution. Comparing equal take-home cost is the only fair test.
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