Roth IRA Calculator
A Roth IRA is funded with money you have already paid tax on and comes out tax-free; a traditional IRA is deducted now and taxed on the way out. Which wins depends on one thing only: your tax rate today against your tax rate in retirement. At the same rate they are mathematically identical, and this page shows you the retirement rate at which they break even along with what each account is worth if your rate moves.
- Accurate
- Real-time
- Easy to use
- 100% free
Tax-free Roth balance at retirement
$1,036,777
Break-even retirement tax rate
22.0%
Details
Updates as you typeMust be later than your current age. Roth earnings come out tax-free from 59 and a half, provided the account is five years old.
After-tax dollars going into the account. The 2026 IRA limit is 7,500 dollars, or 8,600 from age 50.
The marginal rate a deductible contribution would save you today, federal and state combined.
The rate you expect to pay on withdrawals. This is the only input that decides which account wins.
Summary
Traditional aheadTax-free Roth balance at retirement
$1,036,777
Traditional IRA at retirement, before tax
$1,329,201
- Yours after tax$1,129,82185%
- Income tax at withdrawal$199,38015%
- Traditional IRA, same cost, after tax
- $1,129,821
- Break-even retirement tax rate
- 22.0%
- Roth advantage
- -$93,044
- Roth advantage, as a percentage
- -8.24%
- Gross pay each contribution costs
- $9,615
- Tax paid up front, in total
- $74,038
- Tax deferred on the traditional
- $199,380
- Traditional at the same deposit, after tax
- $881,260
- Years of contributions
- 35 years
- The two accounts are compared at the same GROSS cost, not the same deposit. Funding a $7,500 Roth contribution takes $9,615 of pre-tax pay at a 22% rate, so the traditional side is credited with the whole $9,615 — a deductible contribution costs nothing in tax today. Comparing $7,500 against $7,500 would quietly ask the Roth saver for the larger sacrifice.
- At the same tax rate the two accounts are mathematically identical, because taxing before growth and taxing after growth remove exactly the same share. Everything on this page follows from which way you expect your rate to move, and from nothing else — not the return, not the horizon, not the amount.
- Both accounts share one annual limit: $7,500 for the 2026 tax year, or $8,600 from age 50 (IRS Notice 2025-67, section 219(b)(5)). Because that limit is a cash figure rather than a pre-tax one, filling it with after-tax money shelters more: maxing a Roth is the larger real contribution.
- Contributions are treated as arriving at the end of each year, so the final one earns no return, and the projection is in future dollars with no inflation adjustment. The rate you enter for retirement is applied as a single flat rate, though withdrawals are actually taxed on a graduated schedule.
- At this contribution and tax rate the equal-cost traditional contribution is $9,615, which is above the $7,500 limit, so no traditional IRA would accept it. Beyond the limit an honest comparison has to put the difference in a taxable account, which this page does not model.
- You expect to pay less tax in retirement than you do now, so the deduction is worth more than the exemption and the traditional wins on these numbers. Note that the rate you save today is your marginal one, while retirement withdrawals fill the low brackets first — which is why the retirement rate is often lower than people assume.
- Roth contributions phase out on income: for 2026 the range is $153,000 to $168,000 for single filers and heads of household, and $242,000 to $252,000 for married couples filing jointly (IRS Notice 2025-67, section 408A(c)(3)(A)). Above the top of the range direct Roth contributions are not allowed at all.
How this is calculated
- Annual Roth contribution, after tax
- $7,500
- Your tax rate now
- 22.0%
- Gross pay it takes to fund that
- $9,615
- Years of growth
- 35
- Annuity factor
- 138.2369
- Roth at retirement, nothing owed
- $1,036,777
- Traditional contribution, same gross cost
- $9,615
- Traditional at retirement, before tax
- $1,329,201
- Tax at your retirement rate
- 15.0%
- Traditional at retirement, after tax
- $1,129,821
- Retirement rate that makes them equal
- 22.0%
- Roth advantage
- -$93,044
Age
Compare scenarios
See how one change moves the result
- CurrentYour inputs as they stand$1,036,777Current
- Current ageyrs 38$558,629
- Retirement ageyrs 75$2,143,120
- Annual Roth contribution$/yr 9,500$1,313,250
For informational purposes only. This is not financial advice — confirm major decisions with a licensed advisor.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Roth IRA better than a traditional IRA?
Only if your tax rate in retirement is higher than it is today. Fund each account from the same gross pay and the Roth ends up ahead by exactly (1 minus your rate now) divided by (1 minus your rate in retirement). If those rates are equal the two accounts produce the same money to the cent, because taking the tax before growth and taking it after growth remove the same share. Neither the return you assume nor the number of years changes that.
What is the break-even retirement tax rate?
It is the rate at which the Roth and the traditional leave you with identical spendable money, and it is simply your current rate. Set the two rates equal on this page and the advantage falls to zero and the two curves lie on top of each other. Expect a higher rate later and the Roth wins; expect a lower one and the deduction is worth more.
Why compare gross cost instead of the same contribution?
Because putting 7,500 dollars into each account is not an equal sacrifice. The Roth deposit is made from take-home pay, so at a 22% rate it costs 9,615 dollars of gross pay; the traditional deposit of 7,500 dollars costs only 7,500 dollars of gross pay, and the tax you did not pay is still in your pocket. This page credits the traditional with the full gross amount so the two arms cost you the same. The equal-deposit figure is shown as a stat, and it flatters the Roth by construction.
How much can I put into a Roth IRA in 2026?
The IRA contribution limit is 7,500 dollars for the 2026 tax year, rising to 8,600 dollars from age 50, set by IRS Notice 2025-67 under section 219(b)(5). That is a combined limit across Roth and traditional IRAs, not one each. Because it is a cash figure rather than a pre-tax one, filling it with after-tax money shelters more, which is a genuine advantage for the Roth if you are contributing at the maximum.
Can I contribute to a Roth IRA at any income?
No. For 2026 the ability to contribute directly phases out between 153,000 and 168,000 dollars of modified adjusted gross income for single filers and heads of household, and between 242,000 and 252,000 dollars for married couples filing jointly, under section 408A(c)(3)(A) of IRS Notice 2025-67. Above the top of your range you cannot contribute directly at all, though a conversion from a traditional IRA is a separate route with its own tax consequences.
Will my tax rate really be lower in retirement?
Often, but by less than people assume in one direction and more in another. The rate you save today is your marginal rate, the tax on your last dollar of pay. In retirement your withdrawals fill the low brackets from the bottom up, so the effective rate on them is usually below your old marginal rate. Pulling the other way: a large traditional balance forces required minimum distributions from age 73, and Social Security becomes taxable as other income rises.
When can I take money out of a Roth IRA?
Your own contributions can be withdrawn at any time without tax or penalty, because the tax on them was settled at the outset. Earnings are different: they come out tax-free once you are 59 and a half and the account has been open five tax years. Withdraw earnings before both conditions are met and you owe income tax plus, in most cases, a 10% penalty.