Roth IRA calculator

Deductible traditional IRA contributions and pre-tax 401(k) contributions generally reduce taxable income now; later taxable withdrawals are income. Traditional IRA deductibility depends on eligibility, and after-tax basis is treated differently. A Roth flips that: no break now, no tax later on qualified withdrawals. The longer the money grows, the more that matters, because the growth is the part that escapes tax.

You need earned income, such as wages or self employment income, at least equal to what you contribute. Then your income decides how much of the limit you get:

1. It works out your 2026 limit from your age, filing status and modified AGI.
2. It subtracts any traditional IRA contributions, because both share one yearly limit.
3. It contributes the smaller of your planned amount and your allowed amount each year, rising to the age 50 catch up limit when you reach 50.
4. It grows the balance monthly at your yearly return divided by 12, until your projection age.

Because the tax break lands on the growth, and young savers have the most years of growth ahead. A Roth gives you no deduction when you put money in, but qualified withdrawals later are tax free.⁴ The bigger the growth, the bigger the tax you avoid.

For a separate annual-compounding illustration, picture one $7,500 contribution at age 25, left alone for 40 years at 7% a year. The calculator above uses monthly compounding instead. It grows to about $112,308. Only $7,500 of that is your own money; about $104,808 is growth. In a taxable account, much of that growth would be taxed along the way or when you sell. In a Roth, it can all come out tax free after 59½, once the five year rule is met.

The same $7,500 put in at age 55 has only 10 years to grow, so the tax saved is far smaller. That is why many people early in their careers, often in a lower tax bracket than they expect later, lean toward the Roth.

The age 22 example is the one to remember: $3,000 a year, $250 a month, grows to more than $800,000 because it has 43 years.

At $170,000 nothing new can go in, so the balance is just the $25,000 starting amount growing for 30 years. The calculator holds your income and the 2026 rules fixed, so treat this as a snapshot. Raises can push you into the phase out later.

The IRS worksheet reduces your limit across the income range, with rounding and minimum-contribution rules; the calculator applies those boundaries. For a single filer in 2026, the range runs from $153,000 to $168,000 of modified AGI, a $15,000 window.¹ Your limit falls by the share of that window your income has crossed.

At $160,000 you are $8,000 short of the top of the range. Divide $8,000 by $15,000 and you keep a little over half the limit: about $4,000 of the $7,500. For married couples filing jointly the window is narrower, $242,000 to $252,000, so a joint income of $247,000 sits right in the middle and allows about $3,750 each.

Two edge cases trip people up. First, the limit is tested on modified AGI, not salary, so a large bonus or capital gain can push you into the range late in the year. Second, the calculator caps each deposit at the allowed amount, but your brokerage will usually accept more than you are allowed, so check your income before you deposit.

You need taxable compensation, such as wages, salary or self employment income, at least equal to what you put in. A married couple filing jointly can use one spouse’s earnings to fund both spouses’ IRAs. The calculator does not check this, so make sure your earned income covers your contribution.

Previously undistributed regular contributions generally come out first without tax or penalty. Conversions have separate ordering and five-year rules. Earnings come out tax free once you are 59½ and at least five tax years have passed since the first tax year for which you contributed to any Roth IRA. Take earnings out before then and you may owe income tax plus a 10% additional tax, unless an exception applies.³

You can make 2026 contributions until the tax filing deadline in April 2027. Unlike a traditional IRA, there are no required minimum distributions from a Roth IRA during your lifetime.³

It can keep growing for as long as you live. Traditional IRA RMDs generally start at 73 for people born in 1951–1959 and 75 for those born in 1960 or later, but Roth IRAs have no required withdrawals while the owner is alive.⁶ You can also keep contributing after age 70½ if you still have earned income.⁴

That makes a Roth a flexible tool in retirement. In a year with large expenses, qualified Roth withdrawals do not raise federal taxable income, and in a quiet year you can leave it alone. Your heirs are a different story: people who inherit a Roth are still subject to the distribution rules.

The trade off is early access to earnings. Take earnings out before 59½ and you may owe income tax plus a 10% additional tax, unless an exception applies.⁵ Previously undistributed regular contributions, by contrast, generally come out first without tax or penalty, which is why some people treat a Roth as a backup emergency fund in their early years.