Roth IRA Calculator
Project your Roth IRA balance at retirement with 2026 contribution limits ($7,000/$8,000 if 50+).
Roth IRA Calculator: Project Your 100% Tax-Free Retirement Balance
A Roth IRA is one of the sharpest wealth-building deals in the US tax code: you contribute dollars you have already paid income tax on today, and in exchange the IRS never taxes your investment gains, dividends, or qualified retirement withdrawals again. Over a 30- or 35-year career, tax-free compounding typically generates three to four times more spendable wealth than your out-of-pocket contributions. Our Roth IRA calculator models your projected balance at retirement, calculates total tax-free growth, and runs an apples-to-apples after-tax comparison against a Traditional IRA based on your current and future federal tax brackets.
What Is a Roth IRA Calculator?
A Roth IRA calculator forecasts how annual post-tax contributions and an existing Roth balance compound over time while comparing that tax-free finish line against a tax-deferred Traditional IRA. Because Traditional IRA contributions create an upfront tax deduction, comparing identical dollar contributions side by side is misleading unless you account for the tax break. Our tool grosses up the Traditional IRA comparison (Contribution ÷ (1 − Current Bracket)) and then deducts your expected retirement tax rate at the end, showing which account truly leaves more spendable money in your pocket.
Take Maya, a 30-year-old product designer in Austin, Texas, who already has $10,000 in her Roth IRA and contributes $7,000 at the start of every year until age 65. Earning a 7% inflation-adjusted annual return, Maya puts in $245,000 of new contributions over 35 years ($255,000 total basis including her starting $10,000). By age 65, her Roth IRA reaches $1,142,160—meaning $887,160 of her nest egg is pure investment growth that she can spend in retirement without owing the IRS a single dime.
How the Roth IRA Calculator Works — Formula & Step-by-Step Example
Assuming annual contributions made at the beginning of each compounding year (maximizing time in the market), the calculator iterates year by year from your current age to your target retirement age:
Year(k) Balance = [Year(k−1) Balance + Annual Contribution] × (1 + r)
Closed-Form Equivalent = B0 × (1 + r)^n + C × [((1 + r)^n − 1) ÷ r] × (1 + r)
Let’s walk through Maya’s 35-year projection (B0 = $10,000, C = $7,000, r = 7%, n = 35 years, current bracket 22%, expected retirement bracket 24%):
- Compounded Starting Balance: $10,000 × (1.07)^35 = $106,766
- Compounded Annual Contributions: $7,000 × [((1.07)^35 − 1) ÷ 0.07] × 1.07 = $7,000 × 138.2369 × 1.07 = $1,035,394
- Total Tax-Free Roth IRA Balance at Age 65: $106,766 + $1,035,394 = $1,142,160
- Total Out-of-Pocket Contributions: $245,000 new + $10,000 initial = $255,000
- Tax-Free Growth Earned: $1,142,160 − $255,000 = $887,160
- Traditional IRA Comparison: Investing the pre-tax equivalent of $8,974/yr (
$7,000 ÷ 0.78) grows to $1,327,428 pre-tax, which shrinks after 24% retirement tax to $1,008,845—giving the Roth IRA a decisive advantage plus zero Required Minimum Distributions.
To check where your household sits in the federal brackets right now, run your salary through our Income Tax Calculator.
2025 & 2026 IRS Roth IRA Contribution Limits and MAGI Phase-Out Thresholds
The IRS caps both how much you can contribute to all IRAs combined (Roth plus Traditional) and how much Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) you can earn while contributing directly to a Roth IRA. Note that you must also have earned income (W-2 wages or net self-employment income) at least equal to your contribution:
| IRS Rule / Filing Status | 2025 Tax Year | 2026 Tax Year | Notes & Catch-Up Rules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Contribution Limit (Under 50) | $7,000 | $7,500 | Combined cap across all Traditional & Roth IRAs |
| Age 50+ Catch-Up Limit | $8,000 ($1,000 catch-up) | $8,600 ($1,100 catch-up) | Catch-up indexed for inflation starting in 2026 under SECURE 2.0 |
| Single / Head of Household MAGI Phase-Out | $150,000 – $165,000 | $153,000 – $168,000 | Full limit below floor; $0 direct contribution above ceiling |
| Married Filing Jointly MAGI Phase-Out | $236,000 – $246,000 | $242,000 – $252,000 | Non-working spouse can also fund a Spousal Roth IRA |
| Married Filing Separately (lived together) | $0 – $10,000 | $0 – $10,000 | Severely restricted; most MFS filers use Backdoor Roth |
High-Earner Strategy: Backdoor Roth IRA, Pro-Rata Trap & the 5-Year Rules
Earning above $165,000 Single ($168,000 in 2026) or $246,000 Married Filing Jointly ($252,000 in 2026) blocks direct Roth IRA contributions, but Congress left the “Backdoor Roth IRA” completely legal. You simply contribute $7,000 (or $7,500 for 2026) as a non-deductible contribution to a Traditional IRA, wait a few days for funds to settle, convert the balance to your Roth IRA, and report the non-taxable conversion on IRS Form 8606. There is one critical catch: the IRS Pro-Rata Rule aggregates all of your Traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRA balances on December 31 of the conversion year. If you hold a $93,000 pre-tax Rollover IRA alongside your $7,000 non-deductible contribution, 93% of your conversion ($6,510) becomes immediately taxable. Rolling existing pre-tax IRA money into your workplace 401(k) before December 31 clears that pro-rata balance cleanly.
Roth IRAs also double as a backstop emergency reserve because IRS ordering rules let you withdraw your direct contributions first—at any age and for any reason—with zero tax and zero 10% penalty. Investment earnings, however, require both reaching age 59½ and satisfying the 5-year clock (measured from January 1 of the tax year of your very first Roth IRA contribution) to exit tax- and penalty-free, apart from a $10,000 lifetime first-time homebuyer exception.
Common Mistakes People Make With the Roth IRA Calculator
- Depositing cash into a Roth IRA and leaving it uninvested in the settlement sweep fund: Every year, thousands of savers transfer $7,000 into a Roth IRA at Vanguard, Fidelity, or Schwab and forget to buy an index fund or ETF. Earning 2% in cash instead of 7% in equities over 35 years shrinks $1,035,394 down to $356,961—a $678,433 mistake.
- Waiting until the April 15 tax deadline instead of contributing in January: Funding your IRA 15 months later every single year sacrifices a full year of compounding on every contribution. Across 35 years at 7% on $7,000/yr, January lump-sum investing finishes $67,736 ahead of waiting until the end of the cycle.
- Triggering the 6% IRS excess contribution penalty after a year-end bonus: If a surprise December bonus pushes your MAGI past the phase-out ceiling after you already funded your Roth IRA, the IRS charges a 6% excise tax every year the excess remains. Fix it before your October 15 extended filing deadline by requesting a “recharacterization” to a Traditional IRA (not a plain withdrawal), then converting via Backdoor Roth.
Test your retirement timeline above, and pair your Roth IRA with a workplace Health Savings Account and broader retirement plan to diversify both pre-tax and tax-free income streams.
Related Calculators: Retirement Calculator · Compound Interest Calculator · HSA Calculator
How to Use This Calculator
Roth Balance = Sum over t years of [(Prior Balance + Annual Contribution) × (1 + r)]; Tax-Free Growth = Final Roth Balance − Starting Balance − Total Contributions
- Enter your Current Age and target Retirement Age to set the exact number of tax-free compounding years.
- Input your planned Annual Contribution up to the statutory IRS limit ($7,000 in 2025 or $7,500 in 2026; $8,000/$8,600 if age 50+).
- Add your Current Roth IRA Balance if you already hold existing Roth funds, or leave $0 if opening your first account.
- Set your Expected Annual Return—7% represents the long-run inflation-adjusted S&P 500 historical return, while 9%–10% models nominal equity growth.
- Select your Current Tax Bracket and Expected Retirement Tax Bracket to compare your tax-free Roth IRA balance against an after-tax Traditional IRA.