How to use the IRA calculator
Enter the money you already have saved, the pre-tax income you plan to set aside each year, the expected rate of return, your current age and retirement age, your marginal tax rate now and the rate you expect in retirement. The calculator puts the same pre-tax money into a traditional IRA, a Roth IRA and a regular taxable account, and shows each balance at retirement before and after tax, with a year-by-year schedule you can export to CSV or PDF.
What is an IRA?
An individual retirement account (IRA) is a tax-advantaged account for retirement savings in the United States. With a traditional IRA, and with SIMPLE and SEP IRAs offered by employers and the self-employed, you save pre-tax money and pay income tax when you withdraw it. With a Roth IRA you pay the tax first and the withdrawals are tax-free. In a regular taxable account you pay tax on the money you put in and on the return every year.
Traditional vs. Roth IRA: which comes out ahead?
It mostly depends on your tax rate now compared with the rate in retirement. If you expect a lower rate later, a traditional IRA usually wins, because you avoid the higher tax today. If you expect a higher rate, a Roth IRA wins. When the two rates are the same, both end with the same money after tax. Both beat a taxable account, where the return is taxed every year. With the default inputs and a 25% tax rate now, the traditional IRA after tax compares with the Roth IRA's $799,758 like this:
| Tax rate in retirement | Traditional IRA after tax | Comes out ahead |
|---|---|---|
| 10% | $959,709 | Traditional, by $159,951 |
| 15% | $906,392 | Traditional, by $106,634 |
| 25% | $799,758 | The same |
| 32% | $725,114 | Roth, by $74,644 |
IRA calculator example
Setting aside $7,500 of pre-tax income a year from 30 to 65, with $30,000 already saved, a 6% return, a 25% tax rate now and 15% in retirement: the traditional IRA grows to $1,066,343, or $906,392 after tax. A Roth IRA, funded with the $5,625 left after tax each year, grows to $799,758, and a taxable account to $563,434. These are the default inputs of the calculator.
IRA formulas in Excel
- Traditional IRA:
=FV(6%, 35, -7500, -30000)returns $1,066,343; multiply by (1 − 15%) for $906,392 after tax. - Roth IRA:
=FV(6%, 35, -5625, -22500)returns $799,758. - Taxable account:
=FV(4.5%, 35, -5625, -22500)returns $563,434.
2026 IRA contribution limits
| Account | Yearly limit | Catch-up from 50 |
|---|---|---|
| Traditional and Roth IRA, together | $7,500 | $1,100 |
| SIMPLE IRA | $17,000 | $4,000 ($5,250 at 60 to 63) |
| SEP IRA | 25% of pay, at most $72,000 | None |
The $7,500 limit, or $8,600 from age 50, is shared by all your traditional and Roth IRAs and can't be more than your earned income. SIMPLE IRA contributions come out of your paycheck, and the employer adds a match or a fixed contribution. A SEP IRA is funded by the employer only; for the self-employed, 25% of pay works out to about 20% of net self-employment earnings.
2026 traditional IRA deduction limits
Anyone with earned income can contribute to a traditional IRA, but if you or your spouse are covered by a retirement plan at work, the tax deduction shrinks and then disappears in these ranges of modified adjusted gross income:
| Who | Deduction phases out |
|---|---|
| Single or head of household, covered by a workplace plan | $81,000 to $91,000 |
| Married filing jointly, you are covered by a workplace plan | $129,000 to $149,000 |
| Married filing jointly, only your spouse is covered | $242,000 to $252,000 |
| Married filing separately and lived together, either of you is covered | $0 to $10,000 |
If neither of you is covered by a workplace plan, the whole contribution is deductible at any income. A contribution you can't deduct is still allowed and grows tax-deferred. The Roth IRA has its own income limits, shown with the Roth IRA calculator.
IRA withdrawals and rollovers
- From age 59½ you can take money out without a penalty. Traditional IRA withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income.
- Before 59½ withdrawals usually cost a 10% penalty on top of the tax, with exceptions such as a disability, qualified higher education costs or up to $10,000 for a first home.
- From age 73, or 75 for people born in 1960 or later, you must take a required minimum distribution each year; the RMD calculator shows how much.
- Money from a 401(k) can be rolled over into an IRA. A direct transfer between accounts avoids tax withholding; if the money is paid to you, you have 60 days to deposit it, and only one such IRA-to-IRA rollover is allowed in 12 months.
IRA vs. other retirement calculators
To see how a Roth IRA alone grows, with the income limits and maximum contributions, use the Roth IRA calculator. For a workplace plan with an employer match, use the 401(k) calculator, and to check whether all your savings and Social Security are enough, the retirement calculator. The income tax calculator helps you find your marginal tax rate now.