IRA Calculator

What does an IRA calculator work out?

An IRA calculator projects the balance of an individual retirement arrangement at retirement from your current balance, a yearly contribution, an assumed return and the years until you stop contributing, then shows what that balance is worth after tax for a Roth IRA (nothing owed on qualified withdrawals) and for a traditional IRA (taxed on the way out).

It also checks your contribution against the Internal Revenue Service limit for the year and your income against the Roth and deductibility phase-outs.

At the defaults — age 30, a $5,000 balance, $7,500 a year, 7% a year, 22% tax now and in retirement — the balance at 65 is $1,090,159, of which $262,500 is money you put in and $822,659 is earnings. As a Roth that is all spendable; as a traditional IRA, after 22% tax plus the reinvested tax savings, the same outlay yields $1,014,356.

Is a Roth or a traditional IRA better at the same after-tax cost?

A $7,500 Roth IRA contribution costs $7,500 after tax; a fully deductible $7,500 traditional contribution saves $7,500 × your marginal rate ($1,650 at 22%), so it really costs $5,850. A fair comparison puts $7,500 into each account plus $1,650 a year into a taxable side account, so both paths start from the same after-tax outlay.

The side account grows at your return less tax on each year's gains (7% × (1 − 0.22) = 5.46%). At retirement the traditional balance is taxed at your retirement rate and the side account is added. With $7,500 a year for 30 years at 7% and 22% both ways, the Roth ends at $708,456 and the traditional path at $671,286 ($552,596 after tax plus a $118,690 side account): the Roth is $37,170 ahead even at equal rates, because the side account is taxed every year while the Roth shelters everything. Drop the retirement rate to 12% and the traditional path wins by $33,676.

Most online tools compare $7,500 in the Roth against $7,500 in the traditional with no side account, which flatters the Roth by the whole tax saving. The IRS Roth comparison chart notes that the tax treatment is the main difference between the two; this calculator makes the treatment visible without saying which account is right for you.

How much can I contribute to an IRA in 2026?

The IRS limits what you can put into all your IRAs combined (Roth plus traditional) each year under §219(b). For 2026 the limit is $7,500, and if you reach age 50 by 31 December you may add a $1,100 catch-up for $8,600 in total (IRS Notice 2025-67; the 2025 figures were $7,000 and $8,000).

Contributions cannot exceed your earned income for the year. The limit is per person, not per account: $4,000 into a Roth IRA leaves $3,500 for a traditional IRA in 2026. A contribution above your limit that stays in the account is taxed 6% a year under §4973 until it is withdrawn. The calculator reads the limits from its dataset, labels the year, and warns when the contribution you enter exceeds the limit for your age.

What is the Roth IRA income limit for 2026?

Direct Roth contributions phase out with modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). For 2026 the ranges are $153,000–$168,000 for single and head-of-household filers, $242,000–$252,000 for married filing jointly, and $0–$10,000 for married filing separately if you lived with your spouse at any time in the year. At or above the top of the range no direct contribution is allowed.

Inside the range the limit is reduced in proportion: a single filer with $160,500 of MAGI (halfway through) may contribute $3,750, or $4,300 with the catch-up. Pub 590-A rounds the reduced limit up to the next $10 and never below $200. Enter your MAGI and filing status under Advanced and the eligibility strip shows the figure.

Above the limit, the backdoor route — a nondeductible traditional contribution followed by a conversion — has no income cap. Form 8606 tracks the basis and the pro-rata rule applies if you hold other pre-tax IRA money; the Roth conversion calculator on this site models the tax on the conversion step.

Is a traditional IRA contribution deductible?

Anyone with earned income can contribute to a traditional IRA, but the deduction depends on workplace-plan coverage and MAGI under §219(g). If neither you nor your spouse is covered by a plan at work, the full contribution is deductible at any income.

If you are covered, the 2026 deduction phases out between $81,000 and $91,000 (single or head of household) or $129,000 and $149,000 (married filing jointly). If you are not covered but your spouse is, the range is $242,000–$252,000. Married filing separately: $0–$10,000.

Inside a range the deductible amount is reduced in proportion, rounded up to the next $10 with a $200 floor (Pub 590-A Worksheet 1-2): a married couple filing jointly with $140,000 of MAGI where the contributor is covered may deduct $3,380 of a $7,500 contribution. The rest is a nondeductible contribution tracked on Form 8606 and returned tax-free at withdrawal.

Deductibility changes the comparison. A nondeductible contribution produces no tax saving to reinvest, so the equal-cost advantage disappears. When you enter a MAGI the calculator scales the reinvested saving to the deductible share; the eligibility strip states the share it used.

What does this IRA calculator assume and leave out?

The projection uses one annual contribution added at the end of each year, compounded once a year at a constant return — an illustration, not a prediction. Real returns vary; the IRS limit is held flat for every projection year because future indexing is unknown; and the limit check does not look at earned income.

Three assumptions to watch. The tax rates are yours and drive the comparison: when the retirement rate is lower than today's the traditional path leans ahead; when it is higher the Roth leans ahead. State tax is not modelled, so add it to both rates if you pay it. The side account assumes all growth is taxed each year at your current rate — a conservative stand-in for a taxable account with dividends; long-term capital gains rates would narrow the gap.

Required minimum distributions apply to traditional IRAs from age 73 (75 for those born in 1960 or later) and never to a Roth IRA in the owner's lifetime; the required minimum distribution calculator on this site works them out. This calculator gives an estimate under the assumptions you enter; it is not financial, tax or investment advice, and your custodian's statement holds your actual figures.