Traditional vs Roth IRA Calculator
Enter what your IRA holds today, how much pay you set aside for it each year, your current age, your retirement age, the annual return you expect, your marginal tax rate today and the rate you expect in retirement. The calculator shows the balance at retirement in a traditional IRA and in a Roth IRA, what each one leaves you after income tax, and which leaves more and by how much. Both accounts cost you the same pre-tax pay. The traditional IRA gets the whole contribution and the Roth IRA gets what is left after tax at your current rate. The calculator does not invest the tax the traditional deduction saves you.
2026 IRS limit: $7,500.00, or $8,600.00 at 50 or older.
How to use the Traditional vs Roth IRA Calculator
- Enter what your IRA holds today. If you are opening your first IRA, enter 0.
- Enter the pay you put toward the IRA each year, before tax. For 2026 the IRS limit is $7,500, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older. The limit shows under the field.
- Enter your current age, your retirement age and the annual return you expect.
- Enter your marginal tax rate today and the rate you expect to pay on withdrawals in retirement.
- Press Calculate. If your contribution is above the limit for your age, the calculator uses the limit and says so above the result.
How the comparison works
B = P × (1 + r)^n + C × ((1 + r)^n − 1) / r · · · Traditional after tax = B × (1 − t_ret) · · · Roth after tax = B × (1 − t_now)
P is your current balance, C is the annual contribution, r is the annual return and n is the number of years from your current age to your retirement age. The balance grows once a year and one contribution goes in at the end of each year, so B is the traditional IRA balance at retirement. With a 0% return, B is P + C × n. If you retire this year, B is P. You pay tax on that balance at your retirement rate t_ret when you take it out. The Roth IRA starts from P × (1 − t_now) and gets C × (1 − t_now) each year, which is the same money after tax at your current rate t_now, so its balance is B × (1 − t_now) and you pay no tax on it when you take it out. Both after-tax values are B times one minus a tax rate, so the account with the lower rate leaves more. That is the traditional IRA when your rate in retirement is lower than today and the Roth IRA when it is higher. With equal rates, both leave the same amount. The return and the years change the size of the gap, never which account leads. Each figure is rounded to the cent, and the tax on withdrawal is the balance minus the after-tax value.
Worked example
Age 30, retiring at 65, with a $10,000 balance, $7,500 a year, a 7% return, a 22% tax rate now and 12% in retirement. The traditional IRA keeps the $10,000, gets $7,500 a year and grows to $1,143,542.40. Tax at 12% takes $137,225.09 when you withdraw it, which leaves $1,006,317.31. The Roth IRA starts from $7,800.00, the $10,000 after 22% tax, gets $5,850.00 a year and grows to $891,963.07 that you keep in full. The traditional IRA leaves $114,354.24 more. If you expected 22% in retirement too, both accounts would leave $891,963.07.
Frequently asked questions
Which leaves more, a traditional or a Roth IRA?
In this calculator, the account taxed at the lower rate. If you expect a lower tax rate in retirement than you pay now, the traditional IRA leaves more after tax. If you expect a higher rate, the Roth IRA leaves more. If the two rates are the same, both leave the same amount to the cent. The return and the number of years change the size of the gap, not the winner.
What does the calculator assume about the tax deduction?
It compares the two accounts for the same pre-tax pay. The traditional IRA gets your whole contribution, because you deduct it from your income. The Roth IRA gets the contribution minus income tax at your current rate. The calculator treats the traditional contribution as fully deductible and taxes the whole traditional balance at your retirement rate when you withdraw it. It does not invest the tax you save anywhere else.
How does the calculator count the balance I already have?
The same way as a contribution. The traditional IRA starts from your whole balance, and you pay tax on it at your retirement rate when you withdraw it. The Roth IRA starts from that balance after tax at your current rate, so with $10,000 and a 22% rate it starts from $7,800.00. Both columns begin with the same money before tax, and the result tells you which account type would leave more for all of it. If some of your balance already sits in a Roth IRA, that part has been taxed, and the Roth column shows less than it is worth.
What is the 2026 IRA contribution limit?
For 2026 the IRS caps what you put into all your traditional and Roth IRAs together at $7,500, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older, which is a $1,100 catch-up. If your taxable compensation for the year is lower, that is your limit. The figures come from the IRS page Retirement topics - IRA contribution limits. The calculator shows the limit under the contribution field and applies the one for the current age you enter. If you type more, it uses the limit and puts a note above the result. It uses the same contribution and the 2026 limit every year and does not check your compensation.
What if I can afford the full limit in a Roth IRA?
Then this comparison gives the Roth less than you would put in. The calculator applies the limit to the pre-tax pay, so with $7,500 of pay and a 22% rate the Roth gets $5,850.00. A $7,500 Roth contribution costs more pay than a $7,500 traditional one, and the calculator does not model that case. If you can fill the Roth to the limit, it holds more money than the result shows.
Can anyone contribute to a Roth IRA or deduct a traditional IRA?
Not always. The IRS says your Roth IRA contribution may be limited by your income and filing status, and your traditional IRA deduction may be limited if you or your spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work. The calculator checks neither. It assumes you can make the full Roth contribution and take the full deduction.