IRA vs Roth IRA Calculator
Compare U.S. Traditional IRA vs Roth IRA side-by-side using your current and expected retirement tax brackets. After-tax retirement balance both ways. Free.
IRA vs Roth IRA Calculator
⚠ Disclaimer: Estimates only. Not investment advice. RECATOOLS is not a licensed or registered investment adviser in any jurisdiction. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Trading and investing carry risk of partial or total loss of capital.
Compares Traditional IRA (pre-tax contribution, taxed withdrawal) vs Roth IRA (post-tax contribution, tax-free withdrawal) over the same investment horizon. Includes the "what if you invest the upfront tax savings" credit for Traditional — the apples-to-apples comparison most online calculators skip.
How to Use the IRA Comparison
Use your current marginal tax bracket
Enter the rate on your next dollar of income, not your average rate, and add your state rate if you pay one. The 2026 federal rates run from 10% to 37%.
Estimate your retirement tax rate
Enter the rate you expect on withdrawals in retirement. Nobody knows this for certain, so try a few values; the comparison turns on how the two rates compare.
Read the verdict bar first
The verdict names the winner and the dollar gap. It assumes the Traditional route invests its upfront tax saving in a taxable account and pays an assumed 15% on that account's gains. A small gap means the choice depends on other things: flexibility, required distributions, and what you expect of tax rates.
Consider tax diversification
Many planners recommend splitting contributions — fund Traditional in high-income years for the deduction, Roth in lower-income years for the tax-free space. Having both at retirement gives you control over yearly taxable income.
Traditional vs Roth — The Tax-Bracket Crossover Math
The core comparison
A Traditional IRA contribution may be deductible now and is taxed when you withdraw it. A Roth IRA contribution is not deductible, and qualified withdrawals are tax-free. If your tax rate is the same now and in retirement, the two give the same result on the money in the account, because multiplying by (1 − tax) before or after the growth makes no difference. The choice turns on whether your rate will be higher now or later.
This calculator adds one step most comparisons leave out. A Traditional contribution saves tax now, so it assumes you invest that saving in an ordinary taxable account, at the same return, paying an assumed 15% on its gains. Because only that side account is taxed, the Roth comes out slightly ahead when the two rates are equal. Until 1 October 2026 the page said the opposite in that case.
The 2026 limits
IRS Notice 2025-67 sets the 2026 IRA contribution limit at $7,500, with an extra $1,100 for people aged 50 or over, shared across your Traditional and Roth IRAs. The ability to contribute to a Roth IRA phases out between $153,000 and $168,000 of modified adjusted gross income for single filers and between $242,000 and $252,000 for married couples filing jointly. A Traditional IRA deduction phases out between $81,000 and $91,000 (single) or $129,000 and $149,000 (joint) if you are covered by a workplace plan.
"Age 73 for tax years 2023 and later."
IRS Publication 590-B, on when required minimum distributions from a traditional IRA beginWithdrawals and required distributions
IRS Publication 590-B sets out the rules. Traditional IRA owners must begin required minimum distributions at age 73 for tax years 2023 and later; Roth IRA owners do not take them during their lifetime. Withdrawals from a Roth IRA come out in a set order: regular contributions first, then conversion and rollover contributions, then earnings. Each conversion has its own 5-year period for the 10% additional tax, separate from the 5-year period that decides whether a distribution is qualified, and there are exceptions, including reaching age 59½.
The 2026 limits, the phase-outs, and the withdrawal rules
The 2026 IRA limit is $7,500, plus $1,100 from age 50, across Traditional and Roth together (Notice 2025-67).
Roth contributions phase out between $153,000 and $168,000 (single) and $242,000 and $252,000 (joint) in 2026.
The Traditional deduction phases out between $81,000 and $91,000 (single) if you have a workplace plan.
Required minimum distributions from a Traditional IRA start at age 73 for 2023 and later (Pub 590-B).
A Roth IRA has no required distributions during the owner's lifetime.
Roth withdrawals come out in order: contributions, then conversions, then earnings.
Each Roth conversion has its own 5-year period for the 10% additional tax, with exceptions including age 59½.
At equal tax rates the two accounts give the same result on the money inside them.
This calculator assumes the Traditional route's tax saving is invested and taxed at 15% on its gains.
In 2026 the workplace 401(k) deferral limit is $24,500, separate from the IRA limit (Notice 2025-67).
Frequently Asked Questions
- It depends mainly on whether your tax rate is higher now or in retirement. If it is higher now, deducting now (Traditional) tends to win; if it will be higher later, paying the tax now (Roth) tends to win; if they are equal, the accounts give the same result. Enter your own rates and the calculator shows the dollar difference, including the effect of investing the Traditional tax saving.
- In 2026 the Roth contribution phases out between $153,000 and $168,000 for single filers and $242,000 and $252,000 for joint filers. Above that you cannot contribute directly. Some people make a non-deductible Traditional contribution and convert it to a Roth; if you hold other pre-tax IRA money, part of the conversion is taxable, and it is reported on Form 8606. Take advice before doing it.
- Yes. The 2026 limit of $7,500 ($8,600 at 50 or over) applies to your Traditional and Roth IRA contributions combined, so you can split it between them.
- From age 59½ the 10% additional tax on early distributions generally no longer applies, though Traditional withdrawals remain taxable. Roth IRA contributions come out first and are not taxed; earnings are tax-free in a qualified distribution, which needs both the 5-year period and another condition such as age 59½. IRS Publication 590-B lists the exceptions for earlier withdrawals.
- Banks, brokerages and fund companies offer IRAs. Compare fees, the investments available and how easily you can move money in and out. Fees matter more than they seem over decades, so prefer low-cost funds.
- Yes. They have separate limits: $7,500 for IRAs and $24,500 for 401(k) deferrals in 2026 (IRS Notice 2025-67). Having a workplace plan can limit how much of a Traditional IRA contribution you can deduct, but you can still contribute.
- Converting part of a Traditional IRA to a Roth each year, usually in lower-income years, so each conversion is taxed at a lower rate. Each conversion starts its own 5-year period for the 10% additional tax on early distributions, so plan withdrawals around those dates (IRS Publication 590-B).
- State rules differ. Some states have no income tax; others tax retirement income fully or partly. Add your state's marginal rate to your federal rate in both boxes, and check your state tax department for how it treats IRA withdrawals.
- Beneficiaries pay income tax on taxable withdrawals from an inherited Traditional IRA, while qualified withdrawals from an inherited Roth IRA are tax-free. Many beneficiaries must empty the account within a set period; IRS Publication 590-B explains which rules apply to which beneficiaries.
- Eligibility depends on having taxable compensation in the US, not on citizenship. Whether it makes sense depends on how long you expect to stay and how your home country will tax the money when you withdraw it, which varies by country and tax treaty. Take cross-border tax advice before relying on either account.
Method & sources
How it computes
Future value of yearly contributions (capped at the 2026 IRA limit of $7,500, $8,600 at 50+) taxed at the retirement rate for Traditional and tax-free for Roth; the Traditional side also invests its yearly tax saving in a taxable account, with an assumed 15% tax on that account's gains.
What this tool implements
- At equal tax rates the verdict said Traditional wins; with this model the Roth always edges ahead there, because only the Traditional route's side account is taxed (e.g. $708,456 vs $691,051 at 24%, 7%, 30 years). Verdicts now report the actual winner without asserting a cause the inputs do not show.
- Notice 2025-67: $7,500 + $1,100; Roth phase-out $153-168K / $242-252K; Traditional deduction phase-out $81-91K / $129-149K. Pub 590-B: RMDs at 73, no lifetime Roth RMDs, ordering rules, per-conversion 5-year periods with exceptions including 59½ (the page said the conversion clock applies 'even if you're over 59½').
- Removed as unsourced: Vanguard ownership statistics, the SEP figure ($70,000; 2026's 415(c) limit is $72,000), HSA limits, state lists, custodian recommendations and treaty claims.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2025-67: 2026 amounts relating to retirement plans and IRAs. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/n-25-67.pdf
- Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B (2025), Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590b.pdf
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