What will my IRA be worth?
Enter your age, what you put in each year, and your tax rates now and in retirement. See your IRA at retirement, its value after tax, and how a Roth IRA compares.
- At retirement your IRA holds
- $910,292.91
At 7% a year, your IRA grows to $910,292.91 by age 65, or $801,057.76 after tax at your retirement rate.
- After tax on withdrawal
- $801,057.76
- Your contributions
- $225,000.00
- Tax-deferred growth
- $665,292.91
- Tax saved by deductions
- $49,500.00
- Roth IRA with the same cost
- $725,252.98
- Better after tax
- Traditional IRA
- By how much
- $75,804.78
- You can deduct this year
- $7,500.00
- Years
- 30
At retirement your IRA holds: $910,292.91. At 7% a year, your IRA grows to $910,292.91 by age 65, or $801,057.76 after tax at your retirement rate.
Traditional or Roth IRA after tax?
How does your IRA grow?
What does each year look like?
The results are estimates for information only. They are not financial, tax, or legal advice. Check the numbers with your lender or a qualified professional before you decide. Terms of use
How to calculate
Projects a traditional IRA at retirement from yearly contributions within the IRS limit, the deductible part, the value after tax, and a Roth IRA with the same cost.
Example with the default inputs (Your age 35, Retirement age 65, IRA balance today $20,000.00, Yearly contribution $7,500.00, Expected yearly return 7%, Your tax rate now 22%, Your tax rate in retirement 12%, Retirement plan at work? Neither of us, Tax filing status Single): At 7% a year, your IRA grows to $910,292.91 by age 65, or $801,057.76 after tax at your retirement rate.
Method: Each year, contribution = min(your amount, the IRS limit), deducted = min(contribution, the deduction limit after the phase-out), and balance = (balance + contribution) × (1 + R); after tax = balance − retirement tax × (balance − nondeductible contributions).
- The 2026 IRS limits and deduction ranges stay the same in later years, and your income stays the same.
- Your taxable pay is at least what you put in.
- Contributions are made at the start of each year, and the return stays the same every year.
- Today’s balance holds no nondeductible contributions.
- “After tax” taxes everything except nondeductible contributions at your retirement rate, as if you took it all out at once.
- The Roth IRA comparison ignores the Roth income limit.
- This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice.
Worked examples
Each example is checked against the calculator on every build.
- Your age 30, Retirement age 31, IRA balance today $0.00, Yearly contribution $6,000.00, Expected yearly return 10%, Your tax rate now 22%, Your tax rate in retirement 12%, Retirement plan at work? Neither of us, Tax filing status Single gives At retirement your IRA holds $6,600.00, After tax on withdrawal $5,808.00, Tax saved by deductions $1,320.00, Roth IRA with the same cost $5,148.00, Better after tax Traditional IRA, By how much $660.00.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx
- Your age 40, Retirement age 41, IRA balance today $0.00, Yearly contribution $7,500.00, Expected yearly return 0%, Your tax rate now 22%, Your tax rate in retirement 12%, Retirement plan at work? I have one, Tax filing status Single, Modified adjusted gross income $86,000.00 gives You can deduct this year $3,750.00, Tax saved by deductions $825.00.Source: IRS Publication 590-A Worksheet 1-2 with the 2026 single range $81,000 to $91,000; hand calculation
- Your age 40, Retirement age 41, IRA balance today $0.00, Yearly contribution $7,500.00, Expected yearly return 0%, Your tax rate now 22%, Your tax rate in retirement 12%, Retirement plan at work? I have one, Tax filing status Married, joint, Modified adjusted gross income $130,000.00 gives You can deduct this year $7,130.00.Source: IRS Publication 590-A Worksheet 1-2 with the 2026 joint range $129,000 to $149,000; hand calculation
- Your age 55, Retirement age 56, IRA balance today $0.00, Yearly contribution $8,600.00, Expected yearly return 0%, Your tax rate now 22%, Your tax rate in retirement 12%, Retirement plan at work? Only my spouse, Tax filing status Married, joint, Modified adjusted gross income $245,000.00 gives You can deduct this year $6,020.00.Source: IRS Publication 590-A Worksheet 1-2 with the 2026 spouse-covered range $242,000 to $252,000
- Your age 40, Retirement age 41, IRA balance today $0.00, Yearly contribution $7,500.00, Expected yearly return 10%, Your tax rate now 22%, Your tax rate in retirement 12%, Retirement plan at work? I have one, Tax filing status Single, Modified adjusted gross income $95,000.00 gives You can deduct this year $0.00, At retirement your IRA holds $8,250.00, After tax on withdrawal $8,160.00, Roth IRA with the same cost $8,250.00, Better after tax Roth IRA, By how much $90.00.Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: no deduction, so the $7,500 is basis and only the $750 of growth is taxed
How the contribution and deduction are worked out
The calculator uses the 2026 IRS amounts for every year: a $7,500 limit, plus a $1,100 catch-up in years when your age is 50 or more. Your age in year k (k = 0 is this year) is your age + k. Each year you put in the lesser of your yearly contribution and that limit.
Deduction limit. With no retirement plan at work for you or your spouse, the whole limit is deductible. Otherwise the range of modified AGI depends on who has a plan and your filing status:
| Plan at work | Filing status | Range of modified AGI |
|---|---|---|
| You | Single or head of household | $81,000 to $91,000 |
| You | Married filing jointly | $129,000 to $149,000 |
| Only your spouse | Married filing jointly | $242,000 to $252,000 |
| You or your spouse | Married filing separately, living together | $0 to $10,000 |
"Only your spouse" with the single status is treated as no plan. Married filing separately and living apart all year counts as single (Pub 590-A). With the full limit F (7,500 or 8,600), your MAGI M, and the range start A and end B:
- If M is A or less, you can deduct F.
- If M is B or more, you can deduct nothing.
- Otherwise, you can deduct F × (B − M) ÷ (B − A), rounded up to the next $10, and at least $200. The amount is rounded to the cent before rounding up to $10.
The deducted amount each year is the lesser of the contribution and this limit. The rest is a nondeductible contribution (your basis). Your MAGI stays the same in every year. The MAGI field is used only when you or your spouse has a plan.
How the balance and tax are worked out
For each year from now until the year before your retirement age, with the yearly return R, your tax rate now t₁, and your tax rate in retirement t₂ (as decimals):
- The contribution goes in at the start of the year: balance = (balance + contribution) × (1 + R).
- After tax on withdrawal = balance − t₂ × (balance − basis), where basis adds up the nondeductible contributions. Today’s balance has no basis.
- Tax saved by deductions adds deducted × t₁ over the years.
- Roth IRA with the same cost: each year a Roth IRA gets the contribution minus the tax the deduction saves (contribution − deducted × t₁), and grows at the same return: roth = (roth + that amount) × (1 + R). It starts with today’s balance × (1 − t₂), because today’s balance is taxed the same way in both cases. Its value is after tax.
The results:
- At retirement your IRA holds is the balance after the last year, before tax.
- Your contributions adds every year’s contribution. Tax-deferred growth is the final balance minus today’s balance and your contributions.
- Better after tax names the larger of the two after-tax values (or "About the same" when they differ by less than half a cent), and by how much is the difference.
- You can deduct this year is the lesser of this year’s contribution and the deduction limit.
If the retirement age is not more than your age, there is no answer.
Assumptions
- The 2026 IRS limits and ranges stay the same, and your taxable pay is at least what you put in.
- The return is the same every year.
- The Roth IRA comparison ignores the Roth IRA income limit.
- This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice.
Worked examples by hand
$6,000 for one year at 10%, no plan at work, 22% tax now, 12% later. The balance is 6,000 × 1.10 = $6,600. After tax: 6,600 × (1 − 0.12) = $5,808. The deduction saves 6,000 × 0.22 = $1,320. A Roth IRA with the same cost gets 6,000 − 1,320 = $4,680 and grows to 4,680 × 1.10 = $5,148. The traditional IRA is better by $660.
Plan at work, single, age 40, $86,000 MAGI. 7,500 × (91,000 − 86,000) ÷ 10,000 = $3,750 deductible, which saves 3,750 × 0.22 = $825.
Plan at work, married filing jointly, $130,000 MAGI. 7,500 × (149,000 − 130,000) ÷ 20,000 = 7,125, rounded up to $7,130.
Only your spouse has a plan, joint, age 55, $245,000 MAGI. The full limit is $8,600. 8,600 × (252,000 − 245,000) ÷ 10,000 = $6,020.
Plan at work, single, $95,000 MAGI, one year at 10%. $95,000 is above $91,000, so nothing is deductible and the $7,500 is basis. The balance is $8,250; only the $750 of growth is taxed: 8,250 − 0.12 × 750 = $8,160. A Roth IRA with the same cost gets the full $7,500 (no tax saved) and grows to $8,250, so the Roth IRA is better by $90.
Note on the IRS example. Publication 590-A (2025), Worksheet 1-2, Example 1 shows $6,825 on line 4 (0.35 × $19,500) although the same line says to round up to the next $10. The calculator follows the rule in the worksheet text and in section 219(g)(2)(C), which rounds the $675 reduction down to $670, so the deduction is $6,830.
Other questions people ask
How much can I put in an IRA in 2026?
For 2026 the IRA limit is $7,500, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older. The limit covers all your traditional and Roth IRAs together, and you also need at least that much taxable pay (or a spouse’s, on a joint return).
Can I deduct my traditional IRA contribution?
If neither you nor your spouse has a retirement plan at work, yes, all of it. If you have one, the deduction phases out for 2026 modified AGI from $81,000 to $91,000 (single) or $129,000 to $149,000 (married filing jointly). If only your spouse has one, it phases out from $242,000 to $252,000 on a joint return. Married filing separately and living together at any time in the year: $0 to $10,000. If you lived apart all year, you are treated as single.
How is the reduced deduction worked out?
IRS Worksheet 1-2: take the end of your range minus your MAGI, times your contribution limit, divided by the width of the range. Round up to the next $10, and if it is under $200, you can still deduct $200. The part you cannot deduct can still go in as a nondeductible contribution, and it is not taxed again when you take it out.
Traditional or Roth IRA: which is better?
It depends mostly on your tax rate now compared with in retirement. A deduction saves tax at today’s rate; traditional withdrawals are taxed at your future rate. If the rates are equal, a fully deductible traditional IRA and a Roth IRA with the same cost today end up the same after tax. If you expect a lower rate in retirement, the traditional IRA leaves more; if higher, the Roth IRA does. The calculator shows both.
When do I have to take money out of a traditional IRA?
You generally must start required minimum distributions by April 1 of the year after you reach age 73. Withdrawals before age 59½ usually carry a 10% additional tax as well as income tax, unless an exception applies.
What does "after tax on withdrawal" mean?
It is the balance minus income tax at your retirement rate on everything except your nondeductible contributions, as if you took it all out at once. In practice people take money out over many years, often at lower rates, so this is a simple estimate.