# What will my IRA be worth?

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.

- Page: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/ira-calculator
- JSON spec: https://www.acalculator.org/finance/ira-calculator.json
- Version: 70b6174f4939

## Default answer

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.

## Inputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| age | Your age | Your age at the end of this year. |
| retire | Retirement age | The age you stop contributing. Contributions run for (retirement age − your age) years. |
| balance | IRA balance today | What is in your traditional IRA now. It is treated as money that was never taxed. |
| contrib | Yearly contribution | What you plan to put in each year. The calculator lowers it to your IRS limit if it is more. |
| rate | Expected yearly return | The yearly return. It stays the same every year. |
| taxnow | Your tax rate now | Your marginal income tax rate now: the tax a deduction saves on each dollar. |
| taxlater | Your tax rate in retirement | The income tax rate you expect to pay on withdrawals in retirement. |
| covered | Retirement plan at work? | Whether you, or only your spouse, can take part in a retirement plan at work. It can limit the deduction. |
| status | Tax filing status | Single (also head of household, or married filing separately and living apart all year), married filing jointly, or married filing separately and living together. |
| magi | Modified adjusted gross income | Your modified AGI (both spouses if you file jointly). It limits the deduction with a workplace plan. |

## Outputs

| Key | Label | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| total | At retirement your IRA holds | The traditional IRA balance at the end of the last year before retirement, before tax. |
| afterTax | After tax on withdrawal | The balance minus tax at your retirement rate on all of it except nondeductible contributions, as if it all came out. |
| contributions | Your contributions | Every contribution from now until retirement, after the IRS limit. |
| growth | Tax-deferred growth | The balance at retirement minus today’s balance and your contributions. |
| taxSaved | Tax saved by deductions | Every deducted contribution times your tax rate now, added up. |
| roth | Roth IRA with the same cost | What a Roth IRA would hold at retirement if each year you put in the contribution minus the tax the deduction saves. |
| better | Better after tax | Which account leaves more after tax: the traditional IRA or a Roth IRA with the same cost. |
| gap | By how much | The difference between the traditional IRA after tax and the Roth IRA. |
| deductible | You can deduct this year | The most of this year’s contribution you can deduct at your age and income (2026 limits). |

## 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).

## Assumptions

- 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

1. age = 30, retire = 31, balance = $0.00, contrib = $6,000.00, rate = 10%, taxnow = 22%, taxlater = 12%, covered = none, status = single gives total = $6,600.00, afterTax = $5,808.00, taxSaved = $1,320.00, roth = $5,148.00, better = Traditional IRA, gap = $660.00. Source: hand calculation in content.mdx.
2. age = 40, retire = 41, balance = $0.00, contrib = $7,500.00, rate = 0%, taxnow = 22%, taxlater = 12%, covered = you, status = single, magi = $86,000.00 gives deductible = $3,750.00, taxSaved = $825.00. Source: IRS Publication 590-A Worksheet 1-2 with the 2026 single range $81,000 to $91,000; hand calculation.
3. age = 40, retire = 41, balance = $0.00, contrib = $7,500.00, rate = 0%, taxnow = 22%, taxlater = 12%, covered = you, status = joint, magi = $130,000.00 gives deductible = $7,130.00. Source: IRS Publication 590-A Worksheet 1-2 with the 2026 joint range $129,000 to $149,000; hand calculation.
4. age = 55, retire = 56, balance = $0.00, contrib = $8,600.00, rate = 0%, taxnow = 22%, taxlater = 12%, covered = spouse, status = joint, magi = $245,000.00 gives deductible = $6,020.00. Source: IRS Publication 590-A Worksheet 1-2 with the 2026 spouse-covered range $242,000 to $252,000.
5. age = 40, retire = 41, balance = $0.00, contrib = $7,500.00, rate = 10%, taxnow = 22%, taxlater = 12%, covered = you, status = single, magi = $95,000.00 gives deductible = $0.00, total = $8,250.00, afterTax = $8,160.00, roth = $8,250.00, better = Roth IRA, gap = $90.00. Source: hand calculation in content.mdx: no deduction, so the $7,500 is basis and only the $750 of growth is taxed.

## FAQ

### 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.

## Sources

- Internal Revenue Service, IR-2025-111 (November 13, 2025): IRA limit increases to $7,500 for 2026, with the deduction phase-out ranges. https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/401k-limit-increases-to-24500-for-2026-ira-limit-increases-to-7500
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), Worksheet 1-2. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a
- Internal Revenue Code section 219(g)(2): the reduction is rounded down to the next lowest $10 (so the deduction limit rounds up), and a limit is not reduced below $200 unless it is reduced to zero. https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/219
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590b
- Internal Revenue Service, Retirement topics: IRA contribution limits. https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/plan-participant-employee/retirement-topics-ira-contribution-limits