{
  "id": "roth-ira",
  "version": "f394f384b870",
  "status": "published",
  "name": "Roth IRA Calculator",
  "question": "How will my Roth IRA grow?",
  "summary": "Projects a Roth IRA balance at retirement from yearly contributions within the IRS limit and income phase-out, and compares it with a taxable account.",
  "category": "finance",
  "subcategory": "retirement",
  "url": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/roth-ira-calculator",
  "markdown": "https://www.acalculator.org/finance/roth-ira-calculator.md",
  "kind": "schedule",
  "method": "Each year, contribution = min(your amount, the IRS limit after the income phase-out), added at the start of the year; the Roth balance grows by (1 + R) and a taxable account by (1 + R × (1 − tax rate)).",
  "assumptions": [
    "The 2026 IRS limit and income ranges stay the same in later years, and your income stays the same.",
    "Your taxable pay is at least your contribution.",
    "Contributions are made at the start of each year.",
    "The return stays the same every year. Real returns go up and down.",
    "The taxable account pays tax on all its returns each year at one rate; the Roth IRA pays none.",
    "Withdrawals are assumed to be qualified (age 59½ or older and the account at least 5 years old), so they are tax-free.",
    "This is an estimate for planning, not financial advice."
  ],
  "inputs": {
    "$schema": "https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema",
    "type": "object",
    "properties": {
      "age": {
        "title": "Your age",
        "description": "Your age at the end of this year.",
        "type": "integer",
        "minimum": 18,
        "maximum": 99
      },
      "retire": {
        "title": "Retirement age",
        "description": "The age you stop contributing. Contributions run for (retirement age − your age) years.",
        "type": "integer",
        "minimum": 19,
        "maximum": 100
      },
      "balance": {
        "title": "Roth IRA balance today",
        "description": "What is in your Roth IRA now.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 1000000000
      },
      "contrib": {
        "title": "Yearly contribution",
        "description": "What you plan to put in each year. The calculator lowers it to your IRS limit if it is more.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 1000000
      },
      "magi": {
        "title": "Modified adjusted gross income",
        "description": "Your modified AGI for Roth IRA purposes. Above a limit, the most you can put in is reduced.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "USD",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 1000000000
      },
      "status": {
        "title": "Tax filing status",
        "description": "Single (also head of household, or married filing separately and living apart all year), married filing jointly, or married filing separately and living together.",
        "type": "string",
        "enum": [
          "single",
          "joint",
          "separate"
        ]
      },
      "rate": {
        "title": "Expected yearly return",
        "description": "The yearly return. It stays the same every year.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "percent",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 30
      },
      "tax": {
        "title": "Tax rate on a taxable account",
        "description": "The tax rate on the returns of a taxable account, paid every year, for the comparison.",
        "type": "number",
        "x-unit": "percent",
        "minimum": 0,
        "maximum": 60
      }
    }
  },
  "outputs": {
    "total": {
      "label": "At retirement your Roth IRA holds",
      "description": "The Roth IRA balance at the end of the last year before retirement.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "contributions": {
      "label": "Your contributions",
      "description": "Every contribution from now until retirement, after the IRS limit.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "growth": {
      "label": "Tax-free growth",
      "description": "The balance at retirement minus today’s balance and your contributions.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "taxable": {
      "label": "Same money in a taxable account",
      "description": "The balance if the same money had been in an account whose returns are taxed every year.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "advantage": {
      "label": "Roth IRA advantage",
      "description": "The Roth IRA balance minus the taxable account balance.",
      "format": "money"
    },
    "allowed": {
      "label": "Most you can put in this year",
      "description": "Your 2026 Roth IRA limit at your age and income, after the income phase-out.",
      "format": "money"
    }
  },
  "defaultAnswer": {
    "inputs": {
      "age": 30,
      "retire": 65,
      "balance": 10000,
      "contrib": 7500,
      "magi": 90000,
      "status": "single",
      "rate": 7,
      "tax": 22
    },
    "outputs": {
      "total": 1216116.7636181382,
      "contributions": 262500,
      "growth": 943616.7636181382,
      "taxable": 850585.1738554644,
      "advantage": 365531.5897626737,
      "allowed": 7500
    },
    "text": "At 7% a year, your Roth IRA grows to $1,216,116.76 by age 65, $365,531.59 more than the same money in a taxable account."
  },
  "examples": [
    {
      "given": {
        "age": 30,
        "retire": 31,
        "balance": 0,
        "contrib": 6000,
        "magi": 100000,
        "status": "single",
        "rate": 10,
        "tax": 22
      },
      "expect": {
        "total": 6600,
        "taxable": 6468,
        "advantage": 132,
        "allowed": 7500
      },
      "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx: 6,000 × 1.10; 6,000 × (1 + 0.10 × 0.78)"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "age": 40,
        "retire": 41,
        "balance": 0,
        "contrib": 7500,
        "magi": 155555,
        "status": "single",
        "rate": 0,
        "tax": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "allowed": 6230,
        "contributions": 6230
      },
      "source": "IRS Publication 590-A Worksheet 2-2 with the 2026 single range $153,000 to $168,000; hand calculation"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "age": 55,
        "retire": 56,
        "balance": 0,
        "contrib": 10000,
        "magi": 250000,
        "status": "joint",
        "rate": 0,
        "tax": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "allowed": 1720,
        "contributions": 1720
      },
      "source": "IRS Publication 590-A Worksheet 2-2 with the 2026 joint range $242,000 to $252,000 and the $8,600 limit at 50"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "age": 40,
        "retire": 41,
        "balance": 0,
        "contrib": 7500,
        "magi": 167900,
        "status": "single",
        "rate": 0,
        "tax": 0
      },
      "expect": {
        "allowed": 200
      },
      "source": "IRS Publication 590-A Worksheet 2-2, line 8: a result under $200 becomes $200"
    },
    {
      "given": {
        "age": 30,
        "retire": 60,
        "balance": 10000,
        "contrib": 7500,
        "magi": 90000,
        "status": "single",
        "rate": 7,
        "tax": 22
      },
      "expect": {
        "total": 834170.3606746617,
        "contributions": 225000
      },
      "source": "hand calculation in content.mdx"
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    "Internal Revenue Service, IR-2025-111 (November 13, 2025): IRA limit increases to $7,500 for 2026, with the Roth IRA income 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), Table 2-1 and Worksheet 2-2. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590a",
    "Internal Revenue Service, Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), chapter 2. https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590b",
    "Internal Revenue Service, Roth IRAs. https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/roth-iras",
    "U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Investor.gov: Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs). https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/investment-accounts/tax-advantaged-accounts/retirement-savings/individual-retirement-accounts-iras"
  ],
  "related": [
    "ira",
    "401k",
    "investment"
  ],
  "changelog": []
}