🌱 Roth IRA Calculator: Project Tax-Free Retirement Growth

What is the Roth IRA Calculator?

A Roth IRA (Individual Retirement Account) is funded with money you have already paid income tax on. In exchange, the account grows free of tax and qualified withdrawals after age 59 and a half (and once the account has been open at least five years) are completely tax-free. That makes the Roth especially valuable if you expect to be in the same or a higher tax bracket in retirement, or if you simply want certainty that the balance you build is yours to keep. There are no required minimum distributions during the original owner's lifetime, so a Roth can also keep compounding untouched well past age 73 if you do not need the money.

The projection here uses annual compounding with contributions added each year. The starting balance grows by P x (1+r)^n, and the stream of yearly contributions grows as an ordinary annuity, PMT x (((1+r)^n - 1) / r). Adding the two gives the future value. Because each year's earnings are reinvested and themselves earn a return, the curve bends upward over time: the longer your money compounds, the larger the share of the final balance that comes from growth rather than from your own deposits.

Two levers matter most: time and rate of return. Starting early can dwarf the effect of contributing more later, because the earliest dollars compound the longest. The expected return is an assumption, not a guarantee. Real markets rise and fall, so it is wise to model a conservative rate (many planners use 6% to 7% for a diversified long-term portfolio) and to remember that a single average rate hides the bumps along the way. A bad stretch of returns just before retirement, known as sequence-of-returns risk, can matter far more than the same dip would early on.

Roth IRAs come with eligibility rules that this calculator does not enforce. For 2026 the contribution limit is $7,500 if you are under 50 and $8,600 if you are 50 or older (a $1,100 catch-up). You also need earned income at least equal to what you contribute, and your ability to contribute phases out at higher incomes. Single and head-of-household filers begin phasing out around $153,000 of modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) and are fully phased out near $168,000, while married-filing-jointly filers phase out between roughly $242,000 and $252,000. Always verify the current year's numbers on the IRS website, since they are indexed to inflation and change regularly.

If your income is too high to contribute directly, a backdoor Roth IRA is a common workaround: you make a nondeductible contribution to a Traditional IRA and then convert it to a Roth. The catch is the pro-rata rule, which treats all your Traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRA balances as one pool when figuring the taxable portion of the conversion, so existing pre-tax money can create an unexpected tax bill. The Roth also shines as an estate-planning tool, because heirs can inherit the account and continue tax-free growth, though most non-spouse beneficiaries must empty it within ten years.

Use this calculator as a planning starting point, not a promise. Run several scenarios, vary the return between conservative and optimistic, lengthen and shorten the time horizon, and compare contributing the full annual limit against a smaller steady amount. Seeing how sensitive the final number is to each input is often more useful than any single headline figure, and it makes the cost of waiting or under-saving impossible to ignore.

When to use it

• Projecting how large your Roth IRA could grow by your target retirement age.
• Seeing how much of your future balance comes from contributions versus tax-free compounding.
• Comparing the effect of starting now versus waiting a few years to begin contributing.
• Testing how a higher or lower expected return changes your retirement nest egg.
• Estimating the long-run payoff of maxing out the annual limit instead of contributing a smaller amount.
• Deciding whether the tax-free growth of a Roth justifies giving up the upfront deduction of a Traditional IRA.

How to use the Roth IRA Calculator

1. Enter your current Roth IRA balance (use 0 if you are just starting).
2. Enter the amount you plan to contribute each year (for 2026 the cap is $7,500, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older).
3. Enter the number of years until you plan to retire.
4. Enter the annual return you expect (a conservative long-term figure is wise).
5. Read off the projected balance, your total contributions, and the investment growth.
6. Adjust the return and the years to compare scenarios side by side and stress-test your plan.

Formula & method

Worked examples

Roth IRA growth on a $7,500 yearly contribution from a $0 start, at a 7% annual return

2026 Roth IRA contribution limits and income (MAGI) phase-out ranges

Roth IRA versus Traditional IRA at a glance

Common mistakes to avoid

• Treating the expected return as guaranteed. Markets do not deliver a smooth fixed percentage every year, they rise and fall. The projection uses one average rate, so a single bad stretch (especially near retirement) can leave the real outcome well below the line. Model a conservative rate and revisit it.
• Ignoring annual contribution limits. The IRS caps how much you can put into a Roth IRA each year ($7,500 in 2026, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older), and high earners may be phased out entirely. If you enter a yearly contribution above the legal limit, the projection will still calculate it but you would not be allowed to actually contribute that much.
• Forgetting inflation. A balance that looks huge in 30 years buys less than the same number today. To judge real purchasing power, compare the result against an inflation-adjusted target or use a return net of expected inflation.
• Waiting to start. Because the earliest dollars compound the longest, delaying contributions by even a few years can cost far more than the missed deposits themselves. Starting small and early often beats starting larger and late.
• Assuming you qualify when your income is too high. Direct Roth contributions phase out above certain income limits. If your MAGI is over the threshold for your filing status, contributing anyway creates an excess contribution that the IRS can penalize at 6% per year until you fix it. Check eligibility before you fund the account.
• Overlooking the pro-rata rule on a backdoor Roth. A backdoor Roth is not always tax-free. The IRS lumps all your Traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRA balances together, so if you hold pre-tax money, part of the conversion is taxable. Many people are surprised by this bill because they only counted the new nondeductible contribution.

Glossary

Roth IRA

An individual retirement account funded with after-tax money, where qualified withdrawals in retirement are tax-free.

Contribution

The money you add to the account, here modeled as a fixed amount deposited once each year.

Compounding

Earning a return on both your contributions and on the returns already credited, so growth accelerates over time.

Future value (FV)

The projected balance at the end of the period, combining the grown starting balance and the grown contributions.

Qualified withdrawal

A withdrawal that meets the age and five-year holding rules, so it comes out free of income tax and penalty.

MAGI

Modified adjusted gross income, the income figure the IRS uses to decide whether you can contribute to a Roth IRA and by how much.

Catch-up contribution

An extra amount (a $1,100 add-on in 2026) that savers age 50 and older may contribute above the standard annual limit.

Backdoor Roth IRA

A strategy where a high earner makes a nondeductible Traditional IRA contribution and converts it to a Roth to get money into the account despite income limits.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Roth IRAs , U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
• Amount of Roth IRA Contributions That You Can Make , U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
• Roth IRA , Investopedia