Roth IRA Calculator
Estimate tax-free Roth IRA growth at retirement.
Details
Tax-free balance at retirement
$792,408
In 30 years, at age 65
Total contributions
$219,880
Investment growth
$572,528
2026 contribution limit: $7,500 ($8,600 if 50+), subject to income limits.
This projects what a Roth IRA is worth at retirement from your contributions, years invested and expected return.
It separates what you put in from what the account earned, which is the part that comes out tax free.
What a Roth IRA is
A Roth IRA is a retirement account you fund with money you have already paid tax on. In exchange, everything it earns from then on is never taxed again, and qualified withdrawals in retirement are completely tax free.
That is the whole proposition, and the reason it is worth understanding properly is that the growth is usually far larger than the contributions. Someone paying in $7,000 a year for 30 years contributes $210,000 and can finish with around $661,000. The $451,000 of growth is the part the tax break actually applies to.
The trade against a traditional IRA is simply *when* you pay. A traditional IRA gives you the deduction now and taxes the withdrawals. A Roth takes the tax now and leaves the withdrawals alone.
Growth is more than double the contributions. In a taxable account that $451,226 would be exposed to capital gains tax; in a Roth it is not.
What to enter
- Annual contribution
- What you pay in each year. The IRS sets a yearly limit, and it is a combined limit across all your IRAs, not one per account.
- Current age and retirement age
- The gap between them is the number of years compounding has to work. It matters more than the contribution size.
- Expected annual return
- 7% is a common long-run planning figure for a diversified stock portfolio after inflation is ignored. Use something lower if you want a conservative view.
- Current balance
- Anything already in the account. It compounds for the full period alongside new contributions.
Roth IRA against the alternatives
- Roth IRA
- No deduction now. Growth and qualified withdrawals are tax free. No required minimum distributions for the original owner.
- [Traditional IRA](/financial/ira-calculator)
- Deduction now if you qualify. Growth is tax deferred and withdrawals are taxed as income. RMDs apply.
- 401(k)
- Much higher contribution limit and often an employer match. Available in both traditional and Roth versions.
- Taxable brokerage
- No limits and no restrictions, but dividends and gains are taxed along the way and at sale.
What this assumes
Returns are treated as a steady annual rate. Real markets are nothing like steady, and the order of good and bad years matters near retirement.
Contribution limits and income thresholds change most years. Check the current IRS figures before planning around a specific number.
How to calculate Roth IRA growth
Compound the existing balance forward, then add the future value of the yearly contributions.
- P
- Current balance
- C
- Annual contribution
- r
- Annual return as a decimal
- n
- Years until retirement
Check you are eligible. Roth IRAs phase out above certain incomes. Above the top of the range you cannot contribute directly at all.
Set the contribution. Use the current IRS annual limit, or less if that is what you can manage. Something consistent beats an ambitious figure you abandon.
Compound over the years available. Grow the existing balance, then add each year's contribution growing for the years remaining after it.
Look at the split, not just the total. Separate contributions from growth. The growth figure is what the Roth's tax treatment is actually worth to you.
See a worked example: what thirty years of the maximum looks like
- Contribution
- $7,000 a year
- Period
- 30 years
- Return
- 7% a year
Total contributed: $7,000 × 30 = $210,000.
Future value of those contributions at 7%: $661,226.
Growth: $661,226 − $210,000 = $451,226.
All $661,226 can be withdrawn tax free in retirement, provided the account is at least five years old and you are over 59½.
$661,226, of which $451,226 is untaxed growth
Frequently asked questions
It comes down to one question: will your tax rate be higher now or in retirement? A Roth wins if you expect to be in a higher bracket later. A [traditional IRA](/financial/ira-calculator) wins if you expect to be in a lower one.
Younger earners early in a career usually lean Roth, since income and tax rates tend to rise. A high earner near the end of a career often gets more from the deduction now.
Nobody knows their future tax rate, so many people deliberately hold both and choose which to draw from in retirement.
Your account must be open for five tax years before earnings can be withdrawn tax free, on top of being 59½ or meeting another qualifying exception.
The clock starts with your first contribution to any Roth IRA, not with each new contribution. Opening one early with even a small amount starts that clock running, which is a reason not to delay.
Your contributions can be withdrawn at any time, for any reason, without tax or penalty. You already paid tax on that money.
Earnings are different. Withdrawing them before 59½ or before the five-year rule is met generally means income tax plus a 10% penalty, with limited exceptions such as a first home purchase up to a lifetime cap.
Roth eligibility phases out above an income threshold that the IRS updates each year, and above the top of the range direct contributions are not allowed.
A backdoor Roth, contributing to a traditional IRA and converting it, is the common route around this. It gets complicated if you hold other pre-tax IRA money, because of the pro-rata rule, so it is worth advice before doing it.
No, not for the original owner. That is a genuine advantage over a traditional IRA, where RMDs force withdrawals and the tax that comes with them.
It means a Roth can be left untouched to keep growing tax free for as long as you like, which also makes it a more efficient account to leave to heirs.
As much as you can sustain, up to the annual limit. The years matter more than the amount: consistency over thirty years does far more than a large contribution over ten.
One ordering note. If your employer matches 401(k) contributions, capture that match first. It is an immediate return no IRA can match.
Problems people actually run into
Waiting until you can afford the full contribution
People delay opening a Roth because they cannot commit the annual maximum, and lose years of compounding to that hesitation.
The five-year clock also starts at the first contribution, so a small amount now is worth more than the same amount later. Start with whatever is manageable and raise it when you can.
Opening the account and leaving the money in cash
A Roth IRA is an account, not an investment. Contributing without then choosing investments leaves the money sitting in cash earning almost nothing.
The entire benefit rests on the growth being untaxed. With no growth, there is nothing for the tax treatment to protect.
Results are estimates for general information only and are not professional financial, medical, or legal advice. Read our full disclaimer.
Sources
- Roth IRAs: contribution limits, income ranges and rules · Internal Revenue Service
Last updated: September 4, 2026