Roth IRA Calculator

What makes the Roth different

A Roth IRA is funded with after-tax dollars. In exchange, the money grows tax-free and qualified withdrawals in retirement are not taxed at all. Traditional IRAs invert that trade, funding with pre-tax dollars and taxing withdrawals as ordinary income. The Roth also has no Required Minimum Distributions during the original owner's lifetime, which makes it uniquely useful as an asset to leave to heirs or to keep as a bracket-management reservoir late in life.

2025 contribution limits

The 2025 direct contribution limit is $7,000 for savers under 50 and $8,000 for savers 50 or older, thanks to the $1,000 catch-up. These numbers move on the IRS annual schedule. Both figures are labeled constants in the calculator source and should be reviewed against the current-year IRS notice.

MAGI phase-outs close the direct door

The Roth has income limits that phase out the ability to contribute directly. For 2025, single filers phase out between $150,000 and $165,000 of modified adjusted gross income. Married filing jointly phases out between $236,000 and $246,000. Above the top of the range, direct Roth contributions are not permitted for that tax year.

The backdoor Roth

High earners phased out of direct contributions often use a backdoor Roth. The steps are simple in theory. Make a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA, then convert the balance to a Roth. The friction is the pro-rata rule. If you hold pre-tax dollars in any traditional, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA, the conversion is taxed proportionally across all pre-tax and after-tax dollars in the aggregate IRA. This is a case to walk through with a CPA before executing.

The 5-year rule, in two flavors

For earnings to come out tax-free, at least five tax years must have passed since your first Roth contribution, and you must generally be past 59½. Roth conversions carry their own 5-year clock per conversion, tracked separately from the contribution clock. Missing either clock can turn what looked like a tax-free withdrawal into a taxable event with a 10 percent early-distribution penalty on the earnings.

Roth vs traditional, in one sentence

If you expect to be in a higher bracket in retirement or you want tax-diversified assets, lean Roth. If you expect a lower bracket in retirement or you need the current-year deduction, lean traditional. Most disciplined savers end up with both.