BedrockCalc — bedrockcalc.com
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IRA Calculator
Traditional, Roth or plain taxable — which account leaves you more after tax? This IRA calculator projects your Traditional IRA to retirement and lines up all three after-tax balances, judged on the tax rates you expect now and in retirement.
See how this works on a $7,000-a-year IRA — 3 real examples
The 2026 IRA contribution limit is $7,500 ($8,600 if you’re 50 or older). Shown for reference — you can enter any amount; the calculator won’t cap it.
Traditional IRA after-tax value
$0
TraditionalWins
$0
after tax
RothWins
$0
tax-free
TaxableWins
$0
after tax
Winner margin
$0
vs runner-up
Who owns your Traditional IRA?
Tax-deferred means deferred, not forgiven. Drag the retirement tax rate and watch the boundary cut through both your contributions and your growth.
Same total, sliced two ways — the amount never changes, only the question.
- — Contributions (your money in)
- — Growth (what it earned)
- — You keep, after tax
- — Tax owed at withdrawal (est.), at the rate you set
After-tax balance by year
IRS limits & data source
Last reviewedYear-by-year after-tax scheduleAll three account balances at each age
| Year | Age | Traditional | Roth | Taxable |
|---|
How the three after-tax IRA outcomes are calculated
Every account starts from the same gross figure — your current balance plus the gross annual contribution — so the comparison is fair. That gross amount is grown once to retirement:
grossFV = FV(balance + contribution / yr, return, years)
Traditional = grossFV × (1 − retirementRate)
Roth = grossFV × (1 − currentRate)
Taxable grows at return × (1 − currentRate)
A Traditional IRA invests the full gross pre-tax and is taxed once, at your retirement rate, when you withdraw. A Roth IRA is funded post-tax, so only (1 − currentRate) of the gross is actually invested, but it then grows and withdraws tax-free. The taxable account is also funded post-tax, and on top of that its growth is taxed each year — we model that as an annual drag, compounding at return × (1 − currentRate) with no separate tax at the end (the basis is already post-tax). This is a deliberately simple drag approximation, not lot-by-lot capital-gains accounting.
Because Traditional lands at grossFV × (1 − retRate) and Roth at grossFV × (1 − curRate), the crossover is exact: Roth wins whenever your retirement rate is at or above your current rate, and Traditional wins whenever it is below — when the two rates are equal the two accounts finish within a dollar of each other. The whole model is driven by only the two tax rates you enter; BedrockCalc keeps no tax-bracket, deduction-phaseout or withholding tables, so the output is an informational projection, not tax advice.
Three savers, one finish line at 65
The same $25,000 opening balance and $7,000 a year at 7% — begun at 35, 45, or 55. The tax rates barely move it; the decades do.
Thirty years of runway
after tax at 65$664,195
- The account grows to $851,532 before the 22% withdrawal tax takes its share.
- A Roth funded from the same gross lands at $647,164 — Traditional’s edge is $17,031.
- A plain taxable account manages $463,472; the shelter is worth $200,723 by itself.
The tax-rate bet moves $17,031; simply being sheltered moves $200,723.
Load this example (opens in a new tab)Twenty years of runway
after tax at 65$299,294
- Ten missing years cut the after-tax finish from $664,195 to $299,294 — less than half.
- Traditional still beats the Roth, now by a slimmer $7,674.
- The gap over the taxable account narrows to $63,739.
One lost decade costs more than every tax decision on this page combined.
Load this example (opens in a new tab)Ten years of runway
after tax at 65$113,797
- The pre-tax balance reaches $145,894 — real money, but under a fifth of the thirty-year run.
- Traditional’s edge over Roth thins to $2,918.
- Even the taxable account is only $13,969 behind; a decade is too short to open a wide gap.
Started at 55, the tax-rate questions shrink to rounding error — time was the entire lever.
Load this example (opens in a new tab)Illustrations only, not financial advice. Your own rate, taxes and insurance will differ — check with a qualified financial advisor before acting on any of this.
Choosing between a Traditional and Roth IRA, in plain English
- It’s a tax-timing bet. Traditional pays tax later at your retirement rate; Roth pays it now at your current rate. Everything else about IRA growth is identical.
- The crossover rule. Expect a lower bracket in retirement? Traditional usually wins. Expect the same or higher? Roth wins — drag the two rate sliders and watch the lines cross.
- Taxable is the fallback, not a rival. A plain brokerage loses a little every year to tax on its gains, so over decades it trails both IRAs — the gap is the value of the tax shelter.
- Contribution limits are shared. The annual cap covers your Traditional and Roth IRAs together, not each separately; the 50-plus catch-up raises it.
- Diversify your tax buckets. Nobody knows future rates, so many savers split contributions to hedge — some tax-free (Roth) and some tax-deferred (Traditional).
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Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a Traditional and Roth IRA?
A Traditional IRA is funded with pre-tax dollars — the full contribution goes in and grows tax-deferred, then every dollar you withdraw in retirement is taxed as income. A Roth IRA is funded with post-tax dollars — you pay tax on the way in, but the balance grows and comes out completely tax-free. Both share the same annual contribution limit; the only real difference is when you pay the tax.
Which IRA is better for my situation?
It comes down to one comparison: your tax rate now versus your expected tax rate in retirement. Because both accounts start from the same gross contribution, a Roth wins whenever your retirement tax rate is higher than (or equal to) your current rate, and a Traditional wins whenever it is lower. This IRA calculator shows all three after-tax balances side by side so you can see the crossover for your own numbers.
How much will my IRA grow?
It depends on your contribution, return and years. As a benchmark, a $25,000 balance plus $7,000 a year at a 7% return over 30 years grows to roughly $850,000 before tax. As a Traditional IRA taxed at 22% in retirement that is about $664,000 after tax; as a Roth taxed at 24% today it is about $647,000 tax-free. Adjust the sliders to model your own IRA growth.
How much can I contribute to an IRA each year?
For 2026 the IRA contribution limit is $7,500, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older thanks to the catch-up amount. That cap applies across all your Traditional and Roth IRAs combined. This calculator shows the limit for reference only — it never caps what you type, so you can model any contribution.
How does my tax rate now versus in retirement change the outcome?
Those two rates are the entire decision. A Traditional IRA is taxed once at your retirement rate, while a Roth is taxed once at your current rate — on the same gross contribution. If you expect to be in a lower bracket in retirement, deferring tax with a Traditional comes out ahead; if you expect a higher bracket later, locking in today’s rate with a Roth wins. This tool uses only the two rates you enter and keeps no bracket tables.
Are Traditional IRA contributions deductible, and when can I withdraw?
Traditional IRA contributions are often tax-deductible, though the deduction can phase out at higher incomes if you or a spouse have a workplace plan — this calculator does not model those phase-outs. Withdrawals are penalty-free from age 59½, and Traditional IRAs require minimum distributions starting at age 73. Confirm the current rules and your own deductibility with the IRS or a tax professional.
Disclaimer: these calculators are educational tools, not financial advice. They model your inputs with published formulas, but they cannot know your full situation — for decisions with real stakes, talk to a qualified professional. Formulas and defaults last reviewed .