Roth vs Traditional IRA Calculator

About this calculator

A Traditional IRA is funded with pre-tax dollars (contributions may be tax-deductible) and grows tax-deferred, with withdrawals in retirement taxed as ordinary income. A Roth IRA works in reverse: contributions are made with after-tax dollars, but qualified withdrawals in retirement — including all the growth — come out completely tax-free. Both are IRS-recognized retirement accounts with the same annual contribution limits, but the tax treatment is fundamentally opposite.

Which one leaves you with more spendable money depends almost entirely on whether your tax rate is higher now or in retirement: a Roth tends to win if you expect to be in a higher bracket later (common for younger savers early in their career), while a Traditional IRA tends to win if you expect a lower bracket in retirement (common for high earners near retirement). Financial planners routinely run both scenarios side by side because the 'right' answer depends on a client's specific tax trajectory, not a universal rule.

This calculator projects the after-tax retirement value of both account types based on your annual contribution, years invested, expected return, and your tax rate now versus in retirement, so you can see the actual dollar difference between the two.