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Roth IRA Calculator

Project a Roth IRA at retirement. Tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals — see what your annual contributions become after 20, 30, or 40 years of compounding.

Last reviewed: · Reviewed by the Money Scale editorial team · How we source our data

Power mode. Every input exposed, every assumption sourced, charts and shareables.

Roth IRA Calculator
Project a Roth IRA at retirement. Contributions go in after-tax; growth and qualified withdrawals come out tax-free. 2026 IRS limit: $7,500 ($8,600 if 50+).

$0

$7,500 / year ($625/mo)

7% expected return

0.05% / year

Age 30 today

Retire at 65

Tax-free balance at age 65

$1,112,341

Total contributions

$262,500

Tax-free growth

$849,841

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Roth IRA
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🌱 $1,112,341 tax-free

$7,500 per year for 35 years at 7% return = $1,112,341 tax-free at age 65.

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The Roth IRA Calculator projects a tax-free retirement account. Contributions go in after-tax and never get taxed again — growth, dividends, and qualified withdrawals after 59½ all come out tax-free. The 2026 IRS limit is $7,500 ($8,600 if 50+), with income phase-outs starting around $150K single / $236K MFJ. For young earners with decades of compounding ahead, the Roth's tax-free growth is often the most valuable retirement account they can have.

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  • Your numbers stay privateEvery calculation runs in your browser. We never receive or store your salary, balances, or inputs.
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  • No login, no emailUse every tool instantly — we never gate results behind a signup.
  • Sourced defaultsStarting rates and assumptions cite real data, not made-up numbers.

How this calculator works

  1. Enter your current Roth IRA balance (use $0 to start fresh).
  2. Set your annual contribution. The 2026 limit is $7,500 ($8,600 if 50+); income phase-outs apply at higher MAGI.
  3. Pick an expected annual return (7% real is a reasonable long-run default for a diversified portfolio).
  4. Adjust the expense ratio. Index funds in major brokerages run 0.03%–0.10%; anything above 0.5% is worth questioning.
  5. Enter your current age and retirement age. Every dollar in this account compounds tax-free for the rest of your life.

FV_after_tax = P × (1 + r − fees)^t + C × [((1 + r − fees)^t − 1) / (r − fees)] (no tax applied)

Standard compound-growth future-value formula, but uniquely: NO tax is applied to the growth or to qualified withdrawals. That's the Roth's superpower. Compare with a taxable brokerage account, which loses 15–24% to long-term capital gains and ordinary dividend tax along the way.

P
Current balance
C
Annual contribution
r
Expected annual return
fees
Fund expense ratio
t
Years to retirement

Frequently asked questions

The 2026 limit is $7,500 ($8,600 if you're 50 or older). Contributions phase out at higher incomes (single phase-out begins around $150K, MFJ around $236K for 2026; verify the current year's MAGI thresholds at IRS.gov).

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Sources
Every default value is sourced. Verify anything.
National Avg Savings APY — 0.38% (as of May 2026)FDIC National Rates and Rate Caps High-Yield Savings (typical) — 4% (as of May 2026)FDIC National Rates + reported HYSA APY (top online banks) S&P 500 — 10% (as of 2026 (1928–2025 dataset))NYU Stern (Damodaran) — S&P 500 Annual Returns 1928–2025 Total US Stock Market — 9.7% (as of 2026)CRSP US Total Market Index (long-run avg) 10-Year Treasuries — 4.5% (as of May 2026)Federal Reserve FRED — 10-Year Treasury (DGS10) US Real Estate — 4.2% (as of 2026)S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index (FRED) Gold — 7.8% (as of 2026)World Gold Council historical price data Long-run CPI Inflation — 3% (as of 2026)Bureau of Labor Statistics — CPI-U (long-run avg) 30-Year Fixed Mortgage — 6.36% (as of May 2026)Freddie Mac PMMS — 30-Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Average Credit Card APR (avg, accounts assessed interest) — 21.52% (as of May 2026 release (March 2026 data))Federal Reserve G.19 — Consumer Credit Auto Loan (60-month new car, avg) — 7.52% (as of May 2026 release (March 2026 data))Federal Reserve G.19 — Consumer Credit Personal Loan (24-month unsecured, avg) — 11.4% (as of May 2026 release (March 2026 data))Federal Reserve G.19 — Consumer Credit Federal Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized (Undergrad) — 6.52% (as of AY 2026-27)US Dept of Education — Interest Rates and Fees for Federal Student Loans HELOC (typical introductory rate) — 7.26% (as of May 2026)Bankrate — Current HELOC Rates 12-month CD (top online rate, typical) — 4.1% (as of May 2026)FDIC + reported top online CD rates Mortgage Refinance Closing Costs (typical) — 3% (as of 2026)Freddie Mac — Cost of Refinancing College Tuition Inflation (long-run avg) — 4% (as of AY 2025-26 (Nov 2025 publication))College Board — Trends in College Pricing 2025