Skip to content
Money Scale

Roth IRA Calculator

Project tax-free Roth IRA growth across decades.

PrivateFreeSourcedReviewed

Tax-free balance at age 65

$1,112,341

$7,500 a year ($625/mo) for 35 years at 7% before 0.05% fees
Total contributions
$262,500
Tax-free growth
$849,841
Growth share
76%

never taxed

You put in $262,500. Growth adds $849,841 — and in a Roth, all of it comes out tax-free after 59½. From age 41, the account earns more each year than you contribute.

Try a what-if

What you put in vs what growth addedYou put inGrowth
3035404550556065$0$500K$1M$1.5M

Your numbers

Age 30 today

Retire at 65

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

$0

Return & fees7% return · 0.05% expense ratio

7% expected return

0.05% / year

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

Next steps

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 2026 income phase-outs of $153K–$168K single and $242K–$252K married filing jointly. For young earners with decades of compounding ahead, the Roth's tax-free growth is often the most valuable retirement account they can have.

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.

i = (r − fees) / 12, n = 12t FV_after_tax = P × (1 + i)^n + (C / 12) × [((1 + i)^n − 1) / i] (no tax applied)

Standard compound-growth future-value formula, compounded monthly at (r − fees)/12 with your annual contribution spread over 12 monthly deposits — 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

How much can I contribute to a Roth IRA?

The 2026 limit is $7,500 ($8,600 if you're 50 or older). Contributions phase out at higher incomes (for 2026 the phase-out runs $153,000–$168,000 single and $242,000–$252,000 married filing jointly).

When are Roth IRA withdrawals tax-free?

Contributions can be withdrawn anytime, tax- and penalty-free. Earnings come out tax-free if (a) the account has been open at least 5 years AND (b) you're 59½ or older (or qualify for an exception like first-home purchase up to $10K).

What if I make too much for a Roth IRA?

Look into a 'backdoor Roth' — contribute to a non-deductible Traditional IRA and convert it to Roth. Works cleanly if you don't have a balance in pre-tax IRAs (otherwise the pro-rata rule complicates things). Consult a tax professional.

Sources used in this calculator

Reviewed by the Money Scale editorial team. How we source our data

Related calculators

See all

Professional calculator

Retirement Planner

Roth dollars are what carry the years before 59½ — model those years in the Retirement Planner.

Open the Retirement Planner

Free, no signup, runs in your browser. Educational modeling only — not financial advice.

Free newsletter

Money Scale Weekly — one chart, one idea, every week.

A short, plain-English read on saving, investing and compounding, with the numbers run for you. Free.

Subscribe freeFree. One email a week. No spam — unsubscribe in one click.