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Traditional vs Roth IRA Calculator

Side-by-side after-tax comparison; current vs retirement bracket.

PrivateFreeSourcedReviewed

Roth wins by (after-tax, in retirement)

$36,385

$7,500 a year for 35 years · 24% bracket now → 22% in retirement
Roth (spendable)
$1,125,659
Traditional (basic)
$878,014

after 22% retirement tax

Trad + reinvested refund
$1,089,274

apples-to-apples

Paying 24% tax now beats paying 22% later on 35 years of growth — even if you invest the Traditional's $1,800/yr tax refund.

Try a what-if

After-tax money to spend in retirementAge 30 → 65, 7% a year.
Roth (after-tax)Traditional (basic)Trad + reinvested refund$0$300K$600K$900K$1.2M
Why the third bar matters: When you contribute to a Traditional IRA, you get a tax refund equal to your contribution × your current bracket ($1,800 per year here). An apples-to-apples comparison invests that refund somewhere — usually a taxable account. If you spend the refund instead, the "basic" Traditional number is the right comparison. Most online articles skip this nuance.

Your numbers

$7,500 / year

24% (federal marginal)

22% (estimated)

Age 30

Retire at 65

Return7% a year

7%

Next steps

The Traditional vs Roth IRA Calculator shows THREE after-tax outcomes side-by-side — the Roth balance (fully spendable), the Traditional balance after retirement income tax, AND the Traditional balance + a separate taxable account funded with the annual tax refund the Traditional generates. The third number is the apples-to-apples comparison most articles skip and that flips the conclusion for many high-bracket savers.

How this calculator works

  1. Enter your annual IRA contribution amount (2026 limit is $7,500; $8,600 if 50+).
  2. Set your CURRENT marginal federal tax bracket. This is the rate the Traditional contribution would have been taxed at this year.
  3. Set your EXPECTED retirement tax bracket. Most people assume slightly lower, but if you've saved aggressively or expect future rates to rise, similar or higher is realistic.
  4. Pick expected return (7% is a reasonable long-run default).
  5. Compare the three bars. The apples-to-apples comparison (Traditional + reinvested refund) is the honest one — but only if you actually save the refund instead of spending it.

Roth_after_tax = FV_after_growth Trad_after_tax = FV × (1 − retire_bracket) Trad+refund = Trad_after_tax + refund × (1 + r)^t

Three parallel future values. Roth grows tax-free; Trad grows the same but gets taxed on withdrawal; Trad+refund adds the parallel taxable-account growth funded by the up-front tax savings. Only the third comparison is apples-to-apples in terms of after-tax wealth at retirement.

FV
Future value of the IRA balance (same growth for both)
retire_bracket
Marginal tax bracket in retirement
refund
Annual tax refund the Traditional contribution generates (contribution × current bracket)
r
Net return on the taxable-account refund (slightly lower than IRA return due to tax drag)
t
Years to retirement

Frequently asked questions

What's the core difference?

Traditional IRA = tax deduction now, taxed on withdrawals in retirement. Roth IRA = no deduction now, but withdrawals (including all growth) are tax-free in retirement.

When does Roth usually win?

When you expect to be in a similar or higher tax bracket in retirement than today, or you have decades of compounding ahead. Roth also has no RMDs in your lifetime, which helps in tax planning later.

When does Traditional usually win?

When you're in a high tax bracket today and expect to be in a lower bracket in retirement. Pre-tax contributions also reduce current-year AGI, which can preserve eligibility for credits and deductions.

Sources used in this calculator

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

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