Calculator

Roth IRA Growth Calculator

Project what a Roth IRA is worth at retirement, how much of that balance is tax-free earnings, and what the same savings would have grown to in a taxable brokerage account paying tax on returns along the way.

Your assumptions

Roth balance at 65
$851,532
30 years of compounding
Tax-free earnings
$616,532
$235,000 contributed
Advantage vs. taxable account
$207,386
Taxable ends at $644,146

Growth to retirement

Contributions versus total Roth value, with the same savings in a taxable brokerage account for comparison.

A growth calculator answers "how big?" — not "how much tax will this save?" Once the balance is large, RMDs on the pre-tax side, Social Security taxation, IRMAA surcharges and state income tax decide your real outcome. Compare conversion strategies to see the difference on your own numbers.

How the Roth IRA calculator works

Each year the balance grows at your expected return and the annual contribution is added at year end. The Roth line compounds untouched: qualified withdrawals of contributions and earnings are federally tax free after age 59½ and a five-year holding period, and there are no required minimum distributions for the original owner. The taxable comparison line uses the same contributions and return but loses a slice of each year's return to tax, which compounds into a meaningful gap over decades.

Why tax-free growth compounds harder

The drag on a taxable account is not the tax you pay in any one year — it is the return those tax dollars would have earned for the rest of your life. At a 7% return and a 20% tax on returns, the taxable account effectively compounds at 5.60%, which over 30 years costs $207,386 in this scenario.

Should you contribute Roth or pre-tax?

Roth wins when the rate you'd pay later is higher than the rate you're paying now — and for many households it is, because their own required minimum distributions push them back up a bracket in their seventies. Our Roth vs. Traditional guide walks through the decision, and the full model projects it year by year against your real balances.

Model your full retirement planCompare state tax

Educational modeling only. Bracketwise is not tax, legal or investment advice. Projections assume a constant return and do not account for market volatility, fees or inflation.