The calculator
Putting $7,500 a year into a Roth IRA for 30 years at 7% grows to about $860,701, all tax-free. With these tax rates the traditional IRA comes out ahead, because your tax rate in retirement is lower than today.
2026 Roth IRA limits
| Filing status | Full contribution | Reduced contribution | No contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single or head of household | Under $153,000 | $153,000 to $168,000 | $168,000 or more |
| Married filing jointly | Under $242,000 | $242,000 to $252,000 | $252,000 or more |
| Married filing separately | Only with no income | Up to $10,000 | $10,000 or more |
The limit is $7,500, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older by the end of the year, across all your traditional and Roth IRAs together, and no more than your earned income. Contributions for 2026 can be made until April 15, 2027. The 2027 limits are due in mid-November 2026; see contribution limits for 2026 and 2027.
How the income phase-out works
Inside the range, the limit shrinks in proportion to how far your income is into it. Single, with modified AGI of $160,000: you are $8,000 into the $15,000 range, so you lose 8,000 ÷ 15,000 of the $7,500 limit and can contribute $4,000. The IRS rounds the result up to the next $10 and allows at least $200 if anything is left.
Roth or traditional: which comes out ahead
It comes down to your tax rate now against your tax rate when you withdraw. A traditional contribution saves tax at today’s rate and is taxed later; a Roth contribution is taxed today and comes out tax-free. With the same rate at both ends, and the traditional tax savings invested, they finish close to even. A higher rate later favours the Roth, a lower one favours traditional. The Roth also has no required withdrawals during your lifetime, which gives more control over taxable income in retirement.
If your income is too high
Above the range you can still make a nondeductible contribution to a traditional IRA and convert it to Roth, often called a backdoor Roth. The tax on the conversion depends on any other pre-tax IRA money you hold, under the pro-rata rule; the backdoor Roth guide has a calculator for it. Converting larger pre-tax balances is covered by the Roth conversion calculator.
When you can take money out
- Your contributions can come out at any time, without tax or penalty.
- Earnings come out tax-free once you are 59½ and at least five years have passed since your first Roth IRA contribution. Before that, earnings can owe tax and a 10% penalty, with exceptions such as disability or up to $10,000 for a first home.
- Roth IRAs have no required minimum distributions during the owner’s lifetime.
Roth IRAs for children
A child can have a Roth IRA, usually as a custodial account, as long as they have earned income from a job. The contribution cannot exceed what they earned that year, up to the normal limit. Decades of tax-free growth make small early contributions unusually valuable.
Methodology and sources
The allowed contribution follows the IRS worksheet in Publication 590-A. Growth uses one constant return with contributions at year end. The traditional comparison taxes the whole balance at your retirement rate and, separately, invests the yearly tax savings at the same return without tax drag, which slightly flatters the traditional side.
Figures checked on against IRS, 401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500 (IR-2025-111, Notice 2025-67) and IRS Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements.
Embed this calculator
You can put this calculator on your own blog, newsletter page or client site for free. Paste the code below where you want it to appear. It runs in your reader's browser and needs no account, no email and no API key. Please keep the credit line under it.
<iframe src="https://killionlabs.com/embed/roth-ira/" title="Roth IRA calculator" width="100%" height="760" style="border:0;max-width:760px" loading="lazy"></iframe>
<p><a href="https://killionlabs.com/calculators/roth-ira/">Roth IRA calculator</a> by Killion Labs</p>