How retirement income is taxed
- Social Security: up to 85% is taxable, depending on your other income.
- Traditional IRA and 401(k) withdrawals, pensions and RMDs: ordinary income at your bracket rate.
- Roth IRA withdrawals: tax-free after 59½ once the account is five years old.
- Long-term capital gains and qualified dividends: 0%, 15% or 20%, stacked on top of your other income.
- State tax: depends on the state; many exempt Social Security and some exempt pensions.
The bill depends less on how much you have than on which accounts you draw from each year. That is why the order of withdrawals, Roth conversions and the timing of Social Security are tax decisions.
The 2026 numbers that matter
- Standard deduction: $16,100 single, $32,200 married filing jointly.
- At 65 or older: an extra $2,050 if unmarried or $1,650 per married spouse, plus the new senior deduction of up to $6,000 each.
- 0% capital gains rate up to $49,450 of taxable income single, $98,900 joint.
- Medicare IRMAA starts above $109,000 single and $218,000 joint, tested against income two years earlier.
- RMDs start at 73, or 75 for anyone born in 1960 or later.
The 2027 retirement numbers page tracks next year’s figures as they are announced.
Your tax bill
The retirement income tax calculator works out the federal and state tax on a year of retirement income, your bracket, and your tax rate on the next $1,000 you withdraw.
Retirement tax calculator
Federal and state tax on Social Security, IRA withdrawals, pensions and investment income for a 2026 return.
Senior deduction calculator
How much of the new $6,000 deduction for people 65 and older you keep after the income phase-out, and the tax it saves.
0% capital gains calculator
How much long-term gain you can take this year at the 0% federal rate, for tax-gain harvesting in low-income years.
Required withdrawals
RMD calculator
Your required minimum distribution from your age and year-end balance, the start age for your birth year, and the IRS table.
Inherited IRA RMD calculator
Which rule applies to an inherited IRA, this year’s required distribution, and when the account must be empty.
Withdrawal order calculator
Taxable, tax-deferred and Roth as three buckets. Which you empty first changes what is left — not a tax engine.
Roth conversions and Medicare
Roth conversion calculator
The tax on a Roth conversion, how much to convert to fill your bracket, and what it does to Medicare premiums.
Roth conversion ladder calculator
When each rung of a Roth ladder can be withdrawn without penalty, the bridge money you need first, and the tax on each year.
IRMAA calculator
Your Medicare Part B and D surcharge from your MAGI, the projected 2027 brackets, and the room left before the next cliff.
Before 65
ACA subsidy cliff calculator
Your 2026 or 2027 ACA premium tax credit, the income where it ends, and the room you have before the cliff.
Rule of 55 calculator
Whether you can take penalty-free 401(k) withdrawals after leaving your job at 55, the penalty you avoid and what is left at 59½.
72(t) calculator
Substantially equal periodic payments before 59½ under all three IRS methods, with the current maximum rate.
Killion’s planner estimates federal and state tax on every simulated year when you turn tax on in a paid plan, including RMDs, Roth conversions, IRMAA and ACA credits. Estimates for planning, not tax advice.