Roth IRA Calculator
With balance now 15000 usd, you contribute a year 7500 usd, years until you withdraw 25 years, annual return 7 percent and 3 more fields, roth ira comes to $555,779 — balance when you withdraw. It is reached in 13 steps, the last of which is 81411.49 + 474367.78, and each one is printed on the page with its numbers filled in. The formula is the one published by IRS, not an approximation fitted to it.
What a Roth IRA grows to, how much of that balance is growth the IRS never taxes, and what the same money would be worth in a taxable account.
Formula and sources checked · How we check
Balance now 15000, You contribute a year 7500, Years until you withdraw 25 years, Annual return 7
$555,779
Balance when you withdraw for the example below. Editing a field recomputes the calculator below; this figure holds the answer the page was loaded with.
It is written into the HTML rather than drawn by a script, so a search engine reading this page without running JavaScript still finds an answer.
- Contribution limit for your age
7500 + (0)$7,500- Where the phase-out starts
$153,000- Where it reaches zero
$168,000- What you may contribute this year
(ceil(7500 / 10) * 10)$7,500- Contribution that fits the limit
min(7500, 7500)$7,500- Amount over what you may contribute
max(0, 7500 - 7500)$0- What the balance now grows to
15000 * 5.4274326$81,411- What future contributions grow to
7500 * (5.4274326 - 1) / 0.07$474,368- Balance when you withdraw
81411.49 + 474367.78$555,779- What you put in
15000 + 7500 * 25$202,500- Growth the IRS never taxes
555779.27 - 202500$353,279- Same investment in a taxable account, after capital gains tax
202500 + 353279.27 * (1 - 15 / 100)$502,787- What the Roth wrapper is worth
555779.27 - 502787.38$52,992
Balance year by year
The table above groups the 25 years into 0. The amortisation schedule prints every one of them, with the split between interest and principal.
Worked example
At $90,000 of income the full $7,500 is allowed. Put that in each year on top of $15,000 already invested, and 25 years at 7% reaches $555,779 — $202,500 of it money you put in and $353,279 growth the IRS never taxes, growth that would have cost $52,992 in capital gains tax in an ordinary brokerage account.
How to work it out yourself
- 1.Contributions are made with money you have already paid income tax on, so nothing here is deducted from this year’s tax bill. The payoff is at the other end: qualified withdrawals after age 59½, on an account open five years, are taxed at nothing.
- 2.The taxable-account line charges capital gains tax once, at the end, on all the growth. A real taxable account is usually worse than that, because dividends and fund distributions are taxed every year along the way.
- 3.The limit is per person and across all IRAs together, traditional and Roth. Two IRAs do not double it; a spouse with their own account does.
Roth IRA balance by years invested
| Years until you withdraw (years) | Balance when you withdraw | What you put in | Growth the IRS never taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $64,169 | $52,500 | $11,669 |
| 10 | $133,131 | $90,000 | $43,131 |
| 15 | $229,853 | $127,500 | $102,353 |
| 20 | $365,511 | $165,000 | $200,511 |
| 25 | $555,779 | $202,500 | $353,279 |
| 30 | $822,640 | $240,000 | $582,640 |
| 35 | $1,196,925 | $277,500 | $919,425 |
| 40 | $1,721,880 | $315,000 | $1,406,880 |
At $7,500 a year on a $15,000 starting balance, returning 7%.
The formula
- Contribution limit for your age
7500 + (0) - Where the phase-out starts
- Where it reaches zero
- What you may contribute this year
(ceil(7500 / 10) * 10) - Contribution that fits the limit
min(7500, 7500) - Amount over what you may contribute
max(0, 7500 - 7500) - What the balance now grows to
15000 * 5.4274326 - What future contributions grow to
7500 * (5.4274326 - 1) / 0.07 - Balance when you withdraw
81411.49 + 474367.78 - What you put in
15000 + 7500 * 25 - Growth the IRS never taxes
555779.27 - 202500 - Same investment in a taxable account, after capital gains tax
202500 + 353279.27 * (1 - 15 / 100) - What the Roth wrapper is worth
555779.27 - 502787.38
Source: IRS — Roth IRAs, IRS Notice 2025-67 via the newsroom — 2026 IRA limit $7,500, catch-up $1,100, and the Roth phase-out ranges, US SEC Investor.gov — compound interest calculator
Questions people actually ask
- What is the Roth IRA contribution limit for 2026?
- $7,500 across all your IRAs combined, or $8,600 from age 50, set by the IRS and adjusted for inflation. Contributing to a traditional IRA in the same year uses up the same allowance.
- Can I put money in a Roth IRA if I earn too much?
- It tapers rather than stopping dead. For 2026 the range is $153,000 to $168,000 of modified AGI for a single filer, $242,000 to $252,000 filing jointly, and $0 to $10,000 for a married person filing separately. Inside the range the limit falls in a straight line, and the reduced figure is rounded up to the next $10 with a $200 floor. Above the top you can still contribute to a traditional IRA and convert it — the backdoor Roth — though the pro-rata rule makes that expensive if you already hold pre-tax IRA money.
- Can I take my contributions out early?
- Your own contributions come out at any time, at any age, tax-free and penalty-free, because they were already taxed. Growth is different: withdraw that before age 59½ or before the account is five years old and it is taxed as income plus a 10% penalty, with exceptions for a first home, disability and a few others.
- Roth or traditional?
- Roth wins if your tax rate in retirement will be higher than it is now, traditional wins if it will be lower. A Roth also has no required minimum distributions during your lifetime, so the balance can keep compounding untouched — which is the part the arithmetic above does not price.
Related
- 401(k) CalculatorWhat a 401(k) grows to, how much of it is the employer match, and whether your contribution rate leaves any of that match unclaimed.
- Traditional vs Roth IRA CalculatorWhich IRA leaves you more after tax, comparing the deduction a traditional IRA gives now against the tax-free withdrawal a Roth gives later.
- Compound Interest CalculatorFuture value of a starting balance plus monthly contributions, separating what you put in from what the interest earned.
- Investment CalculatorWhat regular contributions grow to over time, with the inflation-adjusted figure beside the nominal one.
- Roth Conversion CalculatorWhat converting a traditional IRA to a Roth costs in tax now, what it is worth at withdrawal, and the retirement tax rate where the two paths break even.
- RMD CalculatorThe required minimum distribution from a traditional IRA or 401(k), using the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table denominator for your age.
Part of a job
- Planning retirement — 9 pages, in the order the questions arrive
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