Free Roth IRA calculator: project how much your account grows to with annual contributions, see the 2026 limits and income phase-out, and compare against your plan.
| Input | Result |
|---|---|
| $10,000 + $7,500/yr for 30 yrs at 7% | $784,578, $235,000 contributed, $549,578 tax-free growth |
| $5,000 + $6,000/yr for 25 yrs at 6% | $350,646, $155,000 contributed, $195,646 growth |
| $60,000 + $8,600/yr for 15 yrs at 5% | $310,311, $189,000 contributed (50+ catch-up), $121,311 growth |
$7,500 if you are under 50, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older (that is the $7,500 base plus the $1,100 catch-up). The limit is shared across all your traditional and Roth IRAs combined, it is one bucket, not one per account. For your exact allowed amount after the income phase-out, use the Roth IRA Contribution Limit Calculator.
For 2026 the ability to contribute directly phases out between $153,000 and $168,000 of modified AGI for singles and heads of household, and between $242,000 and $252,000 for married couples filing jointly. Above the top of the range, direct contributions are not allowed, the backdoor Roth (non-deductible traditional IRA contribution plus conversion) is the common workaround, but it has pro-rata tax traps.
Qualified Roth distributions, taken after age 59½ and after a five-taxable-year holding period, are entirely free of federal income tax, including all the growth. This calculator shows the pre-tax projection; state rules generally follow the federal treatment.
The five-year clock governs when earnings can come out tax-free, not how the balance grows, it does not change the projection math. It starts on January 1 of the tax year of your first Roth contribution, so an April-deadline contribution still counts for the prior year.
There is no official projection rate. Long-run diversified stock returns have historically averaged roughly 7% nominal; adjust downward for bonds, cash or a more cautious plan, and remember inflation reduces real purchasing power.
Two ceilings moved for 2026. The contribution limit is $7,500 (plus $1,100 catch-up at 50+). The income phase-outs for direct contributions run $153,000–$168,000 for singles and heads of household, and $242,000–$252,000 for married filing jointly, within the range your allowed contribution shrinks linearly; above it, direct contributions are off the table (backdoor routes exist but have their own tax mechanics). Both figures come from IRS Notice 2025-67.
A Roth contribution is a bet that your marginal rate today is lower than the effective rate you will pay on withdrawals. That comparison has a subtlety most summaries skip: traditional withdrawals fill brackets from the bottom, so the effective rate on them is usually well below your top marginal rate during accumulation, with the 2026 standard deduction at $16,100 single, a retiree withdrawing $60,000 from a traditional account pays an effective federal rate of roughly 10–11%, not the 22% they might have dodged while working. Roth tends to win when you are early-career (low current bracket), expect high retirement income, or value the absence of required distributions; traditional tends to win peak-earning years.
Earnings withdrawn before age 59½ generally owe income tax plus a 10% additional tax, with a catalogue of exceptions (first home, education, and others). Separately, each conversion starts its own five-year clock for its earnings. The rules reward patience; they are not a penalty for normal retirement-age withdrawals, which is exactly what this calculator models.
How this page is built and kept current. Written and fact-checked by the MoneyCalcsHub editorial team. We do not sell financial products and we accept no payment to change a result, the arithmetic on this page runs in your own browser from the numbers you type.
Official sources used on this page:
Source-dependent figures are reviewed when the cited issuer publishes an update. Worked examples show the formula applied to the listed inputs; interactive results are calculated in your browser.
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