Traditional IRA Calculator

First, enter your timeline in the Personal Details section: your current age, planned retirement age, and life expectancy. These inputs set the timeframe for your savings to grow and how long your withdrawals need to last. The calculator assumes penalty-free withdrawals start at age 59½, but you can set any retirement age.

Next, input your savings and withdrawal plan under IRA Balance & Contributions. Enter your current IRA balance, how much you plan to contribute each year, and the annual amount you expect to withdraw in retirement. The annual contribution should not exceed the 2026 limit of $7,000 (or $8,000 if you are age 50 or older).

Then, provide information for Tax Deduction Eligibility. Your filing status, Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), and whether you are covered by a retirement plan at work (like a 401(k) or 403(b)) determine if your contributions are fully, partially, or not at all tax-deductible. The calculator will show your deduction status in real-time as you enter this information.

Finally, set your investment assumptions. Enter your expected annual return and the long-term inflation rate. The calculator uses these rates to project investment growth and adjust future withdrawals to maintain purchasing power. For more detailed tax and contribution planning, you can open the Advanced Settings to adjust tax rates and model increasing contributions over time.

Current Age, Retirement Age, and Life Expectancy

These three inputs establish your financial timeline. The time between your current age and retirement age is your accumulation phase, where contributions and compound growth build your balance. The time between retirement age and life expectancy is the distribution phase, where your IRA must support your planned withdrawals.

Current IRA Balance

This is the starting value of your Traditional IRA. A larger initial balance provides a stronger foundation for future growth. Include the total value of all your Traditional, Rollover, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs.

Annual Contribution

This is the amount you plan to add to your IRA each year. For 2026, the maximum contribution is $7,000. If you are age 50 or older, you can add an extra $1,000 "catch-up" contribution, for a total of $8,000. Contributions can only be made from earned income.

Annual Withdrawal in Retirement

This is the amount of money you plan to take out from your IRA each year after you retire. This figure should be in today's dollars; the calculator will automatically adjust it for inflation over time. All withdrawals from a Traditional IRA are taxed as ordinary income. You can use our IRA withdrawal calculator for more detailed withdrawal scenarios.

Filing Status, MAGI, and Employer Plan Coverage

These inputs are critical for determining your tax deduction.

• Filing Status: Choose "Single" or "Married Filing Jointly."
• Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI): This is your AGI with certain deductions added back. It's the figure the IRS uses to determine eligibility for IRA deductions.
• Covered by Employer Plan: Check "Yes" if you participate in a retirement plan like a 401(k), pension, 403(b), or TSP through your job. If you file a joint return, your deduction may also be limited if your spouse is covered by a plan, even if you are not.

If you are not covered by a workplace plan, your contributions are fully deductible regardless of your income. If you are covered, your deduction may be limited or eliminated based on your MAGI.

Expected Annual Return and Inflation Rate

Your expected annual return is the average rate of growth you anticipate from your IRA investments. This is a long-term average; actual returns will vary. The inflation rate is used to show the impact of rising costs on your retirement withdrawals. A common long-term average for inflation is 2.5% to 3%. Learn more about how inflation affects retirement savings.

Advanced: Tax Rates and Contribution Growth

• Current and Retirement Tax Rates: Your current marginal tax rate determines the value of your tax deduction today. Your expected retirement tax rate determines how much tax you'll pay on withdrawals later. A key part of the Roth vs. Traditional IRA decision is whether you expect your tax rate to be higher or lower in retirement.
• Contribution Growth: You can choose to have the calculator automatically increase your contributions over time, tied to an assumed salary growth rate. This models the common practice of saving more as your income rises.

This calculator uses a year-by-year projection to model the growth and eventual drawdown of your Traditional IRA.

For each year before your specified retirement age (the accumulation phase), the calculator does the following:

1. Calculates Contribution: It takes your annual contribution, adding the catch-up amount if you are age 50 or older.
2. Determines Deduction: It uses your filing status, MAGI, and employer plan coverage to calculate the portion of your contribution that is tax-deductible based on 2026 IRS rules.
3. Calculates Growth: It applies your expected annual return to the starting balance for that year.
4. Finds Ending Balance: The new balance is calculated as Starting Balance + Contribution + Investment Growth.

Once you reach retirement age (the distribution phase):

1. Calculates Withdrawal: It takes your planned annual withdrawal and adjusts it for inflation since your retirement started.
2. Calculates Tax: It applies your expected retirement tax rate to the withdrawal amount to estimate taxes owed.
3. Calculates Growth: It applies the annual return to the remaining balance after the withdrawal.
4. Finds Ending Balance: The new balance is Starting Balance - Withdrawal + Investment Growth.

This process repeats every year until you reach your life expectancy or the balance runs out. The Roth IRA comparison, if enabled, runs a parallel calculation where contributions are not deductible but qualified withdrawals are tax-free.

The calculator uses several formulas in its year-by-year projection. The core logic for tax deductions and account growth is shown below.

IRA Deduction Formula

The deductible amount is determined by your MAGI and workplace plan coverage.

// Step 1: Determine the applicable MAGI phase-out range for 2026
if you are covered by an employer plan:
  if filing status is Single: range is $79,000 to $89,000
  if filing status is Married Filing Jointly: range is $126,000 to $146,000
else if filing status is Married and spouse is covered:
  range is $236,000 to $246,000
else:
  // Not covered by a plan, so deduction is always full
  deductible amount = your annual contribution (up to the limit)
  return

// Step 2: Calculate deduction based on MAGI
if MAGI <= range start:
  deductible amount = your annual contribution (up to the limit)
else if MAGI >= range end:
  deductible amount = 0
else: // Inside the phase-out range
  phase_out_percentage = (range end - MAGI) / (range end - range start)
  deductible amount = contribution limit * phase_out_percentage

Note: If you are not covered by a workplace plan, your Traditional IRA contribution is fully deductible regardless of income.

Pre-Retirement (Accumulation) Formula

contribution = annual contribution + catch-up contribution (if age 50+)
investment growth = current balance * (expected return / 100)
ending balance = current balance + contribution + investment growth

Post-Retirement (Distribution) Formula

inflation adjustment = (1 + inflation rate / 100) ^ years in retirement
inflation adjusted withdrawal = annual withdrawal * inflation adjustment
tax on withdrawal = inflation adjusted withdrawal * (retirement tax rate / 100)

investment growth = (current balance - inflation adjusted withdrawal) * (expected return / 100)
ending balance = current balance - inflation adjusted withdrawal + investment growth

For 2026, you can contribute up to $7,000 to a Traditional IRA. If you are age 50 or older at any point during the year, you can contribute an additional $1,000 as a catch-up contribution, for a total of $8,000.

However, contributing is different from deducting. Your ability to deduct your contribution depends on two factors:

1. Whether you (or your spouse) are covered by a retirement plan at work.
2. Your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI).

Here are the 2026 MAGI phase-out ranges for deducting Traditional IRA contributions if you are covered by a workplace retirement plan:

If you are not covered by a workplace plan but your spouse is, the phase-out range for your deduction is much higher: $236,000 to $246,000 of MAGI.

If neither you nor your spouse (if filing jointly) is covered by a workplace plan, you can take a full deduction for your IRA contributions, regardless of your income.

The choice between a Traditional and a Roth IRA is one of the most common retirement planning questions. The best choice depends primarily on your current income and what you expect your income (and tax rate) to be in retirement.

Choose a Traditional IRA if:

• You expect to be in a lower tax bracket in retirement than you are today. The upfront tax deduction is more valuable now, and you'll pay taxes at a lower rate on withdrawals later.
• You need to lower your taxable income right now to qualify for other tax credits or deductions.
• Your income is too high to contribute directly to a Roth IRA, and you don't want to use a backdoor Roth IRA strategy.

Choose a Roth IRA if:

• You expect to be in a higher tax bracket in retirement. It's better to pay taxes now at your current, lower rate and enjoy tax-free withdrawals later.
• You want tax diversification in retirement, giving you flexibility to manage your taxable income from different account types.
• You want to avoid Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs), as Roth IRAs do not have them for the original owner.
• You want to leave tax-free money to your heirs.

The calculator's side-by-side comparison can help you visualize the after-tax difference based on your tax rate assumptions. For a complete analysis, see our guide on Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA.

Withdrawals are a critical part of the Traditional IRA lifecycle. Money in a Traditional IRA grows tax-deferred, meaning you don't pay taxes on investment gains each year. However, you will pay taxes when you take the money out.

Taxation: Any money you withdraw from a Traditional IRA that was funded with pre-tax (deductible) contributions is taxed as ordinary income at your tax rate in the year of withdrawal.

Early Withdrawals: If you withdraw money before age 59½, you will typically owe a 10% early withdrawal penalty in addition to ordinary income tax. There are some exceptions, such as for a first-time home purchase (up to $10,000), certain medical or education expenses, or disability. Use the IRA early withdrawal penalty calculator to see the cost.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs): Unlike Roth IRAs, Traditional IRAs are subject to RMDs. Starting at age 73 (or 75, depending on your birth year), you are required by law to withdraw a certain minimum amount from your account each year. The amount is calculated based on your account balance and your life expectancy from the IRS's Uniform Lifetime Table. Failing to take your full RMD results in a steep penalty. Use the RMD calculator to estimate your future distributions.

The calculator provides several key metrics to help you assess your plan:

IRA Growth Score: This score gives you a quick summary of whether your IRA is on track to last through your planned retirement, based on your withdrawal assumptions. A score of 100 means your funds are projected to last until your life expectancy.

Balance at Retirement: This is the projected total value of your IRA in the year you plan to retire. This is the nest egg you will begin drawing from.

Total Contributions vs. Tax-Deferred Growth: These cards and the associated charts show how much of your final balance came from your own deposits versus how much came from investment earnings. This highlights the power of compound growth over time.

Tax Deductions: This shows the total value of the tax deductions you are projected to receive over your working years. It also calculates the estimated tax savings based on your current marginal tax rate.

Tax Impact Panel: This section provides the crucial trade-off: the tax you save now on deductions versus the tax you're projected to pay later on withdrawals. The "Net tax impact" shows whether the Traditional IRA is likely to save or cost you money in taxes compared to a post-tax account, based on your tax rate assumptions.

Traditional vs. Roth Comparison: If enabled, this provides a direct comparison of the projected after-tax value of a Traditional IRA versus a Roth IRA at retirement, helping you make a more informed decision.

If your projection shows a shortfall, consider these actions:

1. Contribute More: The most direct way to increase your final balance is to increase your annual contribution. If you're not contributing the maximum allowed ($7,000, or $8,000 if 50+ in 2026), work towards that goal.
2. Start Earlier: The longer your money has to grow, the more powerful compounding becomes. If you're young, prioritizing even small contributions can lead to a large balance later. If you feel you're behind, read is it too late to save for retirement.
3. Check Your Deduction Eligibility: Use the calculator to see if you can adjust your income or workplace plan participation to qualify for a tax deduction. The tax savings can be reinvested, further boosting your savings.
4. Consider a Roth Conversion: If your contributions are non-deductible because your income is too high, you are essentially contributing after-tax money to a Traditional IRA. This is generally inefficient. A Roth conversion allows you to move those funds to a Roth IRA, where the growth can become tax-free.
5. Review Your Withdrawal Plan: A lower annual withdrawal amount can make your savings last significantly longer. Use the retirement spending calculator to refine your budget.

1. Ignoring Deduction Rules: Many people assume all Traditional IRA contributions are deductible. Failing to check the MAGI limits can lead to issues with the IRS and inefficient savings.
2. Making Non-Deductible Contributions When a Roth is Better: If you can't deduct your contribution, a Roth IRA is almost always a better choice. Non-deductible Traditional IRA contributions result in taxable growth, while Roth IRA growth is tax-free.
3. Forgetting About RMDs: Unlike a Roth IRA, you can't leave money in a Traditional IRA forever. Missing an RMD comes with a significant penalty.
4. Underestimating Taxes in Retirement: All pre-tax withdrawals are added to your other income (like Social Security and pensions) and taxed. Plan for this by exploring tax-efficient withdrawal strategies.
5. Withdrawing Early Without Checking Exceptions: Taking money out before 59½ can cost you a 10% penalty plus taxes. Always check if your reason for withdrawal qualifies for an exception first.