Updated for 2026 · IRA limit $7,500 + $1,100 age-50 catch-up · IRS Notice 2025-67
Roth IRA Calculator
See your tax-free Roth IRA balance at retirement, exactly how much you're allowed to contribute this year for your income, and how much more you keep than a regular taxable account. 2026 limits, no signup.
Modified adjusted gross income — sets your eligibility.
Single / head of household.
You can contribute the full $7,500 to a Roth IRA for 2026 — about $625/month.
Your Roth IRA at 65
$1,183,190 tax-free
That's $362,365 more than the same contributions in a regular taxable brokerage account — money you keep because Roth growth is never taxed.
You put in
$268k
total contributions
Tax-free growth
$916k
never taxed
vs taxable account
$821k
$156,066 lost to tax along the way
at age 40
$118k
at age 50
$346k
at age 60
$803k
at age 65
$1.18M
Estimates for US tax year 2026. The 2026 Roth IRA contribution limit is $7,500 ($8,600if you're 50 or older), and direct contributions phase out between $153,000–$168,000 MAGI (single) or $242,000–$252,000(married filing jointly), per IRS Notice 2025-67. You must have earned income at least equal to your contribution. Growth assumes a steady annual return compounded monthly; real markets vary. The taxable-account comparison taxes that account's yearly growth at your marginal rate — an illustrative drag, not a forecast. General information, not tax or investment advice — confirm with a CPA and at irs.gov.
What a Roth IRA actually does for you
A Roth IRA is the rare account where the IRS lets your money grow and come out completely tax-free. You contribute dollars you've already paid tax on, those dollars grow for decades untouched, and when you withdraw in retirement — after age 59½ and a five-year holding period — you owe nothing on the gains. That's the whole magic: a traditional account taxes you on the way out, when your balance (and the tax bill) is largest; a Roth taxes you once, up front, on the small seed and never on the harvest. The calculator above turns that into a single number — your tax-free balance at retirement — and shows how much more it is than the same savings in an ordinary taxable account.
How much you can contribute in 2026 (and why income matters)
For 2026 the contribution limit is $7,500, or $8,600if you're 50 or older (a $1,100 catch-up). But unlike a 401(k), a Roth IRA has an income ceiling. Single and head-of-household filers get the full limit under $153,000 of modified AGI, a shrinking partial limit between $153,000 and $168,000, and nothing above $168,000. Married-filing-jointly couples phase out between $242,000 and $252,000. Most calculators just print those thresholds and leave you to guess — this one runs the actual IRS reduction formula and tells you the exact reduced dollar amount you're allowed to put in. You also need earned income (wages or self-employment) at least equal to your contribution.
The Roth vs. taxable-account comparison, made honest
The fairest way to see a Roth's value is to ask: what if I invested the very same dollars in a normal brokerage account instead? That account gets taxed on its growth along the way — dividends and realised gains chip away at compounding every year. The calculator runs both side by side using your own return and tax rate, and the gap between the two lines is the Roth's payoff: pure, tax-free compounding the taxable account never gets to keep. Over a few decades that gap routinely runs into six figures, which is why financial planners treat unused Roth space as one of the most valuable things a saver can leave on the table.
Why the Roth IRA is so flexible
Two features make the Roth IRA unusually friendly. First, your contributions (not earnings) can be withdrawn at any time, for any reason, with no tax and no penalty — so the account doubles as a deep emergency backstop in a way a 401(k) never can. Second, a Roth IRA has no required minimum distributionsin your lifetime; you're never forced to draw it down, so it can keep compounding into your 80s or pass to heirs largely tax-free. Add the ability to use up to $10,000 of earnings penalty-free toward a first home, and the Roth becomes less a single-purpose retirement account and more a flexible tax-free wealth bucket.
Earn too much? The backdoor Roth
Being over the income limit doesn't actually lock you out. Because there's no income cap on converting a traditional IRA to a Roth, high earners fund a non-deductible traditional IRA and then convert it — a backdoor Roth— to get the full limit into Roth space anyway. It's legal and common, with one catch: the pro-rata rule, which can make the conversion partly taxable if you hold other pre-tax IRA money. When your income is above the cut-off, the calculator automatically models the backdoor route so you still see your projected tax-free balance instead of a dead end.
Roth IRA withdrawal rules and the 5-year rule
Roth withdrawals split into two buckets, and the rules are different for each. Your contributions — the money you put in — can come out any time, at any age, tax-free and penalty-free, because you already paid tax on them. Your earnings are where the rules bite. To pull earnings out completely tax-free, the distribution must be qualified: you must be 59½ or older and have had a Roth IRA open for at least five tax years (the "5-year rule," counted from January 1 of the year of your first contribution). Take earnings out before both are met and they're generally taxed plus a 10% penalty — though the IRS waives the penalty (not always the tax) for cases like disability, death, or up to a $10,000 lifetime first-home purchase. This flexibility is exactly why a Roth IRA can double as a long-term emergency backstop in a way a 401(k) never can.
Roth IRA pros and cons
The pros: tax-free growth and tax-free retirement income; no lifetime required minimum distributions, so it can compound untouched into your 80s or pass to heirs; contributions withdrawable any time without tax or penalty; and a hedge against future tax rates rising. The cons:no up-front tax deduction (you pay tax on the money before it goes in); a low limit ($7,500 vs a 401(k)'s $24,500); income limits that lock out high earners from direct contributions; and the five-year clock on earnings if you open one late in life. For most people the pros dominate — which is why financial planners treat unused Roth space as one of the most valuable things a saver can leave on the table.
Roth IRA vs Traditional IRA
Both are IRAs with the same $7,500 combined limit, but they tax you at opposite ends. A Traditional IRA may give you a deduction now and taxes every dollar — contributions and growth — when you withdraw, and it forces required minimum distributions starting at 73. A Roth IRA gives no deduction now but never taxes the growth and has no lifetime RMDs. The deciding question is the same one behind the 401(k) version of this choice: will your tax rate be higher now or in retirement? Expect higher later — true for most younger savers and anyone betting tax rates rise — and the Roth wins. Our Roth vs Traditional 401(k) calculator runs that tax-rate math in dollars.
2026 Roth IRA limits and deadlines at a glance
- Contribution limit: $7,500 (under 50) or $8,600 (50+, includes the $1,100 catch-up).
- Income phase-out (single/HoH): $153,000–$168,000 MAGI; gone above $168,000.
- Income phase-out (married filing jointly): $242,000–$252,000 MAGI; gone above $252,000.
- Contribution deadline: you have until April 15, 2027 to make 2026 contributions.
- Earned income: you must have wages or self-employment income at least equal to what you contribute.
- Over the limit? A backdoor Roth has no income cap.
Worked example: 30 years old, $7,500 a year to age 65
The setup. A 30-year-old single saver earning $80,000 — comfortably under the $153,000 ceiling, so eligible for the full limit — starts with $5,000 already in a Roth IRA and contributes the maximum $7,500 a year (about $625 a month) until 65, earning a 7% average annual return.
The result. By 65 the account grows to roughly $1.18 million, entirely tax-free. Of that, about $267,500 is the money they actually contributed ($5,000 start plus $7,500 × 35 years) and the remaining ~$916,000 is growth they will never pay a cent of tax on.
The Roth payoff.Put those identical dollars in an ordinary taxable brokerage account taxed at 22% on its yearly growth and you'd land near $821,000 instead — over $360,000 less. That gap is the Roth IRA doing its one job: letting decades of compounding happen with the IRS sitting it out. Change the age, contribution or return in the calculator and watch both the balance and that gap move in real time.
Frequently asked questions
How much will a Roth IRA grow in 10 years?
It depends on what you contribute and the return you earn, but here's a concrete benchmark: max out the 2026 limit of $7,500 a year (about $625/month) at a 7% average return and, starting from zero, you'd have roughly $108,000 after 10 years — about $33,000 of which is tax-free growth. Bump the return to 9% and it's closer to $121,000; start with an existing balance and it's higher still. The calculator above shows the exact figure for your contribution, starting balance and return, and charts the year-by-year path so you can see how the growth accelerates as compounding takes over in the later years.
What happens if you put $7,000 (now $7,500) a year in a Roth IRA?
$7,500 is the 2026 limit (up from $7,000 in 2025), and contributing it every year is one of the most powerful moves in personal finance because every dollar of growth comes out tax-free in retirement. A 30-year-old who contributes $7,500 a year at a 7% return would reach roughly $1.12 million by age 65 — and owe $0 in tax on all of it. Put the same money in a normal taxable brokerage account taxed along the way and you'd end up more than $330,000 poorer after taxes. The trade-off is that you contribute with after-tax dollars now and you must have earned income at least equal to what you put in.
How long does it take for a Roth IRA to reach $1 million?
Contributing the full $7,500 a year at a 7% average return, a Roth IRA crosses $1 million in about 34 years — so a saver who starts at 30 and never raises the contribution gets there around age 64, entirely tax-free. The lever that moves this most is time, not heroics: starting five years earlier, adding any employer-free side savings, or earning 9% instead of 7% can pull the million-dollar mark forward by several years. A starting balance helps too. Use the calculator to set your own contribution, return and starting balance and watch where your line crosses seven figures.
Which is better, a 401(k) or a Roth IRA?
They solve different problems, so most people use both. A 401(k) has a far higher limit ($24,500 in 2026) and often an employer match — free money you should always grab first up to the full match. A Roth IRA has a lower limit ($7,500) but unbeatable flexibility: tax-free growth, tax-free withdrawals, no lifetime required minimum distributions, and you can pull your contributions out anytime without tax or penalty. A common playbook: contribute to the 401(k) up to the match, then fund the Roth IRA to its limit, then go back and finish maxing the 401(k). Our Roth vs Traditional 401(k) tool covers the tax-rate side of that decision.
What is the Roth IRA income limit for 2026?
For 2026, single and head-of-household filers can contribute the full amount with a modified AGI under $153,000; contributions phase out between $153,000 and $168,000 and are gone above $168,000. For married couples filing jointly the full-contribution ceiling is $242,000, phasing out up to $252,000. Married-filing-separately filers who lived with their spouse phase out between $0 and $10,000. Inside the phase-out range your limit is reduced on a sliding scale — the calculator computes the exact reduced dollar figure for your income using the IRS formula, which most calculators skip.
Can I contribute to a Roth IRA if I earn too much? (Backdoor Roth)
Yes — through a backdoor Roth IRA. There's no income limit on converting a traditional IRA to a Roth, so high earners contribute to a (non-deductible) traditional IRA and then convert it to Roth, effectively funding the full $7,500 ($8,600 if 50+) despite being over the direct-contribution cap. It's a legitimate, widely used strategy, but watch the pro-rata rule: if you hold other pre-tax IRA money, part of the conversion can be taxable. When your income is over the limit, the calculator above automatically models funding the full limit via the backdoor route so you still see your projected tax-free balance.
What is the Roth IRA 5-year rule?
The 5-year rule says your Roth IRA earnings can only come out completely tax-free once five tax years have passed since your first contribution — and you must also be 59½ or older (or qualify via disability, death, or a first-home purchase). The clock starts on January 1 of the year you first funded any Roth IRA, so a contribution made in, say, March 2026 is treated as starting January 1, 2026. Importantly, the 5-year rule only ever applies to earnings — your own contributions are always withdrawable tax-free and penalty-free regardless of the clock. A separate 5-year clock applies to each Roth conversion.
Can I withdraw money from my Roth IRA before 59½?
Your contributions — yes, anytime, with no tax and no penalty, because you already paid tax on them. Your earnings are the catch: pull them before age 59½ (and before the 5-year mark) and they're generally taxed as income plus a 10% early-withdrawal penalty. There are penalty exceptions — disability, death, up to $10,000 toward a first home, certain medical or education costs — but tax may still apply on the earnings. This 'contributions out anytime' feature is what makes a Roth IRA uniquely flexible: it can sit behind your emergency fund without locking your money away until retirement the way a 401(k) does.
Related tools
Roth vs Traditional 401(k)
Pay tax now or later — which leaves more after taxes, with the break-even rate.
HSA Calculator (US)
The triple-tax-free account that can out-shelter even a Roth IRA.
H1B Take-Home Salary
Your real US take-home after federal, state and FICA, state by state.
All Retirement Calculators
401(k), HSA, IRA and more projections for the US and India.