Roth IRA Calculator

Background.

A Roth IRA calculator projects an account balance and checks the direct-contribution phase-out before deciding how much to compound. Roth IRAs are subject to an income-based eligibility reduction: within a specified Modified Adjusted Gross Income range, the contribution limit shrinks; at or above the upper boundary, no direct Roth IRA contribution is allowed. This calculator uses the 2026 figures verified from IRS Notice 2025-67 and Publication 590-A: a $7,500 IRA limit, an additional $1,100 catch-up for someone age 50 or older, a $153,000 to $168,000 phase-out for Single and Head of Household filers, and a $242,000 to $252,000 phase-out for Married Filing Jointly.

The IRS calculation has details that materially affect the answer. Publication 590-A Worksheet 2-2 reduces the applicable limit in proportion to MAGI, rounds a partial result up to the next $10, and sets a $200 minimum when the partial result would otherwise be more than zero but less than $200. This calculator implements those steps. It then uses the smaller of that result and the contribution you entered in the projection.

The displayed 2026 phase-out result has an explicit scope. It assumes your taxable compensation is at least the calculated limit and that you make no contributions to any other traditional or Roth IRA for the year. IRS Worksheet 2-2 actually uses the lesser of the statutory IRA limit and taxable compensation, then subtracts contributions to other IRAs. Those two amounts are not inputs on this page, so a person with lower compensation or other IRA contributions can have a lower legal Roth limit than the displayed figure. Married Filing Separately is also outside this calculator's supported filing-status scope. Use Publication 590-A or a tax professional when any of those conditions applies.

The growth side is an illustration rather than a tax-law forecast. It assumes the same contribution amount is deposited at the end of every year and holds the 2026 limit, phase-out result, MAGI, and filing status constant throughout the selected horizon. Actual IRA limits and phase-out bands are indexed and can change, income can move, and future contributions may therefore differ. The return is also a user-selected constant, not a promise; investment returns fluctuate and can be negative.

Qualified Roth IRA distributions can be tax-free. In general, earnings receive qualified-distribution treatment only after the applicable five-tax-year period and when another qualifying condition is met, commonly reaching age 59½. Contributions and earnings do not have identical distribution rules, and this page does not model ordering rules, conversions, early-distribution tax, the pro-rata rule, excess-contribution tax, or a backdoor Roth strategy. Treat the output labelled tax-free growth as projected investment growth that could be tax-free if the eventual distribution is qualified, not as a guarantee that every withdrawal will be untaxed.

Enter your current balance, age, planned annual contribution, expected return, years, filing status, and Roth-purpose MAGI. Compare the 2026 phase-out limit with the contribution used in the projection, then review the balance and growth with the scope limitations above. This is educational planning, not tax or investment advice. Confirm your allowable contribution with current IRS instructions before contributing, especially if your compensation is low, you contribute to another IRA, your filing status is not supported, or your circumstances change.

What is roth ira calculator?

A Roth IRA (Individual Retirement Arrangement) is a personal retirement account funded with after-tax dollars, in exchange for which the IRS never taxes the account again — not the original contributions, and not any of the investment growth — provided withdrawals are "qualified": the account has been open at least five years and the owner is at least 59½ (with limited exceptions for disability, a first home purchase, and a few other cases). This is the core distinction from a traditional IRA or a traditional 401(k), both of which are funded pre-tax and taxed as ordinary income on withdrawal. Because Roth IRAs are meant to help middle- and lower-income savers rather than substitute for employer plans at the top of the income scale, the IRS caps who can contribute directly: for 2026, the ability to contribute phases out between $153,000 and $168,000 of Modified Adjusted Gross Income for Single filers, and between $242,000 and $252,000 for Married Filing Jointly filers. Within the phase-out range, the allowed contribution shrinks proportionally to how far into the range your MAGI falls; above the upper threshold, direct contributions are not allowed at all (though a "backdoor Roth" conversion strategy exists for high earners, using a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution converted to Roth — not modeled by this calculator). The base contribution limit for 2026 is $7,500, with an additional $1,100 catch-up contribution available starting the year you turn 50, for a total of $8,600.

How to use this calculator.

1. 01Enter your current Roth IRA balance.
2. 02Enter your age — 50 or older unlocks the 2026 catch-up contribution.
3. 03Enter how much you plan to contribute annually. The projection caps it at the 2026 phase-out result, assuming sufficient taxable compensation and no contributions to other IRAs.
4. 04Enter your expected annual return, e.g. 7% for a stock-heavy long-term portfolio.
5. 05Enter the number of years until you plan to withdraw.
6. 06Select your filing status: Single/Head of Household or Married Filing Jointly.
7. 07Enter your Modified AGI. This drives the income phase-out calculation.
8. 08Compare the 2026 phase-out limit against the contribution used in the projection, then interpret the balance under the stated constant-return, constant-rule assumptions.

The formula.

Reviewed on 2026-07-27 against IRS Notice 2025-67 and Publication 590-A. First, the calculator selects the 2026 IRA limit: $7,500, or $8,600 for someone age 50 or older. It then applies the Roth MAGI phase-out. At or below $153,000 for Single/Head of Household or $242,000 for Married Filing Jointly, the full selected limit remains. At or above $168,000 or $252,000 respectively, the direct-contribution result is zero. Inside the range, the reduction equals the selected limit multiplied by (MAGI minus the lower boundary) divided by $15,000 for Single/Head of Household or $10,000 for Married Filing Jointly. Following Worksheet 2-2, the remaining partial limit is rounded up to the nearest $10; if that non-zero result is below $200, it becomes $200.

The worksheet also caps the limit at taxable compensation and accounts for contributions to other IRAs. Because this calculator does not collect those values, its phase-out result assumes taxable compensation is at least the selected limit and other-IRA contributions are zero. It is therefore not a complete statutory maximum for users outside those assumptions.

For growth, the current balance compounds by (1 + r)^n. End-of-year contributions use the ordinary-annuity factor ((1+r)^n − 1) / r. At a 0% return, the calculator adds contribution times years instead of dividing by zero. The same contribution and 2026 eligibility result are repeated for every projection year even though future IRS limits, income, filing status, and actual returns can change. Projected growth is tax-free only if the eventual distribution qualifies under the applicable Roth IRA rules.

A worked example.

Frequently asked questions.

References& sources.

1. [1]Internal Revenue Service (2025). "401(k) limit increases to $24,500 for 2026, IRA limit increases to $7,500." IRS Newsroom.
2. [2]Internal Revenue Service. "Amount of Roth IRA Contributions That You Can Make."
3. [3]Internal Revenue Service (2025). Notice 2025-67: 2026 Amounts Relating to Retirement Plans and IRAs.
4. [4]Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-A: Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).
5. [5]Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B: Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs).