Roth vs Traditional IRA

Compare after-tax retirement outcomes based on your current and expected future tax rates.

Annual Contribution ($)

Years Until Retirement

Current Tax Rate 24%

Expected Retirement Tax Rate 22%

Expected Annual Return 7.0%

Roth IRA

Pay tax now, tax-free later

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After-tax spendable

Traditional IRA

Deduct now, tax withdrawals

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After-tax spendable

Winner for Your Scenario

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After-Tax Balance Growth Over Time

Rule of thumb: if you expect to be in a higher tax bracket in retirement, Roth usually wins. If you expect lower rates later, Traditional often wins. Tax diversification (some of both) hedges the uncertainty.

Roth vs Traditional IRA Calculator

The Roth vs Traditional IRA calculator settles the oldest debate in retirement planning by running both scenarios side by side and declaring a clear winner based on your actual tax situation. Enter your annual contribution, current tax rate, expected retirement tax rate, and investment horizon, and the calculator computes the after-tax spendable balance for each option, showing the tradeoff between paying tax now versus paying later. The two outcomes sit in labeled columns with a verdict box beneath announcing which path wins for your specific scenario and by how much. A dual-line growth chart tracks both after-tax balances year by year, so you can see exactly where and why the two strategies diverge. It's the calculator that replaces the oversimplified "Roth is always better" meme with the actual math: the answer depends entirely on the relationship between your current and future tax rates.