Roth IRA Calculator: What Your Contributions Grow Into Tax-Free
Published 06/05/2026 by
Ante Mazalin
Summary:
A Roth IRA calculator is a tool that projects how much your retirement contributions grow into, none of which is taxed when you withdraw it in retirement.
Four inputs drive the projection, and two of them matter far more than people expect.
- Years of growth: The most powerful input; starting a decade earlier can multiply the ending balance.
- Annual contribution: Capped by the IRS each year, with a higher limit once you turn fifty.
- Expected return: Driven by what you invest in, since a Roth IRA is an account, not an investment.
- Income eligibility: Above certain income levels, direct contributions phase out and stop.
Roth IRA projections look like typos because tax-free compounding over decades produces numbers that feel impossible next to a savings account. The math below is the same arithmetic every calculator runs.
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How a Roth IRA grows
You contribute money you have already paid taxes on, invest it inside the account, and never pay taxes again: not on dividends, not on gains, not on qualified withdrawals after age 59½.
The account is a tax wrapper, and what grows inside depends on the investments you pick.
For 2026, the IRS allows contributions of $7,500 per year, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older. The projections below assume the $7,500 maximum and a 7% average annual return, a common planning assumption for a diversified stock portfolio.
The math: maxing out a Roth IRA at 7%
| Years of contributions | Total contributed | Ending balance | Tax-free growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $75,000 | $110,877 | $35,877 |
| 20 | $150,000 | $328,989 | $178,989 |
| 30 | $225,000 | $758,048 | $533,048 |
| 40 | $300,000 | $1,602,072 | $1,302,072 |
The pattern worth staring at: in year 10 your money is mostly contributions, by year 30 it is mostly growth, and by year 40 growth outweighs contributions four to one. Compounding does the heavy lifting only if you give it decades.
What starting age is worth
The same $7,500 annual contribution, run from different starting ages to 65, shows why starting beats optimizing. The last column is what the Roth wrapper itself is worth versus the identical portfolio in a taxable account.
| Start age | Balance at 65 | Same portfolio, taxable account | Tax-free advantage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | $1,602,072 | $1,214,430 | $387,641 |
| 35 | $758,048 | $622,715 | $135,333 |
| 45 | $328,989 | $290,741 | $38,248 |
Waiting from 25 to 35 costs about $844,000 of ending balance, and only $75,000 of that gap is skipped contributions. The rest is compounding you cannot buy back later.
How to project your own Roth IRA balance
Five inputs produce a projection you can trust.
- Start with your current Roth IRA balance, or zero if you are opening one.
- Set your annual contribution, up to $7,500 for 2026 or $8,600 if you are 50 or older.
- Pick a return assumption that matches your investments: 6% to 7% for a stock-heavy mix is a common planning range, lower if you hold bonds or cash.
- Multiply the years until your target age, letting each year’s balance grow by the return before adding the next contribution.
- Stress-test it: rerun the projection at a return two points lower to see a conservative floor.
Who can contribute in 2026
Direct Roth IRA contributions phase out at higher incomes, based on modified adjusted gross income:
- Single and head of household: Full contribution below $153,000, phasing to zero at $168,000.
- Married filing jointly: Full contribution below $242,000, phasing to zero at $252,000.
- Earned income rule: You can contribute only up to what you earned for the year, whichever is less against the limit.
Above the phase-out, the backdoor Roth route (contributing to a traditional IRA and converting) remains the standard workaround, with tax consequences worth understanding before you start.
Pro Tip: Roth IRA contributions (not earnings) can be withdrawn at any age, for any reason, with no tax or penalty. That makes a Roth IRA a reasonable second-tier emergency reserve: the money compounds tax-free if untouched, but it is not locked away the way 401(k) funds are.
Roth IRA vs. traditional IRA vs. taxable account
| Roth IRA | Traditional IRA | Taxable brokerage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tax break | Withdrawals tax-free | Contributions deductible now | None |
| Taxes in retirement | None on qualified withdrawals | Ordinary income tax | Capital gains as you sell |
| Required withdrawals | None during your lifetime | Start at age 73 | None |
| Income limits | Yes, phase-outs apply | None to contribute | None |
| Best when | Tax rate higher later | Tax rate lower later | Money needed before 59½ |
The Roth versus traditional choice is a bet on your future tax rate. Early-career savers usually win with Roth because their current rate is low; peak earners near retirement often win with traditional.
When a Roth IRA isn’t the next move
Tax-free growth is hard to beat, but order of operations matters:
- Unmatched 401(k) dollars come first. An employer match is an instant 50% to 100% return; no projection here competes with that.
- High-interest debt beats contributions. Paying off a 22% credit card is a guaranteed return three times the stock market’s average.
- Short-horizon money does not belong in stocks. Cash you need within five years sits better in a high-yield savings account, where the value cannot drop the year you need it.
Key takeaways
- Maxing a Roth IRA at $7,500 per year with 7% returns grows to about $758,000 in 30 years, $533,000 of it tax-free growth.
- The 2026 contribution limit is $7,500, or $8,600 for those 50 and older.
- Income phase-outs for 2026: $153,000 to $168,000 single, $242,000 to $252,000 married filing jointly.
- Starting at 25 instead of 35 roughly doubles the ending balance at 65.
- Contributions can be withdrawn anytime without tax or penalty; earnings follow the age 59½ and five-year rules.
FAQ
How much will a Roth IRA be worth in 30 years?
Contributing $7,500 annually at a 7% average return grows to about $758,000 in 30 years. At a more conservative 5%, the same contributions reach roughly $523,000.
What is the Roth IRA contribution limit for 2026?
$7,500 for those under 50, and $8,600 for those 50 and older, per the IRS cost-of-living adjustments announced in Notice 2025-67. You also cannot contribute more than you earned for the year.
What are the Roth IRA income limits for 2026?
Contributions phase out between $153,000 and $168,000 of modified adjusted gross income for single filers, and between $242,000 and $252,000 for married couples filing jointly.
Does a Roth IRA earn interest?
Not by itself. A Roth IRA is an account that holds investments, and the return comes from whatever you buy inside it: stock funds, bond funds, CDs, or cash. An uninvested Roth IRA grows like a checking account, which is to say barely.
Can I take money out of my Roth IRA early?
Contributions come out anytime, tax-free and penalty-free. Earnings withdrawn before age 59½ or before the account is five years old are generally taxed plus a 10% penalty, with exceptions for things like a first home purchase.
What is the five-year rule?
Earnings are only tax-free once five tax years have passed since your first Roth IRA contribution and you are 59½ or older. The clock starts with your first contribution to any Roth IRA, not each deposit.
A projection is only useful if the contributions actually happen each year. Sense AI, the AI assistant in the SuperMoney app, helps you find the room in your budget to fund the contribution before spending absorbs it.
The five-year money deserves the same attention as the forty-year money. Comparing high-yield savings accounts keeps your near-term cash earning real interest while the Roth IRA compounds untouched.
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