US 401(k) & IRA Calculator
Your balance at retirement with the match, the IRS limits and Roth vs Traditional.
Try before you buy.
- Free preview: a watermarked chart, the IRS limits and the first years of the table (up to 3), with the balance at retirement, the Roth comparison and every figure hidden.
- Locked until you unlock it: download and copy.
- Unlock: Pro pass, ₹179 for 30 days, a one-time payment that never renews.
Ways to unlock shows how to get the full result.
Printing this result is locked in the free preview.
Your balance, year by year
Traditional or Roth: your contributions after tax
Year by year
The IRS limits
How this was calculated
Locked in the free preview. Opens the ways to unlock this result.
Locked in the free preview. Batch runs unlock with a pass.
Locked in the free preview. Query results unlock with a pass.
Results are estimates for general information and planning, not financial advice. Banks and institutions may calculate differently (rounding, fees, rate changes). Confirm figures with your lender or a qualified adviser before deciding.
About the US 401(k) & IRA Calculator
See what a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b) or IRA can grow to by the time you retire. Enter your salary, what you put in (a percentage of pay, a fixed amount, or the most the IRS allows), your employer’s matching formula — such as 100% of the first 3% and 50% of the next 2% — and any profit-sharing contribution, with your expected raises and return. The calculator follows each year to retirement and keeps every year within the IRS limits: $24,500 of your own contributions in 2026, catch-up contributions of $8,000 from age 50 and $11,250 at ages 60 to 63, $72,000 in all from you and your employer, and for an IRA $7,500 plus $1,100 from 50.
It shows your balance at retirement in money of the day and in today’s dollars, what you, your employer and growth each contributed, any part of the match you leave unclaimed, and a year-by-year table. A Traditional versus Roth comparison works out what your own contributions are worth after tax, at the tax rate you expect now and in retirement — for the same take-home pay, and for the same contribution. For an IRA it also checks the income limits for Roth contributions and for deducting a Traditional contribution.
How to use it
- Choose a 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) or an IRA, and the year whose IRS limits apply (they can rise with inflation in later years).
- Enter your age, the age you plan to retire, your balance today and your salary with the raises you expect.
- Enter what you put in — a percentage of pay, an amount, or the maximum — and tick catch-up contributions to add them from 50.
- Choose your employer’s match (a common formula, or your own tiers) and any contribution it makes regardless of yours.
- Set the return and inflation you assume and your tax rate now and in retirement for the Roth comparison; for an IRA, your filing status and modified AGI for the income limits.
- Copy the summary or download the year-by-year CSV — with a Pro pass, or after unlocking this result; without one the page shows a free preview.
Examples
In the first year you put in $4,500 and the employer $3,000 (4% of pay); with $10,000 to start, $18,304 at the end of the year
Contributions go in monthly, so they earn about half a year of growth in the year they are made.
$24,500 + $8,000 catch-up = $32,500 a year; $24,500 + $11,250 = $35,750 at ages 60 to 63, then back to $32,500
With the same take-home pay, Traditional comes out ahead: each dollar of your pay becomes 85 cents after tax against 78 cents in a Roth
If you expect a higher rate in retirement, Roth wins. Employer money is pre-tax either way.
The limit is $8,600 with the catch-up, but only $4,590 may go into a Roth IRA at that income
Common uses
- Seeing whether you are on track for retirement, in today’s dollars.
- Working out how much of the employer match you leave on the table at a lower contribution.
- Planning catch-up contributions from 50, and the higher ones at 60 to 63.
- Choosing between Roth and Traditional contributions.
The IRS limits used
- Your own contributions (elective deferrals) to a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457 plan or the Thrift Savings Plan: $24,500 for 2026 ($23,500 for 2025).
- Catch-up at 50 or older: $8,000 more ($7,500); at ages 60, 61, 62 and 63 the higher catch-up of $11,250 instead.
- All contributions together, yours and your employer’s (not counting catch-up): $72,000 ($70,000).
- Pay counted for employer contributions: $360,000 ($350,000).
- IRA: $7,500 ($7,000), plus $1,100 ($1,000) at 50 or older, never more than your earned income.
Sources: IRS IR-2025-111 and Notice 2025-67. Later years can rise with the inflation you enter, rounded down the way the IRS rounds them.
Traditional or Roth
Traditional contributions come out of your pay before income tax and are taxed when you withdraw them; Roth contributions are taxed now and come out tax-free in retirement (if the rules for qualified withdrawals are met). With the same take-home pay — a Roth contribution of your Traditional contribution × (1 − your tax rate now) — the two end the same when your tax rate is the same then as now. A lower rate in retirement favours Traditional; a higher one favours Roth. If you already contribute the maximum, a Roth holds more after-tax money, which the “same contribution” line shows along with the extra tax it costs you now. Employer contributions are treated as pre-tax.
If your FICA wages from the employer for the previous year were above $150,000, your catch-up contributions must go in as Roth (IRS: catch-up contributions).
IRA income limits
For 2026, Roth IRA contributions phase out between $153,000 and $168,000 of modified AGI for single and head-of-household filers and between $242,000 and $252,000 for married couples filing jointly. If you are covered by a retirement plan at work, deducting a Traditional IRA contribution phases out between $81,000 and $91,000 (single) or $129,000 and $149,000 (joint); if only your spouse is covered, between $242,000 and $252,000. Married filing separately, the range is $0 to $10,000. A reduced amount is rounded up to the next $10, and to $200 if it is under that (Publication 590-A).
Limitations
- The return is the same every year; real markets go up and down, and the order of good and bad years matters near retirement.
- Fees are not taken off: lower the return by your plan’s expense ratio for a closer figure.
- Plan rules differ: some match on each paycheck rather than on the year (a “true-up”), cap the match, or vest it over time. Check your plan’s summary plan description.
- The Roth comparison uses flat tax rates and assumes qualified, tax-free Roth withdrawals; it does not include state tax, required minimum distributions or Social Security taxation.
- Later years’ limits are an estimate when they grow with inflation: the IRS sets each year’s limits itself.
Privacy
Everything is calculated in your browser. The amounts and rates you enter are never uploaded or stored.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, US 401(k) & IRA Calculator shows a watermarked chart, the IRS limits and the first years of the table (up to 3), with the balance at retirement, the Roth comparison and every figure hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded or copied. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
How much can I put in my 401(k)?
For 2026, up to $24,500 of your own contributions, plus a catch-up of $8,000 from age 50 — or $11,250 at ages 60 to 63. With your employer’s contributions, at most $72,000 in all (catch-up not counted).
How does an employer match work?
The employer adds a share of what you put in, up to a percentage of your pay. With 100% of the first 3% and 50% of the next 2%, a 5% contribution earns a 4% match; contributing less leaves part of the match unclaimed.
Is Roth or Traditional better?
It depends on your tax rate now compared with in retirement. With the same take-home pay they come out equal at the same rate; Traditional is better if you expect a lower rate later, Roth if you expect a higher one. Many people split their contributions.
What are the IRA limits?
For 2026, $7,500 a year, plus $1,100 at 50 or older, never more than your earned income. Roth IRA contributions shrink and then stop as income rises ($153,000 to $168,000 single, $242,000 to $252,000 joint).
Do I need a pass?
To copy or download the full result, yes: a Pro pass unlocks every Pro tool. Without a pass you see a free preview of your own result: a watermarked chart and the first years of the table, with the balance at retirement and every other figure hidden.