Roth IRA Calculator 2026: Your Contribution Limit, What It Grows To, and Roth vs Traditional

How much can I put in a Roth IRA for 2026?

$7,500, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older by December 31 (a $1,100 catch-up), shared across all your Roth and traditional IRAs (IRS Notice 2025-67). The Roth part shrinks once your modified AGI passes $153,000 (single or head of household) or $242,000 (married filing jointly) and is zero from $168,000 and $252,000. Put $7,500 in every year for 25 years and, at 6% a year, you would have $411,484, of which $187,500 is money you put in. That 6% is an assumption you can change below, not a forecast.

Roth IRA numbers for 2026.
Key number2026
IRA contribution limit (Roth + traditional combined) (Notice 2025-67)$7,500
At 50 or older (Notice 2025-67)$8,600
Single / head of household: phase-out range (MAGI) (Notice 2025-67)$153,000 to $168,000
Married filing jointly: phase-out range (MAGI) (Notice 2025-67)$242,000 to $252,000

Figures are the published 2026 limits quoted from the linked official sources; the calculators below are arithmetic on those limits and on the assumptions you type. Not tax advice: check a move with your plan administrator, custodian or tax preparer before acting.

1. Your 2026 Roth IRA contribution

Publication 590-A Worksheet 2-2: inside the range the limit falls in proportion, rounds up to the next $10, with a $200 floor. Assumes your taxable compensation is at least the limit and no traditional IRA deposit this year. Roth IRA income limits 2026.

2. What it grows to

Deposits at the end of each year, growth compounded yearly, before inflation and fees. The return is yours to set: nothing here predicts one. Qualified withdrawals are federal-tax-free; the conditions are on Roth IRA rules 2026.

3. Roth or traditional?

Equal cost: the traditional deposit is the Roth deposit divided by (1 − your rate now), because the deduction’s tax saving pays for the extra. Both grow the same; the traditional balance is taxed at your retirement rate when withdrawn. Rates are your marginal rates, and a traditional withdrawal can also raise Medicare premiums and the tax on Social Security, which this simple comparison leaves out.

How the Roth IRA limit works

The $7,500 limit is per person and covers every Roth and traditional IRA you own together (IRS: Roth IRAs). You also need taxable compensation at least equal to what you put in, and you can still make a 2026 deposit until the filing deadline in 2027 (Publication 590-A). Above the income range there is no direct Roth deposit, but a backdoor Roth may still be open.

What the growth number is, and is not

The figure in box 2 is plain compound arithmetic on the deposits, years and yearly return you type. With the defaults, $7,500 a year for 25 years at 6% reaches $411,484. Markets do not return a steady 6% a year; the order of returns matters most when you start withdrawing, which is what a Monte Carlo run shows and a single average cannot.

Roth against traditional: when each wins

At equal cost the comparison reduces to one question: is your tax rate in retirement higher or lower than your rate now? With the defaults (22% now, 12% later) the Roth deposit grows to $32,189 while the larger traditional deposit grows to $36,316 after tax: the traditional side wins when the later rate is lower. Flip the two rates and the Roth wins. At equal rates the two are the same. The IRS summarises the differences in its Roth comparison chart: contributions are not deductible but qualified withdrawals are tax-free, and a Roth IRA has no required minimum distributions during your life.

For most people the real decision is not one deposit but a lifetime of them, plus conversions: Roth conversion calculator, Roth conversion ladder.

Paid tool A Roth IRA deposit is one Roth dollar; the bigger lever for most savers is how much traditional money to move into Roth, and in which years. The Roth Conversion Planner works out how much to convert in each year from now to your plan end age: the federal and state tax each conversion costs, the IRMAA tier that year’s MAGI sets two years later, and the ACA subsidy it affects — beside the same years with no conversions, and downloadable as a PDF you keep. A planning tool, not advice: the numbers move when your assumptions do. Build my conversion schedule — Personal PRO ($49) → Roth Conversion Planner: see what is included, and price this year free, first →

A Roth IRA is one piece of a retirement plan. QuantCalc runs the whole thing — Roth and traditional balances, withdrawals, taxes, Medicare surcharges — year by year.

Run the free tax-aware simulation →

Common questions

What is the Roth IRA contribution limit for 2026?

$7,500, or $8,600 if you are 50 or older, for all your IRAs together (IRS Notice 2025-67). It is reduced once modified AGI passes $153,000 (single) or $242,000 (married filing jointly).

How is a reduced Roth IRA contribution calculated?

Take how far your modified AGI is into the phase-out range, divide by the width of the range, cut the limit by that fraction, round up to the next $10, and use $200 if the answer is lower (Publication 590-A, Worksheet 2-2). Box 1 does it for you.

How much will $7,500 a year in a Roth IRA grow to?

At 6% a year, 25 years of $7,500 deposits reach $411,484, of which $187,500 is yours. That return is an assumption; change it in box 2.

Is a Roth IRA better than a traditional IRA?

At equal cost it comes down to your tax rate now against your rate in retirement: a lower rate later favours traditional, a higher rate later favours the Roth (IRS Roth comparison chart). Box 3 runs your numbers.

Can I contribute to a Roth IRA if I earn too much?

Not directly above $168,000 (single) or $252,000 (joint) of modified AGI. A backdoor Roth, a nondeductible traditional deposit converted to Roth, may be possible; see the backdoor Roth calculator for the pro-rata rule.

Sources

Related

Roth IRA rules 2026 → Roth IRA income limits 2026 → IRA contribution limits 2026 → Backdoor Roth calculator → Roth conversion calculator → Roth conversion tax → Roth 5-year rule → Mega backdoor Roth calculator →