Project your pre-tax retirement balance, and what you'll actually take home
💡 Why This Matters A traditional IRA lowers your taxable income today, but the IRS gets its share when you withdraw in retirement. Seeing your projected balance both before and after that future tax bill gives you a much more realistic picture than a gross growth number alone.
The traditional IRA predates the 401k by about six years — it was created in 1974, while the 401k didn't exist until a 1978 tax code provision was reinterpreted for retirement savings in 1980. IRAs were actually the original tax-advantaged retirement account for everyday workers.
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This calculator compounds your current balance and monthly contributions at your expected annual return, month by month, from your current age to retirement. Because traditional IRA withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, the calculator then applies your entered retirement tax rate to the full projected balance to show what you'd actually keep after taxes — the number that matters most for real planning.
The headline figure is your estimated after-tax balance — what you'd realistically have available to spend in retirement. The breakdown shows your gross pre-tax balance alongside it, so you can see exactly how much the future tax bill takes off the top. That gap is the real cost of deferring tax now versus paying it later, which is the core tradeoff a traditional IRA makes.
Your actual tax rate in retirement depends on your total income, filing status, and tax law at the time — all of which can shift over a multi-decade timeline, so treat the tax-rate input as an estimate, not a promise. This calculator also doesn't account for required minimum distributions (RMDs), which force withdrawals starting at a certain age regardless of whether you need the money.
Compare this result against the Roth IRA Calculator using the same contribution amount — the difference shows you the real tradeoff between paying tax now (Roth) versus later (traditional). If you expect to be in a lower tax bracket in retirement than you are now, a traditional IRA often comes out ahead; if you expect a similar or higher bracket, Roth is usually the stronger choice.
Example: Say you're 30 years old with a $10,000 current balance, contributing $500 a month, with a 7% expected annual return and an estimated 18% retirement tax rate. By age 65, this projects to a gross pre-tax balance of $1,015,589 — after applying the estimated 18% tax, your after-tax balance is about $832,783.
Traditional IRA contributions are made pre-tax, lowering your taxable income now, but withdrawals in retirement are taxed as ordinary income. A Roth IRA works the opposite way — you contribute after-tax dollars, but qualified withdrawals are completely tax-free.
For 2026, the IRS limit is $7,000 per year if you're under 50, or $8,000 per year if you're 50 or older — the same limit that applies to Roth IRAs, and it's a combined limit if you contribute to both types in the same year.
This calculator applies your entered retirement tax rate to your full projected balance, since traditional IRA withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income. Your actual rate in retirement depends on your total income and current tax brackets at the time, so treat this as an estimate, not a guarantee.
Not always — if you or your spouse are covered by a workplace retirement plan, your deduction may be reduced or eliminated above certain income levels. If you're not covered by a workplace plan, your contribution is generally fully deductible regardless of income.