At the same tax rate they are identical. Choose Roth if you expect a higher rate in retirement, traditional if lower. Uncertainty about future rates is a reason to hold both.

Why are they equal at the same rate?

Because multiplication commutes. Taxing before growth and taxing after growth give the same result when the rate is unchanged.

InvestmentretirementUnited States only

IRA Calculator

IRA growth with the Roth against traditional comparison. If your tax rate is the same now and in retirement the two are mathematically identical, so the choice is entirely a bet on which rate is higher.

Also called: roth ira calculator, traditional ira growth.

Balance at the end

$897,817.67

$897,817.67 after 30 years, of which $210,000.00 is contributions and $662,817.67 is growth. After tax that is worth $897,817.67 in a Roth, against $700,297.78 in the other type. Your rate falls in retirement, which favours the traditional account.

Total contributed

$210,000.00

Investment growth

$662,817.67

Value after tax

$897,817.67

The other account type

$700,297.78

Tax deferred now, traditional only

$0.00

Account type

Roth

Which wins

Your rate falls in retirement, which favours the traditional account.

On the limit

Contribution limits are indexed annually. Check the current year limit rather than relying on the default here.

How this is calculated

An estimate, not an offer or a guarantee. Projected returns assume the rate you entered holds for the whole term, which no market does.

Method and background

This is what the calculation gives for the numbers you entered. It is an estimate, not advice, and it knows nothing about your situation beyond those numbers. Rules for United States change on a published schedule; the effective date is shown on every rule-based tool.

How this is calculated

Both accounts grow untaxed. A Roth is funded with after-tax money and withdrawn tax free; a traditional is funded pre-tax and taxed on withdrawal. At an identical tax rate the outcomes are exactly equal, which surprises people: the order of multiplication does not matter. The choice therefore rests on whether your rate in retirement will be above or below your rate now. Roth wins when rates rise, traditional when they fall, and the difference is the tax rate gap applied to the whole balance.

the two are identical unless your tax rate changes, which is the entire question

t: Tax rates

Worked examples

Each of these is asserted on every build. If a change to the engine ever moved one of these answers, the build would fail before the page could print it.

thirty years of Roth contributions

Current balance: $25,000.00
Annual contribution: $7,000.00
Years: 30
Annual return: 7%
Account type: Roth
Tax rate now: 24%
Tax rate in retirement: 22%

Balance at the end$897,817.67

30 x 7,000

Open this example

equal tax rates make the types identical

Current balance: $0.00
Annual contribution: $7,000.00
Years: 10
Annual return: 7%
Account type: Roth
Tax rate now: 24%
Tax rate in retirement: 24%

Balance at the end$103,485.20

boundary: the case that shows the choice is only about rates

Open this example

Method and limits

What it assumes

Contributions are made at the start of each year and the return is constant.
The full contribution is affordable in both cases, which slightly favours Roth in practice.

What it deliberately does not model

Income limits restrict direct Roth contributions and traditional deductibility.
Required minimum distributions apply to traditional accounts and not to Roth.
This is a mechanical comparison, not advice on which to choose.

Formula version 1.0.0 · definition 1.0.0 · United States · Report a problem with this calculator

Frequently asked questions

Roth or traditional?: At the same tax rate they are identical. Choose Roth if you expect a higher rate in retirement, traditional if lower. Uncertainty about future rates is a reason to hold both.
Why are they equal at the same rate?: Because multiplication commutes. Taxing before growth and taxing after growth give the same result when the rate is unchanged.