Free retirement tax calculator — Roth conversions, RMDs, IRMAA, Social Security timing, ACA subsidies, HSA, backdoor Roth, TCJA sunset, Monte Carlo simulation, and more. No sign-up required.
Free retirement tax calculator — Roth conversions, RMDs, IRMAA, Social Security timing, ACA subsidies, HSA, backdoor Roth, TCJA sunset, Monte Carlo simulation, and more. No sign-up required.
Note: Benefits auto-adjusted for early/late claiming vs FRA using SSA's 8%/yr credit past FRA, ~6.67%/yr reduction before FRA.
Brackets, standard deduction, and SS thresholds are inflation-adjusted annually. Spending target also inflates.
For early retirees between retirement and Medicare (age 65). Shows how Roth conversions affect your Premium Tax Credit and flags the 400% FPL cliff.
Available at age 70½+. Transfers directly from IRA to charity — excluded from AGI entirely, counts toward your RMD. Reduces IRMAA exposure, SS taxability, and ACA MAGI compared to withdraw-then-donate.
Triple tax-advantaged: contributions reduce AGI, growth is tax-free, qualified medical withdrawals are tax-free. Contributions stop at retirement or age 65 (Medicare). After 65, non-medical withdrawals are taxed like a traditional IRA.
Each row in the Projections table represents one calendar year. This tab explains the exact formula and meaning behind every column.
Taxes are paid before spending shortfalls are covered. Account priority for paying taxes and spending: after-tax cash first, then taxable brokerage, then Traditional IRA, then Roth.
Combined household earned income each year. Without phased retirement, each person's income is binary (on/off at retirement age). With phased retirement enabled, each person has a three-phase income profile: full income → part-time income → zero.
The part-time phase is a prime Roth conversion window: income is below the full-work peak but not yet zero, so the gap between current AGI and the next bracket ceiling is often larger than at any other point. Conversions are enabled during semi-retirement.
Combined annual Social Security benefit for both people, adjusted for each person's claiming age relative to their Full Retirement Age. Claiming early permanently reduces the benefit; delaying past FRA increases it up to age 70. Benefits are included in the projection starting at the claiming age, but only once Person 1 has retired. Survivor benefit: when one spouse dies, the survivor (if they've reached their own claim age) inherits the larger of the two benefits — meaningful when the higher-earner spouse dies first.
The full SS amount is shown here as a cash-flow figure. Only 0–85% of it counts as taxable income — see Gross Inc for the taxable portion.
The break-even chart in the Advisor tab plots cumulative lifetime benefits for each claiming-age option (62, FRA, your chosen age, and 70). Where two lines cross is the break-even age — the point where the higher delayed benefit has recouped all the months of foregone earlier benefits. The dashed vertical line marks your life expectancy so you can see at a glance whether delaying reaches the crossover in time.
For most people, the 62-vs-70 crossover falls between ages 80–84. If you expect to live past that age, delaying to 70 yields more cumulative benefits. If your health suggests a shorter horizon, claiming earlier may be preferable. The Roth conversion interaction: delaying SS extends the low-income window before SS begins, creating more bracket headroom to convert at lower rates.
Annual pension, entered in today's dollars and inflation-adjusted from the current year forward — the same basis as the spending target. Fully taxable as ordinary income (with state-specific exemptions where applicable). When the pensioner (assumed Person 1) dies before the spouse, the pension is reduced to the elected survivor percentage — typically 100% (no reduction), 75%, 50% (historical default), or 0% (single-life annuity, ends at P1's death).
The survivor election is set when you retire and is irrevocable. Higher survivor percentages produce a lower initial pension payout in exchange for ongoing income to the survivor. Single-life (0%) pays the most while both are alive but drops to nothing at the pensioner's death — often disastrous for the surviving spouse. Simplification: the model assumes the pension belongs to P1. If P2 has the pension or both have pensions, sum them into one number and pick the dominant survivor election.
Inflation-adjusted living expenses for the year (housing, food, non-premium healthcare, travel, etc.) — funded from all income sources and account drawdowns combined. It is not itself a taxable event; only the source of the funds determines taxability. Federal/state taxes, IRMAA surcharges, and ACA net premiums are added automatically on top of this number when the portfolio draw is computed — do not include them in the input.
Only the following count as AGI in the projection: work income, pension, RMDs, Roth conversions, and the taxable portion of Social Security. Additional Traditional IRA withdrawals used to fill a spending shortfall are not re-taxed by the engine — those dollars' tax liability was already captured via the RMD or conversion in earlier years. Roth withdrawals and taxable brokerage proceeds do not appear in AGI at all.
A flat monthly view of any retirement month. Annual numbers from the projection (spending, taxes, IRMAA, ACA premium, Roth conversion, QCDs, income) are divided by 12 for the monthly figure. Account balances are linearly interpolated between year-start and year-end, so the "before" and "after" columns approximate what happens in that particular month.
Useful for visualizing cash flow rhythm: e.g., in conversion years you'll see the Trad balance dropping fast while Roth grows. The "Net portfolio draw this month" is positive when the portfolio is being spent down and can be negative during years where the portfolio grows faster than withdrawals.
Re-runs the projection with each input perturbed independently and ranks the inputs by impact on the chosen outcome. Perturbation sizes are tuned per input (e.g., ages ±2 years, spending ±10%, return rates ±1%). Bars on the left show what happens if the input is decreased; bars on the right show what happens if it's increased. Bigger bars mean the plan is more sensitive to that input.
The classic insight from a tornado chart: spending almost always wins. A 10% spending change usually moves the needle more than perfecting your Roth conversion strategy. Below that, return assumptions and Social Security timing tend to dominate. If an input is at the bottom of the chart with a tiny bar, you can stop fine-tuning it — it doesn't matter.
Inverse solver. Instead of "given these inputs, what's the outcome?", Goal-Seek answers "given a desired outcome, what's the input?" Useful for the most common retirement questions: "How much can I sustainably spend?" / "When can I afford to retire?" / "How much can I spend while still leaving X to heirs?" Uses bisection over a single input variable while holding the rest fixed.
All your OTHER inputs (return assumptions, SS timing, etc.) stay as you've set them in Setup. So Goal-Seek's answer is conditional on those choices — change them and the answer moves. Pair with the Sensitivity tab to see how robust each answer is to input uncertainty. After each run, a balance chart visualizes the year-by-year projection under the goal-seeked answer, overlaid with your baseline plan for direct comparison.
Optional three-phase spending model. The early boost is an additional annual amount (in today's dollars, inflation-adjusted) layered on top of the baseline for active early-retirement years — travel, hobbies, bucket-list spending. The middle slow-go phase uses baseline spending. The no-go phase applies a percentage reduction to baseline to model reduced mobility and discretionary activity in later life. All phases inflate from today's dollars at the same rate as the baseline.
The Spending Goal column in the projection table shows the phase-adjusted amount each year, so you can see exactly where each phase takes effect. Phases only apply once retired — pre-retirement and semi-retirement years always use the baseline.
The IRS imposes a 10% additional tax on Traditional IRA and 401(k) distributions taken before age 59½. The tool applies this when the engine pulls from the Trad bucket before age 60 (approximating 59½ with annual granularity). The penalty is paid from the same waterfall (after-tax → taxable → trad → roth) and shows as a separate line on the Monthly View outflows card.
The Rule of 55 exception lets 401(k) holders who separate from their employer in or after the year they turn 55 take penalty-free distributions from that employer's plan — not IRAs. If your Traditional balance is mostly a rollover IRA, leave the checkbox off. Other real-world exceptions (SEPP/72(t), disability, large medical expenses, first-time homebuyer up to $10k) are not modeled here.
Forced annual withdrawal from Traditional IRA/401k at age 73 and beyond. Taxed as ordinary income whether you need the money or not. The divisor decreases with age, forcing larger distributions over time.
RMDs are why Roth conversions before 73 matter: every dollar converted now reduces the future RMD base, shrinking forced taxable income for the rest of your life.
A QCD transfers IRA funds directly to a qualified charity, bypassing your income entirely. Unlike a cash donation deduction, a QCD reduces your AGI dollar-for-dollar — which lowers SS taxability, defers or eliminates IRMAA tier jumps, and reduces ACA MAGI. It also counts toward your RMD obligation, so only the remaining balance is forced out as taxable income.
For a retiree in the 22% bracket with $30K/yr in QCDs that fully satisfy their RMD, the savings vs. a cash donation include: $6,600 in avoided federal tax, reduced SS taxability, and potential IRMAA tier drop — all without needing to itemize.
The HSA is the only account with a triple tax advantage. During accumulation, contributions reduce your AGI directly (lowering federal tax, SS taxability, and ACA MAGI). The balance grows tax-free. In retirement, qualified medical withdrawals are completely tax-free — effectively making the HSA the most tax-efficient source for healthcare costs. Each dollar of HSA medical withdrawal replaces a dollar that would otherwise come from a taxable portfolio draw, reducing both AGI and portfolio depletion.
The optimal HSA strategy: contribute the maximum while working, invest the HSA aggressively, pay all medical costs out-of-pocket during accumulation (saving receipts), and reimburse yourself in retirement. This maximizes decades of tax-free compounding before the first withdrawal.
Voluntary transfer from pre-tax Traditional IRA to tax-free Roth. Taxed as ordinary income in the year converted. The bracket-fill solver targets the *post-SS* taxable income — adding $1 of conversion can also pull $0.50 or $0.85 of Social Security into AGI (the "tax torpedo"), so a naive room formula overshoots the bracket. Bisection finds the exact conversion that lands at the boundary. All five strategies are run simultaneously in the Projections tab.
Converting exactly to a bracket boundary avoids pushing dollars into a higher rate. The torpedo-aware solver is most important for the 12% strategy when Social Security is active — that's where the naive formula most commonly overshoots into the 22% bracket.
Instead of targeting a fixed bracket ceiling, the optimizer finds the per-year conversion schedule that maximizes after-tax net worth at the end of your plan, scoring every candidate with the full projection engine (LTCG, NIIT, ACA, the 2-year IRMAA lookback, withdrawal order, and survivor transitions all included).
Optimizing for after-tax wealth, it may convert aggressively and show a higher lifetime tax bill than a bracket-fill strategy — the bigger tax-free Roth balance is the trade-off. It can return $0 in years where any conversion would reduce after-tax net worth.
Taxable ordinary income — the base used for all federal tax, effective rate, and marginal rate calculations. Excludes the non-taxable portion of SS, Roth withdrawals, and taxable brokerage proceeds (which are long-term capital gains, not ordinary income).
Why AGI < SS + Spending Goal: The SS column shows your full benefit but only 0–85% is taxable. The Spending Goal is total cash needed, which is funded partly by tax-free Roth withdrawals. AGI only counts the sources that are taxable ordinary income.
The IRS uses a two-tier formula to determine how much of your SS benefit is includable in ordinary income. At lower incomes, none is taxable; at higher incomes, up to 85% is. These dollar thresholds have never been updated for inflation since they were set in the 1980s/1993, so more retirees fall into taxability each year.
Keeping provisional income below $32,000 (MFJ) or $25,000 (Single) shelters SS from tax entirely. Roth conversions that push provisional income above these thresholds create a "tax torpedo" — each extra dollar of conversion also makes more SS taxable, effectively raising your marginal rate above the stated bracket rate.
Federal income tax computed using current TCJA brackets (or pre-TCJA brackets if the sunset scenario is selected). Progressive bracket calculation — the marginal rate applies only to the income within that bracket, not to all income.
Does not include IRMAA Medicare surcharges, which are shown separately. State tax is computed as a flat rate on AGI and included in Effective Rate but not this column.
The blended average rate paid across all income — total taxes divided by AGI. Always lower than the marginal rate because lower brackets are filled first. Includes both federal and state income tax.
The effective rate is the best single number for comparing tax burden across years and strategies. A conversion strategy that minimizes lifetime effective rate is generally optimal.
The rate that applies to the next dollar of income. Determines how much additional income (from conversions, part-time work, or windfalls) will cost in taxes. Jumps at bracket boundaries.
Bracket-fill strategies use this to decide how much to convert: they fill income up to (but not into) the next bracket. Actual effective marginal rate can exceed the stated bracket rate when SS taxability creates a "phantom" rate jump.
Federal capital gains tax on realized gains from taxable brokerage withdrawals. Auto mode (default): the engine looks up each year's bracket based on that year's taxable income — so a low-income year may pay 0% while a Roth-conversion year may push LTCG into the 15% bracket. Override available in Setup if you want to model a specific flat rate.
The 0% LTCG threshold is intentionally aligned with the top of the 12% federal ordinary bracket. So "fill the 12% bracket" with a Roth conversion will push any subsequent LTCG out of the 0% zone — a hidden cost of aggressive conversions for retirees with significant appreciated brokerage.
3.8% surtax on investment income for higher-AGI households. Applies on top of regular LTCG. Because the thresholds are frozen (set in 2013 and never inflation-adjusted), more retirees hit NIIT every year as nominal incomes drift up.
NIIT can make a "15% LTCG" feel like 18.8% in practice. For HNW households doing large brokerage withdrawals or Roth conversions, this adds a meaningful tax cost the simpler "0%/15%/20%" rate framing hides.
State income tax now respects each state's actual retirement-income treatment instead of applying the user's flat rate uniformly to all AGI. SS exemption (the default for ~41 states), full retirement-income exemption (IL/MS/PA/IA/MI), and per-person dollar exemptions (NY/KY/GA/VA/DE/MD/LA) are all modeled. State auto-detected from the dropdown.
For users in IL, MS, or PA with most of their income from Trad IRA/401k or pensions, this means $0 state tax in retirement years — a material difference vs. the previous flat-rate model. Simplifications: age-tiered exemptions (e.g., GA's $35k at 62 → $65k at 65) collapsed to a single representative number; income-tied SS taxability in CT/MN treated as full SS tax; phase-in states (MI, WV) shown at their fully-phased-in 2026+ status. If you enter a custom state rate without picking from the dropdown, the default rule applies (SS exempt, retirement income taxed).
Many retirees move to a lower-tax state at retirement (CA → NV, NY → FL, etc.). When enabled, the engine switches the household's state code and tax rate at the move age. The destination state's retirement-income exemption rules, ordinary tax rate, and community-property step-up treatment all apply automatically from that age forward. Pre-move years continue to use the original state.
A CA-to-NV move at 65 typically saves $50k–$200k in lifetime state tax for a HNW retiree. A CA-to-PA move can be even larger when most of the household's income is from pensions or Trad IRA withdrawals (PA fully exempts retirement income). The basis step-up at first spouse's death follows the household's state of residence AT THE TIME OF DEATH — so couples in community-property states (CA, TX, etc.) who move to common-law states before one dies LOSE the full step-up. Simplifications: model supports one move at one age; doesn't model partial-year residency, source-state exit taxes, or moves back-and-forth.
Medicare Part B and Part D premiums increase sharply at income thresholds. These surcharges apply per person on Medicare, starting at age 65. IRMAA is based on income from 2 years prior — this tool implements the real look-back lag. For the first two projection years, pre-projection household work income is used as a proxy. The MAGI used here matches the IRS definition: AGI (ordinary income, taxable SS, and realized capital gains) plus tax-exempt interest.
The IRMAA cliff effect means a single dollar of additional income can trigger thousands of dollars in extra premiums. This is especially relevant when sizing Roth conversions and when harvesting capital gains — both add to MAGI and can push you into the next tier two years later. Tier 4 caps ($500k single / $750k MFJ) are statutorily fixed and do not index with inflation; the lower tiers do.
Dollar amount of extra Medicare Part B/D premiums for the year, inflation-adjusted from the 2025 base rates. Applied for each person enrolled in Medicare (i.e., age 65+). Added to total tax for effective rate calculation and paid from accounts before spending.
At Tier 2 with two spouses on Medicare, the annual IRMAA surcharge is $5,288 — entirely avoidable by keeping AGI below the Tier 2 threshold. This is a powerful argument for completing most Roth conversions before 65.
Pre-tax retirement account balance at year end. Every dollar here carries an embedded future tax liability — it will be taxable ordinary income when withdrawn. Subject to RMDs at age 73.
A large Traditional balance heading into retirement is the primary motivation for Roth conversions. Reducing it lowers future RMDs, reduces SS taxability, and may prevent IRMAA surcharges.
After-tax retirement account balance. Qualified withdrawals are completely tax-free and do not count as income for SS taxability or IRMAA. No required minimum distributions. The most valuable account type from a tax-flexibility standpoint.
Unlike the Traditional IRA balance, the Roth balance shown is the true after-tax value — no embedded tax liability.
Taxable investment account. Modeled as buy-and-hold — annual gains are not taxed each year, only when withdrawn. At death, a step-up in basis is assumed, eliminating embedded capital gains for heirs.
Taxable brokerage withdrawals trigger LTCG only on the gain portion (not the basis) — and only the gain enters AGI, taxed at 0% / 15% / 20% depending on bracket. Because the gain is in AGI, it does contribute to IRMAA MAGI and ACA MAGI, and via the provisional-income formula it can also increase SS taxability. The 0% LTCG bracket (taxable income ≤ $48,350 single / $96,700 MFJ in 2025) is the sweet spot where harvesting gains has no federal tax cost — though IRMAA / SS torpedo effects can still apply.
After-tax checking, savings, or money market balance. Used first to cover tax bills and spending shortfalls before drawing from investment accounts. No growth assumed (or growth can be included in the brokerage balance).
Maintaining a cash buffer avoids forced Traditional IRA withdrawals in high-expense years, which can push income into higher brackets.
tradBalance × effective tax rate. This is why strategies that grow the Roth at the expense of Traditional can grow your real after-tax wealth even when the Total NW number looks similar across strategies — the Roth dollars are worth more per dollar than Traditional dollars.
Sum of all four account balances at year end. This is the gross portfolio value — it includes the Traditional IRA's embedded tax liability.
True after-tax net worth is lower: subtract the tax owed on the Traditional IRA balance (roughly tradBalance × effectiveRate). Strategies that grow the Roth balance at the expense of Traditional grow your real after-tax wealth even when Total NW looks similar across strategies.
The ACA uses a broader income measure than federal AGI — it adds back the non-taxable portion of Social Security, includes realized capital gains, and subtracts HSA contributions. Retirees with large SS benefits or appreciated brokerage may have ACA MAGI substantially higher than their federal taxable income implies, which can knock them out of subsidies or trigger the 400% FPL cliff.
Two often-overlooked levers in the pre-Medicare window: (1) avoid large Roth conversions or LTCG harvests in years you need ACA subsidies — both inflate MAGI; (2) max HSA contributions while on a HDHP — they reduce both ordinary AGI and ACA MAGI dollar-for-dollar.
FPL is inflation-adjusted annually. A larger household has a higher FPL dollar threshold, meaning the same income represents a lower FPL% — larger households can earn more before hitting the cliff.
Under enhanced ARP rules (in effect through 2025, may be extended), the 400% cliff is replaced by an 8.5%-of-income cap at all income levels. Check the "No income cliff" box in Setup if those rules apply to your plan year.
The PTC equals the gap between your benchmark plan premium (SLCSP, looked up at healthcare.gov) and your required contribution percentage of income. Enter your household's monthly SLCSP in Setup — it varies by location, age, and plan year.
The ACA cliff is as sharp as IRMAA — one dollar over 400% FPL can eliminate thousands in annual subsidies. For a two-person household at 395% FPL (~$83k income), the cliff can cost $15,000+ per year in lost subsidies.
Returns are modeled as log-normal — the standard assumption for equity prices. Monthly draws are compounded into an annual return, which replaces the deterministic return for that simulation year. Pre- and post-retirement means and volatilities are set independently.
Log-normal returns can't go below −100%, which prevents unrealistic negative portfolio values from the return model alone. The geometric mean (compound return) is slightly below the arithmetic mean — by roughly σ²/2 per year.
When Inflation Volatility is above 0%, each year's inflation rate is drawn independently from a normal distribution centred on the base rate. This compounds forward — a high-inflation year raises the spending baseline for all subsequent years in that simulation. Set to 0% to use fixed inflation (the default).
US CPI has had an annual standard deviation of roughly 1–1.5% since 1990 (excluding the 2021–2023 spike). A setting of 1% is a reasonable base; 2% stress-tests for higher regime uncertainty.
A simulation "survives" if the total portfolio is above zero at the last projected year. The survival rate is the fraction of simulations that ended solvent. It does not measure by how much — a simulation ending at $1 counts the same as one ending at $1M.
A 90%+ survival rate is a common planning target. It means in 9 out of 10 market environments the plan remains solvent. A 70% rate means meaningful depletion risk that warrants adjusting spending, strategy, or return assumptions.
Each percentile is computed independently at each year — it does not represent a single simulation path. The p50 line is the median outcome; the p10–p90 band shows the realistic range of outcomes across simulations.
The fan widens over time as return variance compounds. A wide fan at year 20+ is normal — it reflects genuine long-run uncertainty, not a model problem.
When the portfolio falls below 80% of its starting value, spending is reduced to the floor percentage of the planned amount. This models real-world belt-tightening in bad markets. Set to 100% to disable — full spending is always used regardless of portfolio level.
A spending floor of 75–85% meaningfully improves survival rates in stressed scenarios without dramatically changing median outcomes. It reflects the reality that most retirees cut discretionary spending when markets turn.
Disclosure: All formulas are simplified models. Real tax law is more complex and changes frequently. This tool does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Consult a qualified CPA, CFP®, or licensed attorney before making any financial decisions.
Contribute to a non-deductible Traditional IRA, then immediately convert to Roth. No income limit on contributions. Annual limit: $7,000 per person ($8,000 if 50+).
After-tax 401(k) contributions beyond the standard employee limit, converted to Roth in-plan or rolled to a Roth IRA. Requires plan support — verify with your plan administrator.
| Year | Age(s) | Traditional Backdoor | Mega Backdoor | Total Added | Roth Balance (EOY) |
|---|
Disclosure: Backdoor Roth strategies involve nuanced and evolving tax rules including the pro-rata rule, step-transaction doctrine, and plan-specific eligibility requirements that vary by employer. This tool models idealized scenarios and does not account for all circumstances. Nothing here constitutes tax or legal advice. Do not implement any strategy modeled here without first consulting a qualified CPA or tax attorney who can review your complete financial picture.
Plain-language answers to every concept used in this tool. Click any question to expand it.
Disclosure: All content is for general educational purposes only and represents simplified summaries of complex topics. It does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice, and should not be relied upon as such. Tax law is complex, changes frequently, and its application varies by individual circumstance. Consult a qualified CPA, CFP®, or licensed attorney for advice specific to your situation before taking any action.
Version 6.9.5 · Last updated June 2026
This tool helps pre-retirement and early-retirement households answer a deceptively simple question: should I convert traditional IRA or 401(k) money to Roth, and if so, how much each year?
It models your projected tax situation year-by-year from now through the end of your plan, accounting for required minimum distributions (RMDs), Social Security benefits and optimal claiming-age analysis, pension income, IRMAA Medicare surcharges, ACA premium tax credit subsidy cliffs for early retirees, HSA triple-tax-advantage contributions and withdrawals, Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), the potential expiration of the TCJA tax cuts after 2025, state income taxes across all 50 states, and the difference between your rates today versus your heirs' rates later.
Five Roth conversion strategies are compared side-by-side — no conversion, fill to the 12% bracket, fill to the 22% bracket, a custom dollar amount, and a full-engine optimizer that maximizes after-tax net worth — so you can see exactly what each approach saves or costs over your lifetime and for your heirs.
Additional tools include a three-phase retirement spending model (go-go / slow-go / no-go), a Monte Carlo simulation with return and inflation volatility, a backdoor and mega backdoor Roth calculator, a portfolio drawdown simulator, estate and legacy planning projections, and a scenario comparison chart that overlays balance curves from up to three saved scenarios side-by-side.
All bracketed thresholds and contribution limits are stored as 2025 base values and inflated forward each projection year at your chosen inflation rate (except where statute fixes them — those are flagged below). If you've used the tool before mid-2026 these numbers may have changed; the table below is the source of truth for what the engine currently models.
| Item | 2025 value | Indexed? |
|---|---|---|
| Federal MFJ bracket tops (taxable income) | 10% $23,850 · 12% $96,950 · 22% $206,700 · 24% $394,600 · 32% $501,050 · 35% $751,600 | Yes |
| Standard deduction (MFJ) | $30,000 (single: $15,000) | Yes |
| IRMAA MFJ thresholds (Tier 0 → 5) | $212k · $266k · $334k · $400k · $750k | Yes (Tier 4 cap fixed) |
| IRMAA Single thresholds (Tier 0 → 5) | $106k · $133k · $167k · $200k · $500k | Yes (Tier 4 cap fixed) |
| LTCG 0% / 15% bracket tops (MFJ) | $96,700 / $600,050 (taxable income) | Yes |
| NIIT 3.8% threshold | $250,000 MFJ · $200,000 single | No (frozen since 2013) |
| SS taxability thresholds (provisional) | $32k / $44k MFJ · $25k / $34k single | No (frozen since 1983) |
| HSA contribution limits | $4,300 self-only · $8,550 family · +$1,000 catch-up at 55+ | Yes |
| QCD annual limit | $108,000 per person (70½+) | Yes |
| Federal estate tax exemption (TCJA) | $13,990,000 individual · $27,980,000 MFJ with portability | Yes (until TCJA sunset toggle) |
| RMD start age | 73 (SECURE 2.0; rises to 75 in 2033) | Statutory |
Recent corrections (June 2026):
parseDollar() is now null-safe, so reading the cross-tab custom-amount field before it is rendered no longer throws on page load (the Drawdown sandbox was firing during init before its custom-conversion input existed).| Setup | Enter your balances, income, spending, Social Security estimates, and optional features (semi-retirement, spending phases, HSA, QCD, ACA, TCJA sunset) |
| Projections | Year-by-year spreadsheet comparing all five strategies through end-of-plan, with balance chart and per-strategy summary metrics |
| Advisor Analysis | Comprehensive retirement plan summary (conversion strategy, SS claiming ages, spending sustainability, withdrawal sequence), plain-language strategy verdict, side-by-side scenario comparison chart, and one-click AI export to Claude, ChatGPT, or Grok |
| Monthly View | Slider across every month of the plan — from today through end of life — showing the monthly snapshot: spending, taxes, IRMAA, ACA premium, Roth conversion, QCDs, investment growth, and pre/post account balances |
| Drawdown | Instant what-if sandbox driven by sliders for spending, withdrawal mix, growth, inflation, and conversion strategy — with full-engine tax stats (yearly draw, effective rate, lifetime taxes, final balance) and IRMAA / survivor-cliff warnings |
| Monte Carlo | Multi-run simulation with return and inflation volatility — probability bands, survival rates, and strategy comparison across percentile outcomes |
| Sensitivity | Tornado chart ranking every retirement input (spending, returns, SS timing, retirement age, etc.) by impact on final net worth or lifetime taxes — so you can see which levers matter and which you can stop fine-tuning |
| Goal-Seek | Inverse-solver — pick an outcome (maximum sustainable spending, earliest retirement age, max spending with a legacy target) and the tool finds the input value that produces it via bisection |
| SS Break-Even | Social Security claiming-age break-even analysis — cumulative benefit chart and crossover table for ages 62–70 |
| Legacy & Heirs | After-tax value your heirs receive from each account type, the SECURE 2.0 10-year rule effect on inherited Traditional IRAs, and federal estate tax exposure |
| Backdoor Lab | Pro-rata rule calculator, backdoor Roth eligibility, and mega backdoor 401(k) contribution / in-plan conversion limits |
| Computations | Full methodology: tax formulas, bracket-fill solver (with SS-torpedo handling), RMD tables, SS rules, IRMAA tiers, ACA subsidy/net-premium math, Monte Carlo formulas, and Monthly View interpolation |
| FAQ | Searchable plain-language answers to every concept and term used in the tool |
This tool runs entirely in your browser — no data is sent to any server. All calculations are performed locally using the JavaScript embedded in this page.
Questions, bug reports, feature requests, or partnership inquiries: contact@rothhelper.com
Disclosure: This tool is for educational and illustrative purposes only and does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice. Results are based on simplified assumptions and user-provided inputs. Consult a qualified CPA, CFP®, or licensed attorney before taking any action.
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