Retirement · Calculator

Roth conversion ladder,
planned year by year.

For retirement before 59.5, a Roth conversion ladder provides access to Traditional retirement money without the 10% penalty. Estimate how much to convert each year, how to fund the 5-year wait, and the taxes on each conversion.

The question it answersHow do I build a Roth conversion ladder to retire before 59.5 without penalty?

Tax year: models 2026 figures; check the assumptions before using it for another year. Privacy: runs in your browser. What you enter stays on your device unless you copy a share link, which puts your inputs in the link.

Looking for something close? Roth Conversion Calculator: how much to convert this year to fill a bracket, and whether converting beats waiting. Roth Conversion Sweet Spot: the largest conversion that stays under a chosen bracket ceiling, including state tax.

This page covers US-specific accounts and tax law. Outside the US? Roth conversions and the 5-year clock are US rules, and retirement accounts elsewhere work differently (ISAIndividual Savings Account (ISA)A UK tax-advantaged account where contributions are post-tax but all growth and withdrawals are tax-free.Full definition in the UK, TFSATax-Free Savings Account (TFSA)A Canadian tax-advantaged account where contributions are post-tax but all growth and withdrawals are tax-free.Full definition/RRSPRegistered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP)A Canadian tax-deferred retirement account; contributions reduce taxable income and growth is tax-deferred until withdrawal.Full definition in Canada, Super in Australia, etc.).

THE 5-YEAR BRIDGE

Your first ladder conversion becomes accessible 5 tax years after the conversion ×DON'T TRUST, VERIFYClaim: Each Roth conversion has its own 5-year penalty-free clock.Verify at: IRS Publication 590-B ↗ Source 1 in the list belowEach conversion tracks its own 5-year period separate from the overall Roth earnings rule.. You need other funding for those 5 years, or until 59.5 if that comes sooner.

Bridge needed per year
$0
Total bridge
$0

Bridge sources: taxable brokerage, Roth contributions (principal only), cash savings, part-time work. The bridge covers spending only. Tax on the conversions made during these 5 years (Tax cost below) comes on top and is paid from the same sources: tax withheld from a conversion before 59.5 never reaches the Roth and counts as an early distribution with the 10% penalty.

ANNUAL CONVERSION
$0
FEDERAL TAX (FLAT RATE)
$0
STATE TAX
$0
NET LADDER RUNG
$0
THE PIPELINE
Age Convert Available at age Tax cost
ACA SUBSIDY NOTE

Projection, not a promise. The result follows the assumptions you enter. Real results will differ, sometimes by a lot.

What this tool assumes
  • Each conversion has a 5-year clock before the principal can be withdrawn penalty-free, or until age 59.5 if that comes sooner.
  • Earnings on the converted amount still have Roth qualified-withdrawal rules.
  • Federal tax is the target bracket rate applied to the whole conversion, and state tax is the state rate applied the same way. The standard deduction and lower brackets are not subtracted: a single filer with no other income owes about $3,820 of federal tax on a $50,000 conversion in 2026, not the $6,000 shown at 12%.
  • Net ladder rung is the conversion minus that tax: what an opened rung leaves for spending in a year when it also pays the tax on a new conversion. At the defaults that is $41,500 against $50,000 of expenses at ages 55 to 59, so the other $8,500 a year comes from the bridge sources, the same as the conversion tax during the bridge years.
The bridge carries spending until the first rung opens
Spending$50,000/yr
$250,000 bridgeOpened rungsAge 55: first rung opens
Each conversion has its own 5-year clock
Convert at 50opens at 55
5-year clockPenalty-free
Convert at 51opens at 56
5-year clock
Convert at 52opens at 57
5-year clock
Convert at 53opens at 58
5-year clock
Convert at 54opens at 59
5-year clock
Age 50Age 55Age 60
$50,000/yr bridge from taxable brokerage, Roth contributions (principal only), cash savings, part-time workStill in the Traditional IRA / 401(k)Converted to Roth, 5-year clock runningOpen: principal withdrawable without the 10% penalty
With the default inputs (retire at 50, $50,000/yr of spending, $50,000 converted each year), nothing opens before 55. The $250,000 bridge covers spending at ages 50 to 54, and the $8,500 yearly conversion tax comes on top. From 55 each opened rung leaves $41,500 after that tax; the bridge sources add the other $8,500.

Not financial advice. US tax law. Consult a CPA before large conversions.

HOW THIS IS CALCULATED

This tool runs entirely in your browser: no data is sent to any server. The assumptions and default values behind the result are listed under “What this tool assumes” on this page. Verify the methodology or inspect the source code in your browser's dev tools.

Where to go from here

Read next

Roth Conversion Ladder

If you retire before 59.5, your 401(k) and IRA are locked behind a 10% penalty.

Explore further
  • Roth 5-Year RulesThe Roth IRA has two distinct 5-year rules: one for earnings (tied to first contribution) and one per conversion.
  • Roth ConversionsConvert Traditional to Roth in low-income years. Roth conversion ladder for early retirement.
  • Roth Conversion CalculatorSizes a Roth conversion to fill your current tax bracket without spilling into the next one, using projected 2026 brackets.
  • Roth Conversion Sweet SpotFinds the maximum conversion amount that stays under a target federal bracket ceiling, using 2026 brackets and deductions.

Sources

Verify badges in the text link to these sources. Figures, rates and rules change: check each source’s date before acting on it.

  1. Internal Revenue Service, IRS Publication 590-B ↩

Calculators are educational estimates, not financial advice. Disclosures · How pages are reviewed