Retirement · Calculator

Roth vs Traditional: which wins?
Find your breakeven rate.

Compare after-tax retirement values and see the tax rate where both paths break even.

The question it answersAt what future tax rate do Roth and Traditional accounts produce the same result?

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Looking for something close? Roth vs Traditional Calculator: yearly contributions over many years, with an optional Bitcoin slice inside the Roth.

Enter your numbers to see the winner.

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

How this is calculated

Roth path: You contribute after-tax dollars. The contribution is taxed at your current rate first, then what is left grows tax-free. After-tax value at retirement = contribution × (1 − current rate) × (1 + return)years.

Traditional path: You contribute pre-tax dollars. The full amount grows, then you pay taxes on withdrawal. After-tax value = contribution × (1 + return)years × (1 − retirement rate).

Breakeven rate: The retirement tax rate at which both paths produce the same after-tax value. This equals your current marginal rate: growth rate and years cancel out algebraically.

Growth cancels, so the tax rates decide
Roth path: tax first
Contribution
Step 1Taxed now× (1 − current rate)
Step 2Grows tax-free× (1 + return) each year
Traditional path: tax last
Contribution
Step 1Full amount grows× (1 + return) each year
Step 2Taxed on withdrawal× (1 − retirement rate)
Both paths multiply by the same growth factor, so return and years cancel out.
Which path ends with more
Retirement tax rateagainst the current rate
Traditional winsRoth winsBreakeven at current rate
LowerHigher
Roth taxes the contribution first and Traditional taxes it last, but both grow by the same factor. That factor cancels, so breakeven is a retirement rate equal to the current marginal rate: below it Traditional wins, above it Roth wins.

Where to go from here

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