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Should I do Roth or Traditional?

Roth pays the tax now, Traditional pays it in retirement. If your bracket is the same either way the two are identical — so the whole question is whether you expect to be taxed more or less later.

What you're putting in

SHARED
$

Measured before tax, so both paths start from the same gross pay.

yrs
%

Your tax rates

THE DECIDER
%

The band your next dollar of income falls in.

%

Your effective rate on withdrawals, not your marginal band. The model applies this flat to the whole balance; real withdrawals fill the brackets from the bottom, so the effective rate is usually well below the marginal one — which favours Traditional more than a marginal figure here would show.

%

Traditional frees up cash today. If you invest it in a taxable account, this is the bite taken out of its return.

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Enter a contribution, both tax rates and your time horizon to compare.

Save or send these numbersEmail

All four happen in your browser. Your figures are not sent anywhere — the email opens in your own mail app, already filled in.

The contribution-limit argument most comparisons missA written guide to the rules behind this calculator →
For educational purposes only and not tax advice. Real brackets are progressive, so a blended retirement rate is usually lower than your marginal rate today. Contribution limits, RMDs and state taxes all matter — talk to a tax professional.