Roth Conversion Calculator
Converting means paying tax today to never pay it on the growth. Compare converting against leaving the money, at your current and retirement tax rates — labeled as the simplified comparison it is.
Prepay the tax, exempt the growth
A conversion moves traditional IRA money into a Roth, paying income tax on it this year in exchange for never taxing its growth. Whether that trade profits is, to first order, a single comparison: your tax rate today versus your tax rate when the money would have been withdrawn.
Convert path = amount × (1 − tax now) × growth · Leave path = amount × growth × (1 − tax later)
Example: convert $50,000 at 24% now versus leaving it to be taxed at 22% in retirement, both growing 20 years at 7%: converting nets about $147,100 after its tax; leaving nets about $150,900. At a 32% retirement rate instead, converting wins by roughly $19,000. The two rates decide; the growth mostly cancels — which surprises most people who run it.
Simplified comparison, labeled as such. This model takes the conversion tax out of the converted amount. Paying the tax from outside funds makes conversion meaningfully stronger (the full amount compounds), and bracket effects across multiple years are real. Use it to size the question, then model your years properly before acting.
How this is calculated
Both paths grow the amount at the entered constant return for the entered years. The convert path taxes the amount at today's rate before growth (tax from the converted funds); the leave path taxes the full grown amount at the retirement rate. Advantage = convert − leave. No bracket progression, no state tax, no five-year-rule or estate considerations — stated exclusions, per the label on the page.
Frequently asked questions
When is converting clearly attractive?
In unusually low-income years (job gap, early retirement before other income starts), when the conversion fills low brackets; when you expect higher future rates; and when the tax can be paid from outside cash.
Can I convert a little at a time?
Yes — partial conversions across several years are the standard technique, converting just enough each year to fill a chosen bracket. The per-year amounts matter more than the grand total.
Is a conversion reversible?
No — recharacterization of conversions was eliminated in the US in 2018. A conversion is a one-way door taxed in its year, which is why modeling precedes clicking.
Does converting affect other things?
Converted amounts count as income in their year, which can touch Medicare premium tiers (IRMAA), benefit taxation and other income-linked figures two years later. Another reason the simplified label on this page matters.
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