Planning Walkthrough
Compare converting traditional retirement accounts to Roth. See year-by-year tax impact, break-even timelines, and whether converting makes sense at your marginal rate.
A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth IRA. You pay income tax on the converted amount now, but all future growth and withdrawals are tax-free. The core question: is paying tax today worth the tax-free growth later?
The answer depends on your current tax bracket vs. your expected retirement bracket, the time horizon for growth, and whether you have cash outside the account to cover the conversion tax.
If you're in a temporarily low bracket (career change, sabbatical, early retirement before Social Security kicks in), converting fills up cheap tax space now instead of paying higher rates later.
The further out your withdrawals, the more time tax-free growth has to compound. Converting at 40 for retirement at 65 has 25 years of tax-free growth. Converting at 60 has only 5.
Required Minimum Distributions at 73 force taxable withdrawals from traditional accounts. Converting some balance to Roth before RMDs start reduces future forced distributions and the tax bill that comes with them.
Go to Intelligence → Planning → Roth Conversion. If you have linked brokerage accounts, your traditional IRA balance auto-populates.
Fill in your current traditional balance, the amount you want to convert, your filing status, expected retirement income, and expected return/inflation rates.
The analysis shows a year-by-year comparison of “Convert” vs. “Keep Traditional.”
Not tax advice. Roth conversion decisions involve complex tax considerations including state tax, Medicare surcharges, and estate planning. This tool provides estimates to inform your thinking — consult a tax professional before converting.
See whether converting makes sense at your current tax rate.