About the Roth Conversion Ladder Calculator
This Roth conversion ladder calculator plans the classic early-retirement strategy: each year you convert part of your traditional IRA or old 401(k) to a Roth IRA, pay ordinary income tax at a low rate, and after five years that converted amount can be withdrawn without the 10% early-withdrawal penalty. Repeating the conversion every year builds a "ladder" of rungs that mature one by one, funding retirement before 59½.
Choose your filing status, the bracket you want to fill and your other taxable income, and the calculator sizes each year’s conversion so that taxable income stops at the top of that bracket. It shows the federal tax on every rung, the age each rung becomes penalty-free, and how much spending you need to cover from other savings during the first five years while the ladder fills.
It uses the 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction ($16,100 single, $32,200 joint) from IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, held constant in later years, and assumes you are under 65. State income tax, ACA premium-credit effects and the taxation of any Social Security are not included. Each conversion has its own five-year clock that starts on January 1 of the year you convert.
With the default inputs, the yearly conversion amount is $56,500.00. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the roth conversion ladder calculator
- 1Choose your filing status and enter your traditional IRA or old 401(k) balance.
- 2Enter other taxable income you expect each year in early retirement.
- 3Pick the bracket you are willing to fill — 12% is a common target.
- 4Set your first conversion age, number of years and expected growth.
- 5Use the schedule to see each rung’s tax and maturity age, and plan five years of bridge spending.
Formula and method
Taxable income is your other income plus the conversion minus the standard deduction. To keep the whole conversion at or below a chosen rate, the conversion is set so that taxable income lands exactly on the top of that bracket — for example $50,400 for the 12% bracket (single, 2026), so a single filer with $10,000 of other income can convert $50,400 + $16,100 − $10,000 = $56,500. The tax attributable to the conversion is the tax with it minus the tax without it.
Each year the same amount is converted (or whatever is left), and the remaining traditional balance grows at your expected rate. Under the Roth ordering rules converted money comes out after your regular contributions and before earnings, and a converted amount is free of the 10% additional tax once five tax years have passed, counting the year of the conversion — so a conversion made at 45 can be withdrawn penalty-free at about 50. The bridge is five years of spending that must come from elsewhere while the first rung matures.
- Std
- Standard deduction (2026: $16,100 single, $32,200 joint, $24,150 head of household)
- Tax()
- 2026 federal income tax on taxable income
Worked examples
Single early retiree filling the 12% bracket
With $10,000 of other income, $56,500 can be converted before taxable income passes $50,400. Taxable income of $50,400 costs $5,800 of tax, an effective 10.3% on the conversion. Ten rungs convert $565,000 for $58,000 of tax; the first matures at 50, so $200,000 of spending must come from elsewhere until then.
Married couple filling the 22% bracket
A couple can convert $211,400 + $32,200 − $20,000 = $223,600 a year. Their $20,000 of other income is covered by the standard deduction, so the conversion carries all $35,932 of tax on $211,400 of taxable income — about 16.1% overall. Even with 5% growth the $1.5 million is used up in the eighth year, after $1,764,270 has been converted for about $282,059 of tax.
Small balance runs out
Three full $56,500 conversions use $169,500, leaving $30,500 for the fourth year and nothing for the fifth. The partial rung costs $30,500 + $10,000 − $16,100 = $24,400 of taxable income, or $2,680 of tax, so total tax is 3 × $5,800 + $2,680 = $20,080.
Frequently asked questions
How does a Roth conversion ladder work?+
Each year you convert a slice of a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA and pay income tax on it. After five tax years, counting the conversion year, that slice can be withdrawn without the 10% early-withdrawal penalty, so converting every year creates a new penalty-free rung each year.
What is the 5-year rule for Roth conversions?+
Each conversion has its own five-year period that starts on January 1 of the year you convert. Withdrawing the taxable part of a conversion before that period ends, and before 59½, triggers the 10% additional tax unless an exception applies. A conversion in 2026 becomes penalty-free on January 1, 2031.
How much should I convert each year?+
Many early retirees convert enough to fill the 10% or 12% bracket, because that money may otherwise be taxed at a higher rate later through RMDs. For 2026 a single filer with no other income can convert $66,500 ($50,400 + $16,100 standard deduction) and stay in the 12% bracket.
What do I live on during the first five years?+
You need a bridge: taxable brokerage accounts, cash, regular Roth IRA contributions (which can be withdrawn any time), a 72(t) SEPP plan, or 401(k) withdrawals under the rule of 55 if you left your job in or after the year you turned 55.
Do Roth conversions affect ACA health insurance subsidies?+
Yes. Conversions count as income for the ACA premium tax credit, so larger conversions can raise your marketplace premiums. Early retirees often balance conversion size against subsidy eligibility.
Tax results are estimates based on published rules and simplified assumptions. They are not tax advice — check official guidance or a tax professional for your situation.