Our Contribution Calculator is an informational tool that you can use to compare the outcomes of various hypothetical scenarios based on data that you enter. While we've tried to make the Calculator as helpful as possible, it's not intended to provide you with tax, legal, or investment advice, or to offer recommendations on how you should proceed. You should consult a tax, legal, or investment professional for help with your IRA decisions. To find out how you can talk to an H&R Block tax professional, click the Ask a Tax Advisor button.
We've used a number of assumptions in arriving at the results shown in the Contribution Calculator. Your actual results may differ significantly from the results predicted by the Calculator.
We use the following assumptions in the Contribution Calculator:
To compute the estimated after-tax value of your traditional IRAs, we assume that your yearly contributions grow on a tax-deferred basis at the designated annual rate of return and are then paid out in a single taxable lump sum at the end of the period you've indicated. If you've indicated that you will invest the tax savings, we add on an amount which reflects the result you would have obtained if you had invested the tax savings associated with each deductible contribution in a taxable account earning the specified annual rate of return over the same period.
To compute the estimated after-tax value of your Roth IRA, we assume that your yearly contributions grow on a tax-deferred basis at the designated annual rate of return and are then paid out in a single taxable lump sum at the end of the period you've indicated. We assume that your withdrawal from the Roth IRA is completely tax-free and that you aren't subject to any early withdrawal or other penalty taxes.
We assume that your federal tax rate stays the same throughout the entire period that the funds are held in your IRAs and that you pay taxes on December 31st of the year of withdrawal.
We assume that you make the same annual IRA contribution each year, and that you meet all requirements for making the contribution specified.
We do not take into account any state or local taxes or any early withdrawal penalties.
We do not take inflation into account.
In some cases, your entries may result in amounts too large for the Contribution Calculator to handle. In that case, we blank out the line that would otherwise the display the result in question.