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Roth conversions, year by year
The years between retirement and required minimum distributions are the only stretch where you control your tax bracket this completely. Each year, this tool fills your current bracket with a conversion, without crossing into the next one, then compares the lifetime tax bill against doing nothing.
Free consultation. No obligation to enroll.
- Real 2026 federal brackets
- Bracket-fill plan, year by year
- Lifetime tax comparison
- Results are estimates for education
Sets your RMD age: 73 for 1951-1959 births, 75 for 1960 and later.
Wages, pension, taxable Social Security. Assumed the same every year.
Traditional IRA, 401(k), and similar pre-tax accounts combined.
Fills up to $105,700 a year.
You pick the rate. Nobody knows the real one ahead of time.
- Estimated lifetime tax difference
- $57,269Conversions pay tax at 22%; RMDs would pay at 22%
- Total converted
- $385,500
- Years converting
- 15
- Yearly conversion room
- $25,700Top of the 22% bracket (single) minus your other income
| Lifetime tax | Amount |
|---|---|
| With the conversion plan | $124,827 |
| Doing nothing, taxed at RMD time | $182,096 |
| Difference | $57,269 |
Year by year
| Year | Age | Convert | Tax on conversion | Pre-tax balance left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 60 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $295,300 |
| 2027 | 61 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $290,271 |
| 2028 | 62 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $284,890 |
| 2029 | 63 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $279,132 |
| 2030 | 64 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $272,972 |
| 2031 | 65 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $266,380 |
| 2032 | 66 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $259,326 |
| 2033 | 67 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $251,779 |
| 2034 | 68 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $243,703 |
| 2035 | 69 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $235,063 |
| 2036 | 70 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $225,817 |
| 2037 | 71 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $215,924 |
| 2038 | 72 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $205,339 |
| 2039 | 73 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $194,013 |
| 2040 | 74 | $25,700 | $5,654 | $181,894 |
The math, in plain English
Your RMD age comes from SECURE 2.0: 73 if you were born between 1951 and 1959, 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. Every year between now and then is one conversion year.
Bracket fill: each year your pre-tax balance grows at your assumed rate, then the tool converts the smaller of two numbers: the remaining balance, or the gap between your other taxable income and the top of your current bracket. That keeps every conversion dollar inside your current bracket, taxed at that rate.
Lifetime comparison: with conversions, lifetime tax is the tax paid on all conversions plus your retirement-bracket rate on whatever pre-tax balance is left at RMD age. Without conversions, it is your retirement-bracket rate on the whole balance grown to RMD age. The difference is the estimated savings.
The model assumes bracket tops stay fixed, your other income is flat each year, conversion taxes are paid from outside funds, and growth is the same either way. It is a simplified model for education, not tax advice.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your birth year. It sets your RMD age under SECURE 2.0: 73 or 75.
- Pick your filing status and the bracket you are in this year. That sets the top the tool fills to.
- Enter your other yearly income and your pre-tax balance.
- Set your expected retirement rate and growth rate, then read the year-by-year plan and the lifetime tax comparison.
The formula
Headroom = top of your current bracket - your other taxable income Each year: Grown balance = balance x (1 + growth rate) Conversion = the smaller of (grown balance, headroom) Tax on conversion = conversion x current bracket rate Balance left = grown balance - conversion Tax with the plan = conversion taxes paid + (balance left at RMD age x retirement rate) Tax without the plan = full grown balance x retirement rate Lifetime savings = tax without - tax with
When your other income fills the whole bracket, headroom is zero and that year's conversion is zero. Conversion taxes come from outside funds.
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Christian BrinkleyNC Life & Health · Greensboro, NC
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