Which Account to Tap, and How Much Is Still Cheap
Most tools stop at "taxable, then tax-deferred, then Roth." This one also shows how many traditional IRA dollars you can still take before the rate steps up.
| Additional traditional withdrawal | Taxed at |
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What this is doing
The default sequence is taxable first, then tax-deferred, then Roth, and that is what the panel above fills your spending from. The withdrawal order guide explains why that order exists and the one window where breaking it on purpose is the better move.
The more useful half is the second table. Taking money out of a traditional IRA is not taxed at one rate. Each dollar is taxable itself, and while you are inside the Social Security phase-in it also drags up to 85 cents of your benefit into taxable income behind it. So the real cost of a withdrawal moves as you go, sometimes sharply, and the published tax brackets will not tell you where.
That table is the thing to size a Roth conversion against, or to check before taking an extra lump out for a new roof. A band showing 0% is room you can use this year and cannot carry forward. A band showing 40-something is the tax torpedo, and it is usually worth knowing where it starts before you walk into it.
What it assumes
- Federal tax only. State income tax is not modelled, and several states treat retirement income very differently from each other.
- 2026 figures throughout, from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32: brackets, the standard deduction, the age-65 addition, and the capital gains thresholds. The $6,000 per person senior deduction is included and is currently scheduled to expire after 2028.
- Your whole taxable withdrawal is treated as a long-term sale with the cost share you entered. Short-term gains, dividends and interest are not separated out.
- No other income, no itemised deductions, no required minimum distributions, no IRMAA surcharge, no credits.
- One year at a time. It does not model what today's choice does to next decade's RMDs, which is a real part of the decision and the main reason the cheapest year is not always the cheapest retirement.
Everything runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, and the numbers are remembered only on this device.
Retire BFF is an independent publisher, not a registered investment adviser, tax adviser, or financial planner. This tool is a general illustration of how the federal rules interact, not advice about your situation, and a real return has more in it than this model. Confirm current figures at irs.gov and talk to a tax professional before acting.