Your retirement calculator is lying to you about taxes.

Not by a little. Free calculators project a straight line with no tax, no withdrawal order, and no RMDs — then hand you a number you make a decision from. This one runs your actual 2026 brackets and 500 market paths, and shows you the difference.

Your accounts

Nothing is sent anywhere. There is no server to send it to — this runs in your browser and you can read the source.

Your age now Retire at age same as now = retire today Filing status Annual spending in retirement today's dollars, after tax Saving per year until then only counts while still working

What's in each bucket?

This split is the entire point. A dollar in a traditional IRA is not a dollar — the IRS owns a slice of it, and which bucket you spend first changes your lifetime tax bill by six figures.

Traditional IRA / 401(k) pre-tax — taxed on withdrawal Taxable brokerage capital gains treatment Cost basis what you paid. Don't know? Leave it blank — we assume 60%. Roth already taxed — grows and comes out free

Income

Social Security monthly, at full retirement age (67) — from your ssa.gov statement Claim age State income tax flat approximation

Fine-tune the market & longevity assumptions

Expected return %/yr, after fees Volatility %/yr — how bumpy the ride is Plan through age