Retirement Income Tax Calculator
Calculate the true tax cost of retirement withdrawals. Traditional IRA and 401(k) distributions are taxed as ordinary income, but the interaction with Social Security taxation can push your effective marginal rate far higher than your bracket suggests.
Retirement Withdrawal
Tax on Your Withdrawal
Social Security Tax Interaction
Complete Tax Summary
Tax at Different Withdrawal Levels
How taxes change as you withdraw more (with $24,000 in Social Security benefits).
| Withdrawal | Total Tax | Effective Rate | Marginal Rate | Taxable SS | After Tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $25,000 | $0 | 0.0% | 23.6% | $10,250 | $25,000 |
| $50,000 | $3,692 | 7.4% | 19.7% | $20,400 | $46,308 |
| $75,000 | $6,692 | 8.9% | 19.7% | $20,400 | $68,308 |
| $100,000 | $9,692 | 9.7% | 19.7% | $20,400 | $90,308 |
| $125,000 | $13,797 | 11.0% | 32.3% | $20,400 | $111,203 |
| $150,000 | $19,957 | 13.3% | 32.3% | $20,400 | $130,043 |
| $175,000 | $26,117 | 14.9% | 32.3% | $20,400 | $148,883 |
| $200,000 | $32,277 | 16.1% | 32.3% | $20,400 | $167,723 |
How Retirement Income Is Taxed
Traditional IRA and 401(k) withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income at your marginal rate. But in retirement, your marginal rate is often lower than during working years because you have less income. The key question: what is your average tax rate on withdrawals, not just the marginal rate?
The Social Security tax torpedo.Each additional dollar of retirement income can cause up to $0.85 of Social Security benefits to become taxable. In the “torpedo zone,” your effective marginal rate can be 1.85x your bracket rate. For someone in the 22% bracket, the effective rate on the next dollar of withdrawal can reach 40.7%.
RMDs force withdrawals. Starting at age 73 (SECURE 2.0), Required Minimum Distributions force you to withdraw — and pay tax on — a growing percentage of your traditional accounts each year. Large traditional balances can push you into higher brackets and increase Social Security taxation.
Roth withdrawals are different.Qualified Roth IRA and Roth 401(k) distributions are completely tax-free. They also don’t count toward the provisional income that determines Social Security taxation. This makes Roth conversions in lower-income years potentially valuable.
State taxes vary widely. Some states fully exempt retirement income (like Pennsylvania, Illinois), while others tax it as ordinary income. Several states offer partial exclusions for pension or IRA income. Your state choice in retirement can significantly impact after-tax income.