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Roth Conversion Ladder Planner

2026 tables held constant · reviewed September 4, 2026

Plans a Roth conversion in yearly slices, each sized to the top of a tax bracket, and shows how long it takes and what it costs. About

In plain words. Moving money from a traditional IRA to a Roth is taxed as income in the year you do it. Do it all at once and most of it lands in high brackets; do a slice each year, sized to fill your current bracket and stop, and every slice is taxed at that rate. This tool takes the balance, your other income, and the bracket you want to fill, and runs the years forward until the balance is gone, showing the slice, the tax, and the Medicare tier for each year.

Why it matters. The years between retiring and starting required withdrawals are when income is lowest and the brackets have the most room. The plan shows whether the balance can be moved in that window, and at what rate.

An example. A couple with $600,000 in a traditional IRA and $60,000 of other income, filling the 22 percent bracket each year with the balance growing 5 percent: the conversion finishes in four years at a total tax of about $111,000, roughly 17 percent of what was moved.

Where it stops. It holds today's brackets and deduction constant, which the law does not promise. It ignores state tax, capital gains, and the taxable share of Social Security, all of which take up room, and it does not decide whether converting is right at all, which depends on the rate you expect to pay later. Everything it leaves out.

$

Your traditional IRA and 401(k) money together.

Pensions, the taxable part of Social Security, interest, and dividends, before any conversion.

For example, the years until required withdrawals begin, or as long as you like.

Filing status
Tax bracket to fill each year

This bracket ends at $211,400 of taxable income.

Total tax to convert it all in 4 years
$111,080
The whole $600,000 moves to the Roth in that time. The tax works out to 17.4% of the amount converted, because each year's conversion fills the 22% bracket and stops there. Left alone at 5% a year, the balance would be $977,337 after 10 years, all of it still waiting to be taxed.
Amount converted each year, filling the 22% bracket, with the 2026 tax tables held constant4 bars, one per year. $183,600, $183,600, $183,600, $86,836.$0$50k$100k$150k$200k$184kYear 1tax $33k, Medicare tier 1$184kYear 2tax $33k, Medicare tier 1$184kYear 3tax $33k, Medicare tier 1$87kYear 4tax $12k
Amount you can convert each year
$183,600
The top of the bracket minus your taxable other income
Tax as a share of the amount converted
17.4%
Total tax divided by total converted
Highest Medicare premium tier reached
Tier 1
Set by the highest-income conversion year, and paid two years later

Each year's conversion is the top of the bracket minus your taxable other income. A lower bracket means smaller conversions over more years at a lower rate. A higher bracket means the reverse. The balance keeps growing between conversions, which is why a ladder that would finish in a few years with no growth can leave money behind at 5 percent growth.

This uses the 2026 federal brackets the IRS published in Rev. Proc. 2025-32 and the standard deduction, held the same for every year. It treats all income as ordinary income and reads each year's Medicare premium tier from this year's table. It leaves out state tax, capital gains, and the effect on how much of your Social Security is taxed. The current rates are written into law only for the years the tax act covers. Educational, not advice.

This is a simplified model, not your actual tax return or plan. It only knows what you type in, leaves out rules that may apply to you, and cannot weigh the other facts and trade-offs a real decision depends on. Before you act, talk with a professional who knows your whole situation.

Educational only, not investment, tax, or legal advice. Results are hypothetical estimates that vary with each use and over time and are not guaranteed accurate or complete. Using this tool creates no client relationship with Considerate Capital, and the site that linked here is not affiliated with it. By using it you agree to the tool terms.