Split by the statement, it is not an equal split.

The facts, in one place.

Six quotable sentences on dividing retirement accounts.

1. A transfer of property between spouses incident to a divorce is not a taxable event, and the recipient takes the transferor's basis (§ 1041): the tax travels with the asset, so a dollar in a pre-tax account is not a dollar.
2. An IRA is divided by a transfer under the divorce instrument; the recipient's share becomes the recipient's own IRA, taxed and penalized under the ordinary rules from then on (§ 408(d)(6)).
3. A 401(k) or pension is divided by a qualified domestic relations order, a court order the plan must honor (§ 414(p)). A distribution to the former spouse under that order is exempt from the 10 percent early-withdrawal tax (§ 72(t)(2)(C)); the same money moved to an IRA first loses that exemption.
4. Example: a $1,000,000 pre-tax account split in half between a spouse in the 35 percent bracket and one in the 12 percent bracket is worth $325,000 to the first and $440,000 to the second after tax, 42% and 58% of the after-tax total.
5. A Roth account is worth its face value to either spouse; a brokerage account is worth its value less the tax on its built-in gain, which the recipient inherits with the basis.
6. The settlement sheet lists statement balances. The after-tax sheet, at each spouse's own rates, is the one that describes what each will have to live on.

How each account divides.

The four account types and what each is worth to the recipient.

How the split works.

A divorce settlement moves accounts between spouses without tax at the moment of transfer, and the recipient takes the transferor's basis. That is the rule that makes the statement balances misleading: the tax has not disappeared, it has moved with the asset. A pre-tax retirement dollar is taxed as ordinary income when it comes out, at the recipient's rate; a Roth dollar is not taxed at all; a brokerage dollar carries capital gains tax on whatever gain was built in when it was received.

The route matters too. An IRA is divided by a transfer under the divorce instrument and becomes the recipient's own IRA, with the early-withdrawal tax applying to them. A 401(k) or pension is divided by a qualified domestic relations order, and a distribution to the former spouse under that order is exempt from the early-withdrawal tax; the same money rolled to an IRA first loses that. The calculator prices each spouse's share at that spouse's rates and says which route each account takes.

Methodology.

1. Inputs. The pre-tax, Roth, and brokerage balances, the brokerage basis, the share of each account to spouse A, and each spouse's ordinary rate (the gains rate follows the bracket: 0, 15, or 20 percent).
2. Each share. The share of each account; tax on the pre-tax share at the spouse's ordinary rate; tax on the brokerage share's built-in gain at the spouse's gains rate; the Roth share at face value (§§ 1041, 408(d)(6)).
3. The comparison. Each spouse's gross and after-tax totals, the after-tax share to A, and the gap between the two after-tax figures.
4. Validation. An equal pre-tax split at 35 and 12 percent, a Roth splitting at face value, and a brokerage account taxed only on its gain. A transcription error fails the build.
5. Not modeled. A pension's income stream (an actuary's valuation), unequal shares by account, state tax, the surtax, the early-withdrawal tax on an IRA share, and future rate changes. Educational, not advice.

Sources.

1. 1. United States Code (Cornell LII), 26 U.S.C. § 1041 — Transfers of property between spouses or incident to divorce. That no gain or loss is recognized on a transfer between spouses or incident to divorce, and the recipient takes the transferor's basis: the tax travels with the asset. Retrieved September 6, 2026; verified September 6, 2026.
2. 2. United States Code (Cornell LII), 26 U.S.C. § 408(d)(6) — Transfer of an IRA incident to divorce. That an IRA interest transferred to a spouse or former spouse under a divorce or separation instrument is not a taxable transfer and becomes the recipient's own IRA, with the ordinary rules, including the early-withdrawal tax, applying to the recipient from then on. Retrieved September 6, 2026; verified September 6, 2026.
3. 3. United States Code (Cornell LII), 26 U.S.C. § 72(t)(2)(C) and (t)(3)(A) — Distributions to an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order. That a distribution from an employer plan to an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order is exempt from the 10 percent additional tax, and that the exemption does not extend to IRAs. Retrieved September 6, 2026; verified September 6, 2026.
4. 4. United States Code (Cornell LII), 26 U.S.C. § 414(p) — Qualified domestic relations order defined. What a qualified domestic relations order is: a court order under state domestic relations law that assigns part of a participant's plan benefit to a spouse, former spouse, child, or dependent, and the requirements it must meet for the plan to honor it. Retrieved September 6, 2026; verified September 6, 2026.
5. 5. United States Code (Cornell LII), 26 U.S.C. § 121(d)(3) — Property of a spouse or former spouse. That a spouse who receives the home in a divorce counts the other spouse's ownership period as their own (A), and that a spouse who moves out is treated as still using the home while the former spouse is granted use under the divorce instrument (B). Retrieved September 6, 2026; verified September 6, 2026.
6. 6. Illinois Appellate Court, First District (CourtListener), In re Marriage of Hunt, 78 Ill. App. 3d 653 (1st Dist. 1979). The two ways an Illinois court divides a pension: an immediate offset of its present value at dissolution, or reserved jurisdiction, under which the non-employee spouse receives a share of each benefit payment equal to the months of plan participation during the marriage over the total months of participation at retirement, the coverture fraction that carries the case's name. Retrieved September 7, 2026; verified September 7, 2026.
7. 7. Illinois Appellate Court, First District (CourtListener), In re Marriage of Richardson, 381 Ill. App. 3d 47 (1st Dist. 2008). That under the reserved-jurisdiction method the marital fraction is applied to the benefit as actually paid at retirement, including increases from post-dissolution service and salary, the fraction itself shrinking as service continues; a decree that instead freezes the benefit at the dissolution date is the alternative the tool shows for comparison. Retrieved September 7, 2026; verified September 7, 2026.
8. 8. Illinois General Assembly, 750 ILCS 5/503(b)(2) — Pension benefits acquired during the marriage are presumed marital property. That all pension benefits, including those under the Illinois Pension Code, defined benefit and defined contribution plans, IRAs, and non-qualified plans, acquired by or participated in by either spouse after the marriage and before the judgment are presumed marital property, and that division of a public pension is enforceable under Section 1-119 of the Pension Code. Retrieved September 7, 2026; verified September 7, 2026.
9. 9. Illinois General Assembly, 40 ILCS 5/1-119 — Qualified Illinois Domestic Relations Orders. That benefits under the state's public retirement systems (SERS, SURS, TRS, IMRF, the Chicago funds, and the rest) are divided only by a QILDRO in the statutory form, as a fixed dollar amount or a percentage set out in a QILDRO Calculation Court Order; and that a QILDRO against a member who began participating on or before July 1, 1999 is not effective without the member's written consent (m). Retrieved September 7, 2026; verified September 7, 2026.
10. 10. United States Code (Cornell LII), 29 U.S.C. § 1056(d)(3) (ERISA § 206(d)(3)) — Qualified domestic relations orders. That the anti-alienation rule for private plans yields to a qualified domestic relations order, and what such an order must state; the parallel definition is § 414(p) of the Internal Revenue Code. Retrieved September 7, 2026; verified September 7, 2026.

Revision history.

The record's history.

September 7, 2026

Added the pension division sources for the marital-share tool: Hunt and Richardson (the coverture fraction under reserved jurisdiction), 503(b)(2) (pension benefits presumed marital), 40 ILCS 5/1-119 (QILDRO for public pensions, the pre-July-1999 consent rule), and ERISA § 206(d)(3) (QDRO for private plans).

September 6, 2026

First release of the divorce record for the retirement-account split and the house-or-IRA comparison: the IRA transfer rule, the QDRO exception, the § 1041 carryover basis, and the home exclusion after a divorce.

Canonical address: https://consideratecapital.com/tools/dividing-retirement-accounts-in-divorce