Roth Conversion Ladder Calculator
Create a year-by-year Roth conversion schedule and check the accessible assets assigned to the first five years.
The planned access year is shown five tax years after each conversion. Actual tax and additional-tax treatment depends on Roth ordering rules, age, exceptions, and records.
Your inputs stay on this page and are not saved.
$0.00 remains above the simple bridge estimate.
- Total planned conversions
- $200,000.00
- First planned access year
- 2031
- Final planned access year
- 2035
2026$40,000.00Plan for 2031
2027$40,000.00Plan for 2032
2028$40,000.00Plan for 2033
2029$40,000.00Plan for 2034
2030$40,000.00Plan for 2035
This schedule does not calculate conversion tax or establish eligibility for a penalty exception. Verify each conversion and distribution with current IRS rules.
How the calculation works
Initial bridge = five years of entered spending. Each planned conversion is paired with an access year five tax years later for schedule planning.
The schedule does not calculate conversion tax or guarantee that a later distribution avoids tax or additional tax. Roth ordering, conversion timing, age, exceptions, and records matter.
Reference: IRS Publication 590-B: Roth conversion and distribution rules
Roth Conversion Ladder Calculator FAQs
What is a Roth conversion ladder?
It is a series of conversions from pre-tax retirement money to a Roth IRA, usually across multiple tax years, paired with a plan for spending and later Roth distributions.
Why does the calculator show a five-year bridge?
IRS rules can impose an additional tax when a taxable conversion amount is distributed within its five-year period. Accessible assets can fund spending while the earliest planned conversion ages through that period.
Does every Roth conversion have its own five-year period?
For the additional tax on early distributions of conversion amounts, Publication 590-B applies a separate five-year period to each conversion. Qualified-distribution rules have a different five-year test.
Does the annual conversion equal annual spending?
Not necessarily. The conversion amount follows a tax plan, while spending follows the household budget. Taxes, basis, gains, cash, and other income can make the amounts different.
Does the calculator estimate conversion tax?
No. Use the tax-bracket planner and a complete tax projection that includes other income, gains, deductions, credits, healthcare effects, and state tax.
Can I access converted money earlier than the planned year?
Age, exceptions, Roth ordering, and the type of amount distributed can change the result. The displayed year is a conservative scheduling aid, not a tax determination.