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Filing Status:Married - Filing JointlyFor "Break-Even" Effective Tax Rate:
- Contribution Amount doesn't change the result
- Increasing Current Tax Rate will benefit Pre-Tax
--- both State & Federal
- Reducing Rate of Return will benefit Pre-Tax
- Reducing Years until Retirement will benefit Pre-Tax
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401k Contribution:$10,000 Blue Cells = Inputs
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Current Marginal Tax Bracket (Fed):
22.0%
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Current Marginal Tax Bracket (State):
3.0%
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Average Rate of Return:8.0%Important Note:

All of the calculations here are conducted to see the benefit of Roth vs Pre-Tax in a single given year.
This isn't assuming that you do the same thing each year…

Luckily, the closer you are to retirement, the more benefit Pre-Tax has.
...so once you hit the spot where Pre-Tax has enough of a benefit, things will only improve moving forward
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Years until Retirement:30
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Contributing to Roth 401kContributing to Pre-Tax 401k
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Roth 401k Contribution:$10,000 Pre-Tax 401k Contribution:$10,000
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Savings to Invest:$2,500 <<-- You'll end with this much extra in paycheck at end of the year
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It's assumed you'll invest this money (outside of 401k)
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Investment Multiplier:10.06265689Investment Multiplier:10.06265689
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Roth 401k Value after 30 years:
 $ 100,626.57
Pre-Tax 401k Value after 30 years:
$100,626.57 <<-- Will be taxed as income using standard tax brackets
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Investment Value after 30 years:
$25,156.64 <<-- Gains will be taxed as capital gains (likely 15%)
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Total Value:$125,783.21
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(not taxable)
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After Tax 401k Value: $ 100,626.57 Capital Gains Tax:15%<<-- Likely around 15%...could be 0 though
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Tax on extra (non-401k) Investment:
$3,398.50 <<-- Uses rate from cell above
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When adjusting inputs…
Anything that raises this number is better for Pre-Tax
Anyting that lowers the number is better for Roth
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---->>>Tax Rate to Break Even:21.62%<<-- This is the tax rate of just the 401k portion
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^^ EFFECTIVE Tax RateThis includes both Fed & State Tax
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It says 401k, but really it's any pre-tax source
…so Rollover IRA counts here too…
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Effective Tax Rate of 401k WithdrawalPercentage of Allowance Taken from Pre-Tax 401kMonetary BenefitPercentage of Allowance Taken from Pre-Tax 401k
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I'm not going to make a drop-down and list rates for every state.
If you want to consider state tax rates in retirement, change it here.
It's a simple adder to the values in the table to the right.		10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%Example:
I expect to withdraw $100k a year in retirement
- 20k from Roth sources
- 80k from Taxable Sources
--- 30k from Social Secuirty
--- 25k from Pre-Tax 401k
--- 15k from Rollover IRA (from Pre-Tax)
--- 10k from miscellaneous

On the left, I select 80k (my taxable income)

On the top, I select 50% (percentage from Pre-Tax 401k)
--- includes the 25k in Pre-Tax 401k
--- includes the 15k that was rolled over from the Pre-Tax 401k

I see my effective tax rate on that 40k that I'm pulling
--- if this is lower than the "break even" point, then Pre-Tax is better
--- if this is higher than the "break-even" point, then Roth is better		10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%
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Annual Taxable Income Allowance $ 20,000 13.0%13.0%13.0%13.0%13.0%13.0%13.0%13.0%13.0%13.0%Annual Taxable Income Allowance $ 20,000 $ 8,676.7 $ 8,676.7 $ 8,676.7 $ 8,676.7 $ 8,676.7 $ 8,676.7 $ 8,676.7 $ 8,676.7 $ 8,676.7 $ 8,676.7 I haven't really vetted this table yet.
In theory, it's specifying the "monetary benefit" you'd get in each case.

I was thinking this could be used when considering if the benefit outweighs any potential downsides.
…like, if the increased taxable income makes healthcare cost more
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 $ 30,000 15.0%15.0%14.8%14.3%14.1%13.9%13.8%13.7%13.6%13.5% $ 30,000 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,887.8 $ 7,335.0 $ 7,603.3 $ 7,782.2 $ 7,910.0 $ 8,005.8 $ 8,080.4 $ 8,140.0
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Marginal State Tax in Retirement:
3.0% $ 40,000 15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%14.8%14.5%14.3%14.1%14.0%13.9% $ 40,000 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,865.4 $ 7,167.3 $ 7,382.9 $ 7,544.6 $ 7,670.4 $ 7,771.1
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 $ 50,000 15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%14.9%14.6%14.4%14.2%14.1% $ 50,000 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,798.3 $ 7,066.7 $ 7,267.9 $ 7,424.5 $ 7,549.7
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Key: $ 60,000 15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%14.8%14.6%14.4%14.3% $ 60,000 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,855.8 $ 7,083.4 $ 7,260.5 $ 7,402.1
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Pre-Tax is Better $ 70,000 15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%14.7%14.5%14.4% $ 70,000 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,705.2 $ 6,951.7 $ 7,143.3 $ 7,296.7
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Roth is Better $ 80,000 15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%15.0%14.8%14.6%14.5% $ 80,000 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,664.2 $ 6,852.8 $ 7,055.5 $ 7,217.6
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 $ 90,000 15.6%15.3%15.2%15.2%15.1%15.1%15.1%15.0%14.7%14.6% $ 90,000 $ 6,049.2 $ 6,356.7 $ 6,459.2 $ 6,510.4 $ 6,541.2 $ 6,561.7 $ 6,576.3 $ 6,699.1 $ 6,918.8 $ 7,094.6
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 $ 100,000 25.0%20.3%18.5%17.6%17.1%16.8%16.5%16.3%15.9%15.6% $ 100,000 $ (3,398.5) $ 1,356.1 $ 3,125.5 $ 4,010.1 $ 4,540.9 $ 4,894.8 $ 5,147.6 $ 5,387.5 $ 5,752.9 $ 6,045.3
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Going down the left side, you select your "annual allowance" in regards to taxable income.

This includes Pre-Tax 401k, IRA, Social Secuity, etc.		 $ 110,000 25.0%24.3%21.2%19.7%18.7%18.1%17.7%17.3%16.9%16.5% $ 110,000 $ (3,398.5) $ (2,735.3) $ 397.9 $ 1,964.4 $ 2,904.4 $ 3,531.0 $ 3,978.6 $ 4,314.3 $ 4,799.0 $ 5,186.8
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 $ 120,000 25.0%25.0%23.5%21.4%20.1%19.2%18.6%18.2%17.6%17.2% $ 120,000 $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (1,875.1) $ 259.7 $ 1,540.6 $ 2,394.5 $ 3,004.5 $ 3,461.9 $ 4,004.1 $ 4,471.3
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 $ 130,000 25.0%25.0%25.0%22.8%21.2%20.2%19.5%18.9%18.3%17.8% $ 130,000 $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (1,182.8) $ 386.6 $ 1,432.9 $ 2,180.2 $ 2,740.7 $ 3,331.4 $ 3,866.0
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 $ 140,000 25.0%25.0%25.0%24.0%22.2%21.0%20.2%19.5%18.9%18.3% $ 140,000 $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (2,419.2) $ (602.5) $ 608.6 $ 1,473.7 $ 2,122.5 $ 2,754.9 $ 3,347.1
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 $ 150,000 25.0%25.0%25.0%25.0%23.1%21.7%20.8%20.0%19.4%18.7% $ 150,000 $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (1,459.8) $ (105.8) $ 861.4 $ 1,586.7 $ 2,255.2 $ 2,897.4
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 $ 160,000 25.0%25.0%25.0%25.0%23.8%22.3%21.3%20.5%19.8%19.1% $ 160,000 $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (2,209.8) $ (730.8) $ 325.6 $ 1,117.9 $ 1,818.0 $ 2,503.9
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Across the top, you select what percentage of you taxable income is coming from the Pre-Tax 401k

It is labeled 401k, but really it's any pre-tax source that originated in the Pre-Tax 401k
…so Rollover IRA counts here too		 $ 170,000 25.0%25.0%25.0%25.0%24.5%22.9%21.8%20.9%20.2%19.5% $ 170,000 $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (2,871.7) $ (1,282.4) $ (147.2) $ 704.3 $ 1,432.2 $ 2,156.7
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 $ 180,000 25.0%25.0%25.0%25.0%25.0%23.4%22.2%21.3%20.5%19.8% $ 180,000 $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (1,772.6) $ (567.4) $ 336.6 $ 1,089.3 $ 1,848.1
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 $ 190,000 25.0%25.0%25.0%25.0%25.0%23.8%22.6%21.6%20.8%20.1% $ 190,000 $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (3,398.5) $ (2,211.3) $ (943.4) $ 7.6 $ 782.5 $ 1,571.9
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 $ 200,000 25.9%25.5%25.3%25.2%25.2%24.4%23.0%22.0%21.2%20.4% $ 200,000 $ (4,329.3) $ (3,863.9) $ (3,708.8) $ (3,631.2) $ (3,584.7) $ (2,761.2) $ (1,414.7) $ (404.9) $ 403.0 $ 1,230.3
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 $ 210,000 26.8%25.9%25.6%25.5%25.4%24.9%23.5%22.4%21.6%20.7% $ 210,000 $ (5,243.3) $ (4,320.9) $ (4,013.4) $ (3,859.7) $ (3,767.5) $ (3,270.7) $ (1,851.4) $ (787.0) $ 51.6 $ 914.1
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 $ 220,000 27.0%26.3%25.9%25.7%25.5%25.3%23.9%22.8%21.9%21.0% $ 220,000 $ (5,411.0) $ (4,736.4) $ (4,290.4) $ (4,067.4) $ (3,933.6) $ (3,733.9) $ (2,248.5) $ (1,134.4) $ (267.9) $ 626.6
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 $ 230,000 27.0%26.7%26.1%25.9%25.7%25.6%24.2%23.1%22.2%21.3% $ 230,000 $ (5,411.0) $ (5,115.7) $ (4,543.3) $ (4,257.1) $ (4,085.4) $ (3,970.9) $ (2,611.0) $ (1,451.6) $ (549.8) $ 364.1
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 $ 240,000 27.0%27.0%26.4%26.0%25.8%25.7%24.5%23.4%22.4%21.5% $ 240,000 $ (5,411.0) $ (5,411.0) $ (4,775.1) $ (4,431.0) $ (4,224.5) $ (4,086.8) $ (2,943.3) $ (1,742.4) $ (808.3) $ 123.4
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The calculated value specifies what the "effective tax rate" is on the Pre-Tax dollars withdrawn

This taxes "from the top", so it starts at the highest rate and works it's way down		 $ 250,000 27.0%27.0%26.6%26.2%25.9%25.8%24.9%23.6%22.7%21.7% $ 250,000 $ (5,411.0) $ (5,411.0) $ (4,988.4) $ (4,590.9) $ (4,352.4) $ (4,193.4) $ (3,249.0) $ (2,009.8) $ (1,046.1) $ (97.9)
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 $ 260,000 27.0%27.0%26.8%26.3%26.1%25.9%25.1%23.9%22.9%21.9% $ 260,000 $ (5,411.0) $ (5,411.0) $ (5,185.3) $ (4,738.6) $ (4,470.6) $ (4,291.9) $ (3,531.2) $ (2,256.8) $ (1,265.6) $ (302.3)
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 $ 270,000 27.0%27.0%27.0%26.5%26.2%26.0%25.4%24.1%23.1%22.1% $ 270,000 $ (5,411.0) $ (5,411.0) $ (5,367.5) $ (4,875.3) $ (4,579.9) $ (4,383.0) $ (3,792.5) $ (2,485.4) $ (1,468.8) $ (491.5)
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 $ 280,000 27.0%27.0%27.0%26.6%26.3%26.1%25.6%24.3%23.3%22.3% $ 280,000 $ (5,411.0) $ (5,411.0) $ (5,411.0) $ (5,002.2) $ (4,681.5) $ (4,467.7) $ (4,035.1) $ (2,697.7) $ (1,657.5) $ (667.2)
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 $ 290,000 27.0%27.0%27.0%26.7%26.4%26.1%25.9%24.5%23.4%22.4% $ 290,000 $ (5,411.0) $ (5,411.0) $ (5,411.0) $ (5,120.4) $ (4,776.0) $ (4,546.4) $ (4,261.0) $ (2,895.4) $ (1,833.2) $ (830.8)
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 $ 300,000 27.0%27.0%27.0%26.8%26.5%26.2%26.0%24.7%23.6%22.6% $ 300,000 $ (5,411.0) $ (5,411.0) $ (5,411.0) $ (5,230.7) $ (4,864.3) $ (4,620.0) $ (4,445.5) $ (3,079.8) $ (1,997.2) $ (983.5)
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vvv This is all background math to get the table above vvv
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Ammount Withdrawn from 401kPercentage of Allowance Taken from Pre-Tax 401k
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10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%100%
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Very simple calculation…
[401k Withdrawal] = [Taxable Income] x [Percent from 401k]		Annual Taxable Income Allowance $ 20,000 $ 2,000 $ 4,000 $ 6,000 $ 8,000 $ 10,000 $ 12,000 $ 14,000 $ 16,000 $ 18,000 $ 20,000
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 $ 30,000 $ 3,000 $ 6,000 $ 9,000 $ 12,000 $ 15,000 $ 18,000 $ 21,000 $ 24,000 $ 27,000 $ 30,000
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 $ 40,000 $ 4,000 $ 8,000 $ 12,000 $ 16,000 $ 20,000 $ 24,000 $ 28,000 $ 32,000 $ 36,000 $ 40,000
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 $ 50,000 $ 5,000 $ 10,000 $ 15,000 $ 20,000 $ 25,000 $ 30,000 $ 35,000 $ 40,000 $ 45,000 $ 50,000
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 $ 60,000 $ 6,000 $ 12,000 $ 18,000 $ 24,000 $ 30,000 $ 36,000 $ 42,000 $ 48,000 $ 54,000 $ 60,000
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 $ 70,000 $ 7,000 $ 14,000 $ 21,000 $ 28,000 $ 35,000 $ 42,000 $ 49,000 $ 56,000 $ 63,000 $ 70,000
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 $ 80,000 $ 8,000 $ 16,000 $ 24,000 $ 32,000 $ 40,000 $ 48,000 $ 56,000 $ 64,000 $ 72,000 $ 80,000
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 $ 90,000 $ 9,000 $ 18,000 $ 27,000 $ 36,000 $ 45,000 $ 54,000 $ 63,000 $ 72,000 $ 81,000 $ 90,000
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 $ 100,000 $ 10,000 $ 20,000 $ 30,000 $ 40,000 $ 50,000 $ 60,000 $ 70,000 $ 80,000 $ 90,000 $ 100,000
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 $ 110,000 $ 11,000 $ 22,000 $ 33,000 $ 44,000 $ 55,000 $ 66,000 $ 77,000 $ 88,000 $ 99,000 $ 110,000
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 $ 120,000 $ 12,000 $ 24,000 $ 36,000 $ 48,000 $ 60,000 $ 72,000 $ 84,000 $ 96,000 $ 108,000 $ 120,000
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 $ 130,000 $ 13,000 $ 26,000 $ 39,000 $ 52,000 $ 65,000 $ 78,000 $ 91,000 $ 104,000 $ 117,000 $ 130,000
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 $ 140,000 $ 14,000 $ 28,000 $ 42,000 $ 56,000 $ 70,000 $ 84,000 $ 98,000 $ 112,000 $ 126,000 $ 140,000
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 $ 150,000 $ 15,000 $ 30,000 $ 45,000 $ 60,000 $ 75,000 $ 90,000 $ 105,000 $ 120,000 $ 135,000 $ 150,000
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 $ 160,000 $ 16,000 $ 32,000 $ 48,000 $ 64,000 $ 80,000 $ 96,000 $ 112,000 $ 128,000 $ 144,000 $ 160,000
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 $ 170,000 $ 17,000 $ 34,000 $ 51,000 $ 68,000 $ 85,000 $ 102,000 $ 119,000 $ 136,000 $ 153,000 $ 170,000
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 $ 180,000 $ 18,000 $ 36,000 $ 54,000 $ 72,000 $ 90,000 $ 108,000 $ 126,000 $ 144,000 $ 162,000 $ 180,000
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 $ 190,000 $ 19,000 $ 38,000 $ 57,000 $ 76,000 $ 95,000 $ 114,000 $ 133,000 $ 152,000 $ 171,000 $ 190,000
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 $ 200,000 $ 20,000 $ 40,000 $ 60,000 $ 80,000 $ 100,000 $ 120,000 $ 140,000 $ 160,000 $ 180,000 $ 200,000
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 $ 210,000 $ 21,000 $ 42,000 $ 63,000 $ 84,000 $ 105,000 $ 126,000 $ 147,000 $ 168,000 $ 189,000 $ 210,000
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 $ 220,000 $ 22,000 $ 44,000 $ 66,000 $ 88,000 $ 110,000 $ 132,000 $ 154,000 $ 176,000 $ 198,000 $ 220,000
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 $ 230,000 $ 23,000 $ 46,000 $ 69,000 $ 92,000 $ 115,000 $ 138,000 $ 161,000 $ 184,000 $ 207,000 $ 230,000
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 $ 240,000 $ 24,000 $ 48,000 $ 72,000 $ 96,000 $ 120,000 $ 144,000 $ 168,000 $ 192,000 $ 216,000 $ 240,000
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 $ 250,000 $ 25,000 $ 50,000 $ 75,000 $ 100,000 $ 125,000 $ 150,000 $ 175,000 $ 200,000 $ 225,000 $ 250,000
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 $ 260,000 $ 26,000 $ 52,000 $ 78,000 $ 104,000 $ 130,000 $ 156,000 $ 182,000 $ 208,000 $ 234,000 $ 260,000
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 $ 270,000 $ 27,000 $ 54,000 $ 81,000 $ 108,000 $ 135,000 $ 162,000 $ 189,000 $ 216,000 $ 243,000 $ 270,000
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 $ 280,000 $ 28,000 $ 56,000 $ 84,000 $ 112,000 $ 140,000 $ 168,000 $ 196,000 $ 224,000 $ 252,000 $ 280,000
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 $ 290,000 $ 29,000 $ 58,000 $ 87,000 $ 116,000 $ 145,000 $ 174,000 $ 203,000 $ 232,000 $ 261,000 $ 290,000
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 $ 300,000 $ 30,000 $ 60,000 $ 90,000 $ 120,000 $ 150,000 $ 180,000 $ 210,000 $ 240,000 $ 270,000 $ 300,000
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Fed Tax Owed on 401k WithdrawalPercentage of Allowance Taken from Pre-Tax 401k