Retirement Calculators

Room left before…	Extra ordinary income	Extra long-term gain
Current federal bracket	—	—
Federally tax-free ordinary income	—	—
To the top of the current bracket	—	—
Before gains leave the 0% band	—	—
Before the 20% capital-gains band	—	—
Before the NIIT threshold	—	—
Before your MAGI target	—	—

ACA line	Value	Extra ordinary income	Extra long-term gain
400% of FPL (subsidy cliff)	—	—	—
138% of FPL (Medi-Cal line)	—	—	—

	Monthly	Yearly
Baseline total	$0.00	$0.00
Discretionary total	$0.00	$0.00
Combined	$0.00	$0.00

Work levels or Social Security / Pension levels

In Work mode, up to five enabled work levels become the table scenarios and Social Security / pension income is set to $0. The first-load work examples are None, 1, 2, 3, and 4 days/week with illustrative annual earned income of $0, $25,000, $50,000, $75,000, and $100,000; these labels and amounts are fully editable. In SS / Pension mode, the enabled retirement-income levels replace the work levels and earned income is set to $0. The default retirement labels are 0%, 50%, 60%, 75%, and 100%, with illustrative annual Social Security / Pension amounts of $0 / $0, $30,000 / $20,000, $36,000 / $24,000, $45,000 / $30,000, and $60,000 / $40,000, respectively. Their combined income is therefore $0, $50,000, $60,000, $75,000, and $100,000. These percentages are editable scenario labels, not automatic multipliers: the sample amounts simply illustrate proportional benefit levels and can be replaced with actual claiming-age or benefit estimates. A blank Social Security or Pension / Other field is treated as $0; an unchecked level or a level with no label is omitted.

Low / Middle / Higher withdrawal-rate bands

The green, yellow, and pink/red fills are user-defined visual bands, not safety ratings. By default, Low is through 2.00%, Middle is above 2.00% through 2.50%, and Higher is above 2.50%. You can change the Low and Middle cutoffs in the Planning Tables withdrawal-rate settings; Higher automatically means anything above the Middle cutoff. These band settings are saved with the rest of your Planning Table settings in browser local storage.

Share sales rows

With Show share sales in both tables ticked (the default, under Shared assumptions), both tables add a Share sales row: the pre-tax portfolio draw minus ordinary and qualified dividends, never below $0. It is the same figure as the calculators' Share Sales output, so you do not have to subtract the dividends yourself. In the Surplus / Shortfall table it sits under the withdrawal rates, because it depends only on the rate; in the Rate Needed table it follows each Pre-tax draw. It assumes dividends and interest are paid out in cash; if they are reinvested, you would need to sell more, up to the full draw. Untick the box for a more compact table. The choice is remembered in this browser only; it is not part of saved planning tables, presets or backups.

Net rates

With Show net rates (after Pre-tax Contrib + HSA) in both tables ticked (the default, under Shared assumptions), both tables show the withdrawal rate net of your contributions in small type: beside each rate in the Rate Needed table, and under each withdrawal rate in the Surplus / Shortfall table. Net = (pre-tax draw − Pre-tax Retirement Contributions − HSA) ÷ portfolio, the same rule as the calculators' Show rate net of Pre-tax Contrib + HSA: the HSA is subtracted only when Tax Settings HSA Included In Expenses is No (HSA saved on top of spending). A note under each table says how much was subtracted. Nothing is shown when there is nothing to subtract, or at the 100% solver cap; when no draw is needed the net rate is negative (the contributions are larger than the draw). Display only: the rates, draws and amounts in the tables do not change. The choice is remembered in this browser only; it is not part of saved planning tables, presets or backups.

Saving Planning Tables for future reference

Use the always-shown Saved planning tables section below the table, name the current setup, and click Save current table. Load restores that saved setup and recalculates it with the current Tax Settings; Load and the preset buttons keep you on the tab you are viewing; each saved table holds the inputs for both the Surplus and Rate Needed tables. Upd replaces the loaded saved copy with the inputs currently on screen; ↑ / ↓ reorder it; Dup makes a copy; and Del removes it. If a saved table came from different federal or state tax-rule years, the status line identifies the saved years and reminds you that current Tax Settings are used. Saved planning tables store inputs rather than frozen results, so use Print → Save as PDF when you need a historical snapshot whose numbers will never recalculate.

Planning Table presets

Pin up to 60 saved planning tables above each table with +Pre. They are shown in rows of 6: the first two rows always, and each further row once a preset number in it is used; −Pre removes a pin without deleting the saved table. Each preset button shows the saved table's name and, underneath, its portfolio, Work or SS / Pension levels, tax treatment and Pre-tax Retirement Contributions (hover for the full text). Clicking a numbered preset immediately shows that saved table. +Pre gives a table the lowest free number. To choose a specific number, use the table's Preset box in Saved planning tables: pick 1–60, or — to remove it. If you pick a number another table already uses, the two tables swap numbers. Preset numbers stay assigned until changed, removed or deleted; if all 60 are in use, remove a preset before adding another. You can keep up to 100 saved planning tables.

Backing up saved planning tables

Backup saved tables and Restore saved tables move only the named Planning Table copies. They do not replace the working Planning Table setup on screen. Backup All Data also includes both the working Planning Tables settings and the saved planning tables.

Live Tables vs. Scenario Manager

Live Tables are a working comparison sheet for Calculators 1 and 2: enter or edit many scenarios directly in rows and see the results recalculate immediately. Scenario Manager is a broader saved-scenario library: it stores scenarios from all five calculators, preserves the larger standardized set of scenario fields, and lets you load a saved case back into its calculator. Use Live Tables for rapid side-by-side what-if analysis; use Scenario Manager for scenarios you want to save as structured calculator cases.

Which backup should I use?

Backup Scenarios = Scenario Manager only. Backup Live Tables = both Live Tables only. Backup All Data = everything above plus Planning Tables, saved planning tables, and the rest of the saved calculator state, for a complete browser/device transfer backup.

Starting scenario

The Tools page copies the current inputs and solved result from any of the five calculators into a separate Starting scenario. Editing the Tools page does not write those changes back to the calculator you loaded. Until you change something on the Tools page, it starts from Calculator 1 each time it opens. Once you edit a Tools input or click a Load button, all Tools inputs (the Starting scenario, each widget's inputs, and the ACA household size, FPL and tax-exempt interest) save automatically in this browser and come back after a refresh; from then on only the Load from Calculator buttons replace the Starting scenario. Tools inputs are included in Backup All Data but are not synced between computers.

Next-dollar cost

The Next-dollar cost widget runs the existing tax engine once for the Starting scenario and once with the selected additional amount, then shows the change in Federal ordinary tax, Federal capital-gains tax, NIIT, California tax, Payroll tax, and total tax. For an LTCG portfolio sale, only the gain portion based on the entered cost-basis percentage is added as taxable gain; an ordinary taxable-account sale is modeled as ordinary income, and a Roth/cash no-tax sale adds no tax.

Room left

The Room left widget repeatedly runs the existing tax engine to find, to the nearest whole dollar, how much additional ordinary income or long-term gain fits before the current federal ordinary bracket, the 0% and 20% capital-gains bands, the NIIT threshold, or an optional MAGI target is crossed. Its Tax-free gain harvesting panel converts the available 0%-federal gain room into an estimated sale amount using the Starting scenario cost basis and shows the incremental federal capital-gains, NIIT, and California tax on that harvested gain. California still taxes capital gains as ordinary income; the harvesting estimate assumes shares held more than one year.

Roth conversion fill

The Roth conversion fill widget searches the existing tax engine for the largest whole-dollar traditional IRA/401(k) conversion that stays within the tax line you choose. A conversion is modeled as ordinary income with no payroll tax, and the card shows the incremental Federal ordinary tax, Federal capital-gains tax, NIIT, California tax, total tax, and average rate. You can fill the current bracket, a selected federal bracket, the 0% capital-gains band, or an entered MAGI target.

ACA cliff check

The ACA cliff check uses ACA MAGI, which equals the calculator's MAGI plus untaxed Social Security plus tax-exempt interest entered in this widget. The FPL is pre-filled from the prior year's guidelines for the coverage year, and its poverty-level defaults live in the yearly-update block with the other annual numbers; the field can still be edited for another year or household. The widget shows the 138% and 400% lines and the room below 400%, but it does not estimate subsidy amounts. Next to ACA MAGI, the card also shows the 400% subsidy line and how far above or below it you are.

Spending worksheet

List your recurring bills with your own labels, monthly or yearly (each fills in the other), and mark each one Baseline or Discretionary. The Baseline total is the spending number to type into a calculator. Starter rows are a checklist: fill in what applies, then use Clear empty rows. The worksheet saves in this browser and is included in Backup All Data. Put each bill in only one row, and leave out income taxes; the calculators compute them. Discretionary rows are shaded so they stand out; Group by type puts all Baseline rows first and Discretionary rows after, keeping your order within each group.

Limitations

The result is an estimate for the current tax year using this site's current Tax Settings. A 401(k) / IRA withdrawal before age 59½ may also owe a 10% early-withdrawal penalty, which this widget does not include. The capital-gains displacement note estimates dollars pushed out of the 0% band only when the increase can be treated as moving into the 15% band; when gains reach the 20% band it reports only that gains moved to a higher band. This planning estimate is not tax advice.

What the Tools page is for

The five calculators answer a whole-year question: does this plan work, and what withdrawal rate, portfolio, or income does it need? The Tools page answers the questions that come up during the year, one decision at a time: what will this next dollar cost me, how close am I to the next tax line, how much can I convert to a Roth, and where am I against the ACA subsidy lines. Every widget re-runs the same tax engine the calculators use, once without the change and once with it, so the answers include the interactions that rules of thumb miss: ordinary income pushing capital gains out of the 0% band, extra income exposing investment income to NIIT, California taxing capital gains as ordinary income, and payroll tax on wages.

Setting up a question

The Starting scenario panel feeds every widget. The usual steps are:

The example households used below

You can reproduce every example by typing these values into the Starting scenario. Inputs not listed are $0, Investment Tax Treatment is LTCG, and the Social Security taxable percentage is left at its default. Dollar results are rounded and were computed with the Tax Settings in use when this section was written, so after an annual tax update your results will differ slightly.

Next-dollar cost: what will this extra income really cost me?

Choose an amount and an income type: Work income (adds payroll tax), 401(k) / IRA withdrawal or pension (ordinary income, no payroll tax), or a Portfolio sale (LTCG with a cost basis, Ordinary for a taxable-account sale such as a short-term gain, or No tax for Roth or cash). The card shows the extra tax in dollars and as a percent of the amount, broken into federal ordinary, federal capital gains, California, NIIT, and payroll. Notes appear when the amount pushes capital gains out of the 0% band, when NIIT starts, or when your MAGI target is crossed. The percent is your true cost for that one decision, and it is often quite different from your tax bracket.

Example (couple C): paying for a $30,000 car

Taken from the IRA, the $30,000 costs about $8,750 (29%), even though the couple is in the 12% bracket. Only about $11,250 fits in the 12% bracket; the rest is taxed at 22%, and the extra ordinary income pushes about $9,350 of their capital gains out of the 0% band into the 15% band. Sold from the brokerage account at a 50% cost basis, the same $30,000 costs about $3,150 (10.5%), because only the $15,000 gain is taxed. The cheaper source is clear, and the notes explain why.

Example (couple B): an extra $10,000 of work

Another $10,000 of wages costs about $2,640 (26%): 12% federal, about 5% California, and about 9% payroll tax. The same $10,000 from an IRA would cost about $1,740 (17%). But the ACA cliff check shows only about $1,850 of room below the 400% line, so the extra work would also cross the subsidy cliff. The lost subsidy is not part of the Next-dollar cost, so check the ACA card for any decision that raises income.

Example (couple E): selling $50,000 of stock

At a 40% cost basis, the $30,000 gain costs about $7,955 (16%): 15% federal, 9.3% California, and about $665 of NIIT, with the note that NIIT starts.

Room left: how much more before the next tax line?

The table shows how much more income fits before each line, in two columns: extra ordinary income (such as an IRA withdrawal or pension) and extra long-term gain. The lines are the federally tax-free amount (any unused standard deduction), the top of your current federal bracket, the top of the 0% capital-gains band, the start of the 20% band, the NIIT threshold, and your MAGI target. The Tax-free gain harvesting panel turns the 0% room into a sale amount at your cost basis and shows the California tax that still applies, because California has no 0% rate for capital gains.

Example (couple A): early retirees in a low-income year

About $29,200 more ordinary income would be completely free of federal tax, because their income does not use up the standard deduction. About $54,000 fits to the top of the 10% bracket, and about $96,300 of gains fits before leaving the 0% band. Harvesting shows they could realize that $96,300 gain at 0% federal tax by selling about $240,750 of shares, for about $4,040 of California tax. But their MAGI target row shows only about $49,800 of room, so harvesting the full amount would cross their ACA line.

Example (D): the ACA line comes first

She has about $15,100 of 0% gain room, but only about $12,150 before her MAGI target (the 400% ACA line for one person). The ACA line, not the 0% band, is her real limit for extra withdrawals or harvesting this year.

Example (couple E): close to NIIT

Only about $12,500 of room remains before the NIIT threshold. Past that point, part of their investment income starts to owe the extra 3.8%.

Roth conversion fill: how much can I convert, and what will it cost?

Pick where to stop: the top of your current bracket, the top of any federal bracket, keeping your gains in the 0% band, or staying at or under your MAGI target. The card finds the largest whole-dollar conversion that stays within that line and shows the tax in dollars and as an average rate, its breakdown, and your MAGI after the conversion. It tells you what a conversion costs this year. Whether converting is worth it also depends on your future tax rate (for example, required minimum distributions, or a surviving spouse filing as Single), which this single-year tool does not model.

Example (couple A): the early-retirement conversion window

Staying at or under their $84,600 ACA line allows a conversion of about $49,800 for about $3,410 (6.9%). Filling the 10% bracket instead converts $54,000 for about $4,000, but the card shows MAGI after the conversion of $88,800: over the ACA line, which would cost them the premium tax credit. Keeping gains in the 0% band allows about $96,300 for about $11,590 (12%). Filling the 12% bracket converts about $130,000 for about $23,210 (18%), including about $4,770 of capital-gains tax on gains pushed out of the 0% band.

Example (D): "the 12% bracket" is not 12%

Filling her 12% bracket converts about $35,500 at an average rate of about 28%, because the conversion pushes all of her gains into the 15% band and California taxes the conversion too. Staying under her ACA line converts about $12,150 at about 18%.

Example (couple E): converting while working

Filling their 22% bracket converts about $57,100 at an average rate of about 34%, including about $1,695 of NIIT on their investment income. A conversion in a lower-income year after retirement would usually cost much less.

ACA cliff check: where am I against the subsidy lines?

Enter your household size and any tax-exempt interest (for example, municipal bond interest). The card builds ACA MAGI from the calculator's MAGI plus the untaxed part of Social Security plus tax-exempt interest, shows it as a percent of the federal poverty level (FPL), and shows two lines: 400% of FPL (the subsidy cliff under current law) and 138% of FPL (below it, California adults generally qualify for Medi-Cal instead of subsidized Covered California plans). It also shows how much more ordinary income or long-term gain fits below the 400% line. It does not estimate your subsidy; use the linked KFF calculator, HealthCare.gov, or Covered California for dollar amounts. It applies to people buying marketplace coverage, which generally means before Medicare at 65.

Example (couple B): right at the cliff

ACA MAGI is about $82,750, about 391% of FPL for two people, leaving only about $1,850 of room below the 400% line. Almost any extra income this year, including an extra shift or a mutual fund's year-end distribution, would cross it.

Example (couple A): comfortably in the subsidy range

ACA MAGI of about $34,800 is about 165% of FPL: above the 138% Medi-Cal line (about $29,190) and about $49,800 below the 400% line.

Example: Social Security before Medicare

A couple aged 63 with couple C's income (Social Security $55,000, pension $70,000) has calculator MAGI of about $146,750 but ACA MAGI of about $155,000, because the untaxed 15% of their Social Security ($8,250) counts for ACA purposes.

Reading the results sensibly

When several widgets apply, the smallest room among the lines you care about is your real limit. All results are estimates for the current tax year using this site's Tax Settings. Social Security uses a fixed taxable percentage; if your income is in the range where more of your benefit becomes taxable as income rises, the real cost of extra income can be higher than shown. Medicare premium surcharges (IRMAA), which are based on MAGI from two years earlier, are not modeled. Withdrawals before age 59½ may owe a 10% penalty that is not included. This is a planning estimate, not tax advice.

Each card solves for one field, replacing what you typed

This is the key to reading the dashboard. Calculator 2 solves for your withdrawal rate, so it crosses out the withdrawal rate in the shared panel and shows the rate you would actually need. Calculator 3 solves for portfolio value and shows how large your portfolio needs to be. Calculator 4 solves for earned income. Calculator 1 keeps every field as you typed it — it shows where you stand today. Hover over any card to highlight the inputs it uses.

Tax Settings: save vs. backup vs. restore

Save as My Defaults explicitly saves the current Tax Settings as this browser’s persistent custom defaults. Backup Tax Settings exports the Tax Settings currently visible on screen, including their compatibility metadata, but does not change My Defaults or make unsaved experiments persistent. Backup All Data exports the calculator’s current browser state, including the Tax Settings currently visible on screen, but merely creating the backup does not change My Defaults. Restore Tax Settings is conditional: a compatible file is applied and saved as My Defaults; a year-mismatched, fingerprint-mismatched, or legacy file warns first and, if accepted, is applied for the current session only without replacing My Defaults. Restore All Data is compatibility-gated: compatible backup Tax Settings replace stored My Defaults and load normally after reload; incompatible or legacy backup Tax Settings are skipped, existing My Defaults (if any) remain unchanged, and all other backup data still restores. A one-time notice explains when backup Tax Settings were skipped.

Sync between computers (Chrome or Edge)

Tax Settings → Sync between computers keeps your saved scenarios, saved Planning Tables and presets, spending worksheet, Scenario Manager layout and My Defaults in step through a sync file you choose. On the first computer click Create sync file and save it in a folder that your cloud drive copies to your other computers (for example Google Drive for desktop). On each other computer click Use existing sync file and pick the same file. After that, changes are saved to the file automatically, and newer changes from another computer load when you open the calculator or return to its tab. Calculator inputs, Tools page inputs, Tax Settings, MAGI/HSA settings and the theme are not synced. If both computers changed saved items before syncing, the calculator asks which version to keep and saves the other as a safety copy you can download. Chrome may ask you to click Reconnect when you return; choose Allow on every visit to skip that. Sync works only in Chrome or Edge on a computer; Backup All Data and Restore All Data still work everywhere.

When saved My Defaults continue to load

My Defaults reload automatically only when both conditions remain true: (1) the saved Federal and State tax years match the current calculator, and (2) the built-in Tax Settings fingerprint still matches the built-in configuration under which the defaults were saved. The full-backup file may contain an appVersion, but application version by itself does not determine Tax Settings compatibility. Ordinary same-tax-year revisions — such as wording, layout, Read Me, accessibility, styling, or unrelated UI fixes — continue loading compatible My Defaults when the tax years and built-in Tax Settings are unchanged.

Annual updates and same-year tax corrections

After a new calculator version updates the annual Tax Settings, open the new version and let the calculator load its new built-ins. My Defaults from the prior tax-year configuration are retained in browser storage but are not automatically applied. Review the new Federal and State Tax Settings, make any desired custom changes, and click Save as My Defaults if you want those settings to persist across later compatible revisions. A tax-year change is not the only trigger: if a later release corrects a built-in bracket, deduction, threshold, or other built-in Tax Settings value while keeping the same displayed years, the fingerprint changes and older My Defaults are likewise held back. This prevents saved custom settings from silently masking a correction to the calculator’s built-in assumptions. No manual clearing of browser storage or deletion of old backups is required.

Restoring an older full backup after a tax update

Example: a December 2026 full backup contains Federal 2026 / State 2025 Tax Settings. The calculator is then updated to Federal 2027 / State 2026, and on January 3 the old full backup is restored. Calculator inputs, scenarios, Planning Tables, saved planning tables, Live Tables, preferences, and theme restore normally, but the incompatible 2026/2025 Tax Settings are skipped rather than written over My Defaults. Existing My Defaults, if any, remain unchanged. After reload, compatible existing My Defaults load normally; otherwise the current 2027/2026 built-in Tax Settings remain active. A one-time notice explains that the backup Tax Settings were skipped. Review the current settings, make any desired changes, and click Save as My Defaults if you want a new persistent custom configuration.

ACA/FPL timing note

ACA premium tax credit calculations for a coverage year generally use federal poverty line (FPL) thresholds published before that coverage year begins. Current-year coverage can rely on the prior year's FPL guidelines because open enrollment and plan pricing occur before the new year. ACA subsidy rules can change, so verify the current rule and FPL threshold before relying on the MAGI target for planning.

Set WD rate = Dividends (no share sales)

Calculator 1 keeps one consistent definition: total desired withdrawal rate includes dividends plus share sales. The dividend-only shortcut sets the withdrawal rate equal to (ordinary dividends + qualified dividends) ÷ portfolio value. This models spending portfolio dividends with no share sales. The same button is in the Tools page's Starting scenario panel, under Withdrawal Rate.

Scenario Manager impact

Scenarios save the resulting withdrawal rate, not the button click itself. For example, if dividends are $32,000 and portfolio value is $4,000,000, the saved withdrawal rate is 0.80%. Loading the scenario later restores that withdrawal rate and keeps the calculator consistent with the other calculators.

Dividend-only rate in Calculator 2 and Planning Tables

Calculator 2 and its dashboard card show the dividend-only rate next to the needed withdrawal rate: (ordinary dividends + qualified dividends) ÷ portfolio value, with the total dividends in dollars. They also show how far the needed draw is above dividends, as a rate and in dollars; that dollar amount is the same as Share Sales. If dividends are more than the needed draw, they show how much dividends exceed it instead. For example, with a $7,800,000 portfolio and $90,000 of dividends, the dividend-only rate is 1.15%; a needed rate of 1.81% ($141,464) is +0.66% ($51,464) above dividends. The Planning Tables header shows Total Dividends and the Dividend-only Rate for the portfolio in use. This is a display only: it does not change any calculation.

Show rate net of Pre-tax Contrib + HSA (tick box)

Pre-tax Retirement Contributions (shown as “Pre-tax Contrib”: 401(k), 403(b), 457 and deductible IRA contributions) are paid for by the withdrawal, so they raise the withdrawal rate the calculators show, even though that money goes back into your accounts. HSA contributions are paid for by the withdrawal too, as part of your Annual Expenses or on top of them (Tax Settings, HSA included in expenses). Tick Show rate net of Pre-tax Contrib + HSA under the Withdrawal Rate in any calculator to also see the rate with those contributions taken back out: (withdrawal − Pre-tax Contrib − HSA) ÷ portfolio value. Pre-tax Contrib is always subtracted. The HSA is subtracted only when HSA included in expenses is No: then the HSA contribution is savings on top of your spending and stays in your accounts. With Yes (the default) the HSA pays medical bills that are already in your Annual Expenses, so nothing goes back in and the HSA is not subtracted. The line says which ones it subtracted. Calculator 3 uses the solved portfolio size. For example, a $4,200,000 portfolio with $24,500 of Pre-tax Contrib and $9,000 of HSA contributions needs a $98,294 withdrawal (2.34%) with Yes, and shows "Net of Pre-tax Contrib: 1.76% ($73,794 net)" under the tick box and "−$24,500 back in = $73,794 net" under Investment Income ($98,294); the dashboard card shows "Net of Pre-tax Contrib 1.76%: $98,294 withdrawn − $24,500 back in = $73,794 net withdrawal". With No, the same spending needs $107,572 (2.56%), because the $9,000 now comes on top of Annual Expenses, and the line shows "Net of Pre-tax Contrib + HSA: 1.76% ($74,072 net)". The two net rates match because the household spends the same either way; the $278 difference is the tax on the larger withdrawal. The $73,794 is already net; do not subtract the contributions again. If you spend only part of the HSA contribution in the year, the net rate is approximate. If the contributions are larger than the withdrawal, the net rate and the net withdrawal are negative. Each calculator's dashboard card follows the same tick box, and the Show rates net of Pre-tax Contrib + HSA (all calculators) box in the dashboard's Shared Inputs panel ticks or clears all five at once. The choice is remembered in this browser only, not in scenarios, backups or sync. The Planning Tables show the same net rate in small type, with their own checkbox (see Net rates in the Planning Tables section). This is a display only: it assumes your pre-tax retirement and HSA balances are part of the portfolio value you entered, it does not account for the future tax on pre-tax money, and it does not change any calculation.

Ordinary income

Wages, Traditional 401(k)/IRA withdrawals, interest, and ordinary dividends. Taxed at regular progressive federal rates and full state rates.

Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG)

Profits from selling assets held more than a year. Federally taxed at preferential LTCG rates. Cost basis % applies only to the share-sale residual — not to dividends. A 60% cost basis means 40% of the sale residual is taxed as a realized capital gain.

Example: A $120,000 withdrawal with $5,000 ordinary dividends, $5,000 qualified dividends, and a $110,000 share-sale residual at 50% cost basis produces $55,000 of taxable gain. California then taxes $5,000 ordinary + $5,000 qualified + $55,000 gain = $65,000 CA-taxable investment income before deductions.

Qualified dividends

Dividends from certain stocks held long enough. Taxed federally at LTCG rates. Most states treat them as ordinary income.

Total Desired Withdrawal Rate

The percentage of your portfolio you withdraw per year — this includes dividends. If your portfolio is $1M and your withdrawal rate is 4%, your annual portfolio withdrawal is $40,000 (dividends + share sales combined, not in addition to).

HSA Included In Expenses

Yes is the default. This setting affects cash-flow/surplus math, not the federal HSA tax deduction. Choose Yes when the HSA contribution/outflow is already included in your Annual Expenses, so it is not subtracted twice. If your HSA pays your medical bills, list those bills in Annual Expenses and choose Yes. Choose No when the HSA contribution is savings on top of your Annual Expenses; in that case it is subtracted separately from net income. The setting also decides whether Show rate net of Pre-tax Contrib + HSA counts the HSA as money going back into your accounts (only with No). State HSA deductibility is controlled independently in Tax Settings.

Input	Federal treatment	State treatment
Earned income (W-2)	Ordinary brackets	Ordinary brackets + payroll taxes
Social Security benefits	Taxable % included in ordinary brackets ( default, adjustable)	Excluded from state taxable income (California and most states); no state income tax or payroll tax on benefits
Pension / other ordinary income	Fully included in ordinary brackets	Fully included in ordinary brackets (no payroll tax)
Ordinary dividends	Ordinary brackets	Ordinary brackets
Qualified dividends	LTCG rates (stacked)	Ordinary brackets
Share-sale residual (LTCG)	LTCG rates on gain portion	Ordinary brackets on gain portion
Roth / cash / no-tax	Not taxed	Not taxed

Withdrawal rate includes dividends

If your withdrawal rate is 4% and your portfolio is $1M, the model assumes $40,000 of total portfolio income — including dividends. Dividends and share sales are different sources of the same $40k, not additions on top of it.

Why higher ordinary dividends increase the needed withdrawal rate

In Calculator 2, increasing ordinary dividends will increase the rate the solver returns. This isn't a bug — ordinary dividends are taxed at higher rates than LTCG. Shifting income from "share sale at preferential LTCG rates" to "ordinary dividend at regular progressive rates" creates more tax, so you need to withdraw more total to net the same spending.

Why 401(k) or HSA deductions may look offset in solver calculators

In Calculators 2, 3, and 4, the calculator solves backward to hit your target spending. A 401(k) or HSA contribution still reduces federal taxable income and MAGI directly, but the solver may increase the needed withdrawal, portfolio size, or earned income to keep net spending funded. If the extra solved withdrawal is taxed as ordinary income, the offset can be exact: 401(k) contribution reduces MAGI by $1; extra ordinary withdrawal increases MAGI by $1; net MAGI change = $0. So MAGI may appear unchanged even though the deduction is included.

State taxes vary widely

California is built in, but you can enter any state's brackets in the Tax Settings tab. For states with no income tax (TX, FL, NV, SD, WY, AK, TN, NH, etc.), set all state bracket rates to 0%.

Nine states (AR, HI, MT, ND, NM, SC, VT, WA, WI) tax LTCG differently from ordinary income — the calculator will overstate state tax for residents of those states. See the Read Me's "What this calculator does NOT model" section for details.

Social Security is excluded from state taxable income (correct for California and most states); the few states that tax Social Security use income-based phaseouts that are not modeled.

Multiple independent checks

The tax engine was checked against multiple independent sources before release and after the later Social Security / pension, Additional Medicare Tax, and high-income state surtax changes:

PSLmodels Tax-Calculator — an open-source Python library used by economists and tax-policy researchers to model federal tax law. The calculator's federal outputs were compared for the regression scenarios on the overlapping federal items: AGI/MAGI-style income, regular federal tax, NIIT, and total federal income tax.
OpenTaxSolver US 1040 + Form 8960 / Form 8959 — open-source tax preparation software run from command-line input files. It was used as a separate federal check for regular federal tax, qualified-dividend/LTCG behavior, NIIT, and Additional Medicare Tax under matching test-year assumptions.
OpenTaxSolver CA 540 — OpenTaxSolver's California Form 540 module. It was used to check the California tax-from-California-AGI layer: standard deduction, bracket tax, personal exemption credit, and final CA tax for the overlapping lines. Remaining high-income differences were explained by California exemption-credit phaseout, which is user-adjustable but not automated, and separate high-income surtax line handling.
PolicyEngine US — an open-source microsimulation model of US federal and state tax-benefit rules. It was used as an independent cross-check on California results built from raw inputs and on federal results in a matching-year simulation.
AARP's federal calculator and California FTB materials — selected federal cases were checked against AARP's federal calculator, including complex investment-income and NIIT cases. California bracket math and state constants were checked against California FTB materials.

Payroll taxes were checked against published Social Security, Medicare, Additional Medicare Tax, and state SDI assumptions. The regression and external checks covered both filing statuses, earned wages, Social Security taxable percentage, Pension / Other Ordinary Income, ordinary and qualified dividends, long-term capital gains, ordinary share-sale income, 401(k) and HSA deductions, NIIT, Additional Medicare Tax, California HSA nonconformity, high-income state surtax logic, and a dividends-exceed-withdrawal edge case.

These checks reduce the risk of errors, but this calculator is still an estimate and is not a substitute for professional tax advice.

Enter traditional IRA and 401(k) withdrawals as Pension / Other income

Traditional IRA and 401(k) withdrawals are ordinary income, but they are not subject to the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT). Enter them in Pension / Other Ordinary Income, which the calculator taxes correctly. Do not model them by setting Investment Tax Treatment to Ordinary Income: that setting is meant for taxable-account sales taxed as ordinary income (for example, short-term gains), and the calculator includes those sales in NIIT. When MAGI is above the NIIT threshold ($250,000 Married Filing Jointly / $200,000 Single), using that setting for IRA or 401(k) money overstates federal tax by up to 3.8% of the amount. Federal income tax and state tax on the same dollars are the same either way; only NIIT differs.

MAGI here is the tax-return MAGI, not ACA MAGI

The MAGI shown in the calculators, and the MAGI Target that Calculator 5 solves to, is the tax-return (AGI-based) figure: income minus 401(k) and HSA contributions, counting only the taxable part of Social Security. That is the correct MAGI for NIIT. The ACA premium tax credit uses a larger MAGI that also adds back the untaxed part of Social Security and any tax-exempt interest. If you have either one and use the MAGI Target for ACA planning, your ACA MAGI will be higher than shown, and Calculator 5 can overstate how much you can withdraw while staying under an ACA limit. For example, $30,000 of Social Security at the 85% taxable setting makes ACA MAGI $4,500 higher than the calculator's MAGI. The ACA cliff check on the Tools page computes ACA MAGI with both add-backs. Medicare IRMAA uses a different MAGI again (it adds tax-exempt interest).

Traditional IRA contributions that are only partly deductible

The calculator treats everything in Pre-tax Retirement Contributions as fully deductible: it lowers federal and California taxable income and MAGI, and it is subtracted from the cash available to spend. That is always right for 401(k), 403(b) and 457 deferrals. A traditional IRA contribution, however, can be only partly deductible, or not deductible at all, when you or your spouse are covered by a retirement plan at work and your income is in or above the IRS phase-out range for that year. The calculator does not figure this limit. Enter only the deductible portion in Pre-tax Retirement Contributions, and add the nondeductible portion to Annual Expenses (cash outflow) so the calculator still funds the after-tax cash outflow. Because the calculator plans one year at a time, this gives the same cash result as the contribution itself, without a tax deduction it does not earn. Nondeductible contributions are reported to the IRS on Form 8606.

Which MAGI the IRA phase-out uses

The phase-out test uses modified AGI figured before any traditional IRA deduction. On a joint return it is one figure for the couple, with the IRA deductions of both spouses left out, and each spouse's deduction is tested against that same figure. It includes wages (already reduced by 401(k), 403(b) and 457 deferrals), interest, dividends, realized capital gains, pension and IRA withdrawals, and the taxable part of Social Security, minus HSA contributions. Tax-exempt interest is not included. The IRS also adds back a few items this calculator does not model: the student loan interest deduction, the foreign earned income and housing exclusions, excluded savings bond interest, and employer-provided adoption benefits. The calculator's MAGI subtracts everything in Pre-tax Retirement Contributions, so once an IRA amount is entered there, the MAGI shown is lower than the phase-out figure by that amount. To use the calculator for the phase-out test:

Annual Spendable Income ?

Annual Surplus / Shortfall

Universal Outputs

Tax Breakdown

Needed Withdrawal Rate

Universal Outputs

Tax Breakdown

Needed Portfolio Size

Universal Outputs

Tax Breakdown

Needed Earned Income

Universal Outputs

Tax Breakdown

Maximum investment income under the MAGI target.

Max Withdrawal Rate

Universal Outputs

Tax Breakdown

Planning Tables

Live Tables

Tools

📊 How the Scenario Manager works

Scenario Manager

How Tax Settings works

Tax Settings

Federal Brackets (MFJ)

Federal Brackets (Single)

State Brackets (MFJ)

State Brackets (Single)

Retirement Calculators

✨ What makes this calculator different

🔢 The five calculators

📊 Planning Tables

📋 Live Tables

🧰 Tools

🧭 Using the Tools: questions each widget answers

🧮 Understanding the Dashboard

▶ How to use

⭐ Key features

💵 Dividend-only withdrawal rate

🔁 Rate net of Pre-tax Contrib + HSA

💡 Key concepts

🔢 How the math works

📋 Income types

🏛 Tax coverage

⚠️ Important nuances

🗺 Customizing for your state

📁 Scenario Manager

💾 What saves automatically

✅ How the tax math was checked

📌 Known limitations

🚫 What this calculator does NOT model

🔧 Technical notes

📝 Calculation changelog

💬 Feedback & discussion

Print Calculator Results

Print Column Selection

How the Scenario Manager works