Free Calculator
Your Tax Scorecard
Four holes: your tax bill today, your pile at retirement, the withdrawal it takes to live on it, and the tax on that withdrawal.
What It ShowsThe Tax Scorecard estimates your total tax bill this year, projects your pre-tax retirement balance, solves for the withdrawal you would need to hit your after-tax income goal, and shows the tax you would pay on it every year of retirement.
Retirement Tax Calculator
Your Tax Scorecard
See today's full tax load, the retirement pile you are building, and the first tax bill waiting on the other side.
Goal is outside what this calculator models
What This Assumes
- Federal income tax uses 2026 brackets and the standard deduction; California uses 2025 brackets and its standard deduction.
- Annual pre-tax retirement contributions reduce taxable W-2 wages by no more than wages, and the full contribution is added to the retirement projection.
- W-2 wages are subject to payroll taxes. Other ordinary income has no payroll or self-employment tax; self-employment tax is not modelled.
- NIIT is applied only to the passive/investment income entered. Deductions, credits, AMT, QBI, and capital-gain rates are not modelled.
- The projection applies the entered annual growth rate and annual contribution through retirement. Social Security is 85% federally taxable and not taxed by California.
What Moves This Number Most
The size of the pre-tax pile and the after-tax income goal drive the retirement result most. Timing, annual contributions, and other income in the withdrawal years can materially change the tax bill.
Illustrative estimate for education, not tax, legal or investment advice. Results depend on your full situation; review with your CPA before acting.
19th Hole FinancialHow It Works
Inside The Calculator
Who It Is For
Anyone with a large pre-tax retirement balance who wants this year's tax bill and the retirement tax bill on one card: W-2 earners, owners with K-1 income, physicians and executives. It is most useful ten to twenty-five years before retirement, while there is still time to change how the money comes out.
What Each Input Means
- W-2 wages
- Salary and bonus. Social Security, Medicare and, in California, SDI apply to this figure.
- Other ordinary income
- K-1, Schedule C or interest income. Taxed as ordinary income; self-employment tax is not added.
- Passive or investment income
- The only field the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax is applied to.
- Pre-tax contributions
- What goes into your 401(k), pension or cash balance plan each year. It lowers taxable wages today and is added to the projection.
- Desired monthly income
- What you want to spend each month in retirement, after tax. The calculator works backwards from it.
- Social Security
- Your expected monthly benefit. 85% is treated as federally taxable; California does not tax it.
How The Numbers Are Built
- Today's tax bill applies 2026 federal brackets and the standard deduction, California's 2025 brackets including the extra 1% over $1 million, payroll taxes and NIIT.
- Pile at retirement grows today's balance and each year's contribution at your growth rate until your retirement age.
- Withdrawal needed is solved exactly: the calculator searches for the gross withdrawal that leaves your monthly goal after federal and state tax.
- Retirement tax bill is the tax on that withdrawal plus Social Security in the first year of retirement.
A Worked Example
The inputs the calculator opens with: a married California couple, $600,000 of W-2 wages, $69,000 a year into pre-tax plans, $1.5 million saved at age 50, retiring at 65 with 6% growth, wanting $25,000 a month after tax and expecting $4,000 a month from Social Security.
Today's bill comes to $184,816, about 31% of income: $112,528 federal, $41,199 California and $31,089 in payroll taxes. The pile reaches $5.2 million at 65. Netting $25,000 a month takes a gross withdrawal of $346,441 a year, 6.7% of the balance, and the first year's tax on it is $94,441. Twenty years at that pace is $1.89 million of tax: the Second Bill, in practice.
What It Leaves Out
Itemized deductions, credits, AMT, the QBI deduction, capital-gain rates and self-employment tax are not modelled. Inflation, required minimum distributions and changes in tax law are not projected, and the twenty-year figure repeats year one rather than forecasting it. Use it to see the shape of the problem, then have the real numbers run with your CPA.
About This Calculator
How accurate is the Tax Scorecard?
It uses 2026 federal brackets and the latest published California brackets (2025), with Social Security, Medicare, the Additional Medicare Tax, California SDI and the Net Investment Income Tax. It does not model itemized deductions, credits, AMT or inflation, so treat it as a close estimate, not a tax return.
Why is my retirement tax bill so high?
Because every dollar in a pre-tax 401(k), IRA or pension is taxed as ordinary income when it comes out, and a large pile needs large withdrawals to fund a high-income lifestyle. How to lower the second bill.
Is my information saved or sent anywhere?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us; your numbers are saved only in your own browser so a refresh does not lose them, and Start Over clears them.
Want The Real Scorecard?
The calculator is a starting point. In the third meeting Tyler builds your full Tax Advantage Scorecard and the game plan that brings the numbers down.
- 30 minutes on Zoom
- No preparation needed
- Bring your CPA or spouse if you like