Roth Conversion Ladder

Model year-by-year Traditional IRA conversions to Roth — optimize tax-bracket filling and plan penalty-free access before age 59½ via the 5-year seasoning rule.

$
$
$/ yr

Marginal rate at this income level: 12%

$/ yr

Effective tax rate on conversion: 15% ($30,000.00 base + $50,000.00 conversion = $80,000.00 total ordinary income)

%
$
FromUp To ($)Rate (%)
$0.00
$11,925.00
$48,475.00
$103,350.00
$197,300.00
$250,525.00
$626,350.00Unlimited
First Withdrawal Age
45
5 years after first conversion
Total Converted
$785,113.09
Total Tax Paid
$119,164.88
Avg 15% effective rate
Trad Balance at 59
$0.00
Remaining after last conversion
Roth Balance at 59
$1,934,842.23
Includes conversions + growth
Seasoned Basis
$785,113.09
Penalty-free withdrawal basis
Note: Taxes shown are paid from outside cash — not deducted from the converted amount. This is the correct Roth ladder strategy: it maximizes your Roth balance. If taxes must come from the converted amount, your effective Roth balance will be lower.
Ladder complete: The full Traditional balance was converted by age 55. All remaining growth is in Roth and compounds tax-free with no future RMDs.

Conversion Rungs

Each bar = one conversion rung · Hover for tax and available-from age · Dashed line = first penalty-free access

Balance Trajectory

Blue = Roth total · Green = penalty-free conversion basis · Orange = Traditional total · Note: RMDs are not modeled here