401k Calculator: Growth, Match, Withdrawal & Loan

401k Calculator

Growth & employer match, early withdrawal penalty, and loan payoff — all in one place

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Growth & Match — project your 401(k) balance to retirement using your contribution rate, a two-tier employer match, salary growth, and expected returns. Compare Traditional (pre-tax) vs Roth (post-tax) contributions side by side.

Early Withdrawal — estimate the taxes and 10% IRS penalty on a withdrawal taken before age 59½, including common penalty exemptions.

401k Loan — see your loan repayment schedule and the opportunity cost of lost investment growth while the borrowed money isn't invested.

Maximize Match — find the contribution percentage window that captures your full employer match without hitting the IRS annual contribution limit before year-end.

Currency

Current Age

Retirement Age

Current Annual Salary

Current 401k Balance

Your Contribution % of salary

Contribution Type Traditional (pre-tax) or Roth (post-tax)

Employer Match

How this works: this is one combined match schedule, not two options to pick from. Tier 1 matches a percentage of your first slice of salary contributed; Tier 2 (optional) matches a different percentage of the next slice. Example with the defaults below: your employer matches 100% of your first 3% contributed, then 50% of the next 2% — so contributing 5%+ gets you the full match of 4% of salary. Leave Tier 2 at 0% if your plan only has one tier.

Match Tier 1 % match on first X% of salary

of first

Match Tier 2 optional, next X% of salary

of next

Expected Salary Increase per year

Expected Annual Return

Expected Inflation Rate for "today's dollars" value

Marginal Tax Rate used for Roth comparison

Withdrawal Amount

Federal Income Tax Rate

State Income Tax Rate optional

Local / City Income Tax Rate optional

Penalty Exemptions check any that apply — waives the 10% early withdrawal penalty

Age 55+ and separated from this employer Permanent disability Other IRS-recognized exemption (medical, QDRO, IRS levy, etc.)

Loan Amount

Loan Interest Rate

Loan Term

years

Repayment Frequency

Expected Annual Return If Left Invested for opportunity cost estimate

What this does: if your contribution percentage is too low, you leave employer match money on the table. If it's too high, your contributions can hit the IRS annual limit before the year ends — and your employer typically won't "true up" the missed match for the rest of the year. This tab finds the contribution percentage window that captures your full employer match without early-maxing the IRS limit.

Current Age

Current Annual Salary

Employer Match 1

of first

Employer Match 2 optional

of next

IRS Annual Contribution Limit employee deferral limit for the tax year — adjust for catch-up if 50+

📏 Result

Projected Balance

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Enter your details above to calculate

A 401(k) involves more moving parts than a simple savings projection, employer match tiers, Traditional vs Roth tax treatment, early withdrawal penalties, and loan opportunity costs. This calculator handles all four scenarios in one tool.

How to use this 401k calculator

Choose your mode: Growth & Match, Early Withdrawal, 401k Loan, or Maximize Match.
For Growth & Match: enter your age, retirement age, salary, contribution rate, and employer match details.
For Early Withdrawal: enter your withdrawal amount and check any penalty exemptions that apply.
For 401k Loan: enter your loan amount and terms to see the repayment schedule and opportunity cost.
For Maximize Match: find the contribution percentage that captures your full match without exceeding IRS limits.

Growth & Match: projecting your balance

This mode projects your 401(k) balance to retirement using your contribution rate, a two-tier employer match, salary growth, and expected returns, comparing Traditional (pre-tax) vs Roth (post-tax) contributions side by side so you can see the tax-treatment tradeoff directly in dollar terms.

Early Withdrawal: taxes and the 10% penalty

This mode estimates the taxes and 10% IRS penalty on a withdrawal taken before age 59½, including common penalty exemptions (such as certain hardship cases), giving a realistic picture of how much of an early withdrawal actually reaches you after both ordinary income tax and the penalty.

401k Loan: the hidden opportunity cost

Beyond the loan repayment schedule itself, this mode calculates the opportunity cost of lost investment growth while the borrowed money isn’t invested, a cost that’s easy to overlook since loan interest gets paid back to your own account, but the borrowed principal wasn’t compounding in the market during the loan term.

Maximize Match: capturing every dollar your employer offers

This mode finds the contribution percentage window that captures your full employer match without hitting the IRS annual contribution limit before year-end, a real risk for higher earners on a front-loaded contribution schedule, since maxing out contributions too early in the year can mean missing employer match dollars for the remaining pay periods if your employer doesn’t true-up matches.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the real cost of taking a 401k loan instead of a withdrawal?

Beyond the interest paid back to yourself, the real hidden cost is the opportunity cost of lost investment growth on the borrowed amount while it’s out of the market, this calculator’s 401k Loan mode quantifies that opportunity cost directly.

Can I accidentally miss part of my employer match by contributing too aggressively early in the year?

Yes, if you hit the IRS annual contribution limit before year-end and your employer doesn’t offer a “true-up” match, you can miss out on match dollars for the remaining pay periods, the Maximize Match mode is designed to find the contribution rate that avoids this.