Traditional or Roth 401(k)?
Traditional if your current bracket exceeds your retirement bracket, common for high earners in peak years. Roth if you're early career or in a low-income year. Many people split 50/50 if unsure.
US Tax Tools · 08
Every US allowance, audited.
The US tax-advantaged stack rewards anyone who knows the order. This audit walks every account, surfaces unused room, and ranks actions by leverage, match first because it's a 100% return.
Income & filing
401(k) match
HSA
Roth & Mega Backdoor
Kids, state & charity
Potential tax saving
$21,932
24% bracket · 6 actions
1. Capture full 401(k) match
$12,500
Free money, 100% return on the matched slice. Always first.
High leverage
2. Increase 401(k) employee contribution
$3,915
Pre-tax employee deferral up to the IRS limit. Save marginal + state today.
High leverage
3. Max HSA
$2,603
Triple tax-free: federal + state + FICA via payroll. Highest-leverage US account.
High leverage
4. Mega Backdoor Roth
$2,160
After-tax 401(k) + in-plan Roth conversion. Up to ~$30-40k of extra Roth room.
High leverage
5. Backdoor Roth IRA
$504
Above the phase-out, Backdoor route via non-deductible IRA + Roth conversion.
High leverage
6. Top up 529
$250
State-deductible 529 contribution; varies by state, this estimates a typical $5k cap.
Medium leverage
2025 IRS limits embedded: 401(k) $23,500, HSA $4,300 self / $8,550 family + $1,000 catch-up at 55+, Roth IRA $7,000 (phase-out $150-165k single / $236-246k MFJ), SS wage base $168,600. Federal marginal rates from 2024 brackets. 529 state deduction assumed at a typical $5,000 cap, your state may differ.
Every account, in the right order.
Worth runs this audit continuously and surfaces the ranked next-best move every paycheck. Join the waitlist.
Frequently asked questions
Why does HSA beat Roth IRA pound-for-pound?
HSA gets the FICA saving (7.65% additional) when contributed via payroll. Roth doesn't. HSA also has tax-free withdrawal for medical at any age, and at 65 works like a Traditional IRA for non-medical. Most efficient single account in the US tax code.
What's the pro-rata trap?
If you have any Traditional IRA balance with pre-tax money, a Backdoor Roth conversion is pro-rated across all your IRA assets, most of the conversion ends up taxable. The fix is rolling the Traditional IRA into a 401(k) first (most plans accept this), which clears the IRA balance and makes the Backdoor clean.