What is the contribution increase for?

It models a raise. If you expect your income — and therefore what you can save — to grow about 3% a year, enter 3% and the calculator steps each year's contributions up by that amount: a $5,000 annual contribution becomes $5,150 in year two and $6,523.87 by year ten. Over long horizons this escalation is usually worth more than chasing a slightly higher interest rate.

What tax rate should I enter?

Your marginal income tax rate — the rate on your next dollar of income — because interest is taxed on top of your other income (and in the U.S. it is ordinary income, plus state tax in most states). Enter 0 if the account is tax-sheltered or you only want the pre-tax picture. The tax is skimmed from interest as it accrues.

How is this different from the Interest Calculator?

The Interest Calculator has beginning/end-of-period timing and an inflation (buying power) result, but flat contributions. This Savings Calculator is built around escalating contributions — annual and monthly amounts that each grow at their own yearly percentage — and deposits are modeled at the end of each period.

Can contributions be negative?

Yes — a negative contribution models a planned withdrawal or a net drain on the account. It is a legitimate way to ask how long a balance survives a fixed annual draw, though a dedicated drawdown plan usually deserves the retirement tools.

Savings Calculator

Estimate the end balance and interest of a savings account — with annual and monthly contributions that can each grow by a percentage every year, any compounding frequency, and tax on interest. Contributions land at the end of each period; negative values are allowed (they model withdrawals).

Initial Deposit

Annual Contribution

↳ increase

%/year

Monthly Contribution

↳ increase

%/year

Interest Rate

Compound

Years to Save

years

Tax Rate

Your marginal tax rate applies to the interest. Enter 0 for tax-sheltered accounts or a pre-tax view.

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Saving on Purpose

People save toward named things — a home, a car, tuition, a wedding, a trip, a retirement — or against unnamed ones: the job loss, the medical bill, the transmission. Either way, the households that end up funded are usually the ones that turned the goal into a schedule beforehand; the ones that "meant to save what's left" discover that nothing is ever left. This calculator exists to make the schedule concrete, including the most realistic feature of real incomes: contributions that rise a little every year.

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Savings accounts, and how they differ from checking

A U.S. savings account is a deposit account at a bank or credit union, insured by the FDIC up to $250,000, that pays interest (quoted as APY) on money you mostly leave alone. Banks often bundle them with checking — fee waivers for holding both — but the jobs differ. Checking is for motion: highly liquid, penalty-free withdrawals, and little or no interest. Savings is for storage: historically subject to withdrawal limits (the old federal rule of six outgoing transfers a month was suspended by the Federal Reserve in 2020, though some banks still impose their own), often with minimum balances to dodge fees, and a meaningfully higher rate. Compared with cashing out bonds, raiding a retirement account, or selling stock, savings is still easy to reach in an emergency — which is the point. A common and sensible arrangement is both accounts at once: checking for the month's spending, savings quietly compounding next door. For money you can lock up, CDs and Treasury bills offer a step up in yield at similar risk.

Money market accounts

Money market accounts are savings' close cousins, offered by the same institutions. They typically pay more than plain savings because deposits fund short-term securities rather than sitting against low-yield assets — which also means a touch more exposure to market hiccups. Many come with debit cards or check-writing, features plain savings lacks; the convenience versions sometimes pay a little less for it. For calculator purposes they behave identically: an initial deposit, periodic contributions, a rate, and time.

How much? The standard guidelines

The emergency-fund rule: keep three to six months of living expenses in savings. It doubles as insurance — medical bills, car repairs — and as a bridge long enough to find a new job after a layoff.

The 10% rule: route a tenth of every paycheck to savings before anything else gets a vote.

The 50-30-20 rule: roughly 50% of take-home pay to necessities (housing, food, bills), 30% to wants (dining, entertainment), 20% to debt payoff and savings combined.

A starter target: a first milestone around $2,000 covers the typical emergency for many households — a reasonable first rung before the full three-to-six months.

Treat all four as starting points, not verdicts: the right number depends on your income stability, dependents, debts, and what you're saving for. The increase fields in this calculator encode the most underused guideline of all — whatever you save this year, plan to save a bit more next year as your pay rises; a 3% annual step turns a flat $5,000 habit into $57,319 contributed over a decade instead of $50,000.

Can you save too much?

Deposits have no legal limit, but insurance does: the FDIC covers $250,000 per depositor, per institution — beyond that, spread banks. The subtler excess is opportunity cost. Savings yields usually trail inflation, so a balance that sits for decades is quietly losing purchasing power even as it "earns interest" (the tax field above makes the drag worse — interest is taxed as ordinary income). Once the emergency fund is full and near-term goals are covered, surplus cash generally works harder in investments — stocks, bonds, real estate — that have historically outpaced savings rates over long periods. Save for safety first; then let the overflow graduate.

FAQ

Why does the increase matter so much?

Because it compounds twice: bigger contributions, each earning interest for longer. At the defaults, the 3% step adds $7,319 of contributions over ten years — and every added dollar also earns interest from the year it lands.

What tax rate do I use?

Your marginal rate (federal, plus state where it applies) — interest is taxed as ordinary income on top of your salary. Use 0 for IRAs and other sheltered accounts.

Savings vs Interest Calculator — which one?

Escalating contributions: this one. Beginning-of-period timing or an after-inflation buying-power result: the Interest Calculator.

Negative contributions?

Allowed — they model planned withdrawals. If the balance would go below zero the plan is spending faster than it grows; shorten the horizon or shrink the draw.

Disclaimer: This calculator provides estimates for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Savings rates are variable in practice and may change at the bank's discretion.