# Drawdown Arc — Full Reference

> Free, client-side retirement drawdown projection calculator at drawdownarc.com. It models retirement year-by-year — asset growth, withdrawals, Social Security, pensions, and real U.S. federal and state income taxes — from a person's current age through the end of their plan. Everything runs in the browser; there is no signup, no account required for the free tier, and no personal financial data leaves the device.

Drawdown Arc exists to answer two questions precisely: "Will my money last?" and "What will I actually pay in taxes each year?" Most free calculators apply a flat effective tax rate or ignore taxes entirely. Drawdown Arc instead runs real bracket math, enforces required minimum distributions, accounts for the taxability of Social Security, and grosses up each year's withdrawals so the spending target is met *after* tax. This makes its projections meaningfully more accurate than typical free tools, while remaining genuinely free for the core engine.

## What makes it distinctive

- **Real tax brackets, not flat rates.** Federal projections use actual 2026 brackets, standard deductions, capital-gains thresholds, and Social Security taxability rules. Withdrawals are grossed up iteratively so after-tax spending hits the target.
- **State-level income tax modeling.** All 50 states plus DC are modeled with verified 2025 rules — flat vs. progressive brackets, retirement-income exemptions, Social Security and pension exclusions, age-based rules, and filing-status differences (including Head of Household where states define distinct brackets). State data is maintained against state Department of Revenue sources via a dedicated audit harness.
- **A genuinely useful free tier.** The full projection engine, all four charts, the year-by-year table, and Excel export are free with no signup. Pro adds analysis layers, not the core calculation.
- **Client-side and private.** The entire engine is JavaScript that runs in the browser. No projection inputs are transmitted or stored server-side. Analytics are cookieless and contain no personal financial data.

## Core pages

- https://drawdownarc.com/ — Landing page
- https://drawdownarc.com/app — The calculator (free, no signup)
- https://drawdownarc.com/how-it-works — Methodology and assumptions
- https://drawdownarc.com/pricing — Free vs Pro comparison
- https://drawdownarc.com/compare — Scenario comparison (Pro)
- https://drawdownarc.com/about — Background and approach

## Free vs Pro

**Free (no signup):**
- Full year-by-year projection engine
- Five asset buckets: Roth, tax-deferred, taxable, cash, crypto/alternatives
- Real 2026 federal income tax modeling
- RMD enforcement, Social Security and pension income with COLA
- Survivor modeling for married filers (first-death, filing-status switch)
- Four charts (asset trajectory, withdrawal timeline, income sources, tax burden)
- Year-by-year projection table
- Excel export, shareable scenario links

**Pro ($8/month or $80/year):**
- State income tax modeling (all 50 states + DC)
- Saved scenarios (up to 50) and side-by-side scenario comparison
- Stress testing against historical market sequences
- Monte Carlo simulation
- Social Security claiming-age and longevity optimizer (joint/survivor sweep)
- Roth conversion analyzer (bracket-fill headroom before RMDs)
- 17-page PDF report export
- Pro includes a money-back guarantee.

## Methodology notes

- **Engine:** `buildProjection` loops from current age to max age. Each year applies growth to five asset accounts, adds savings contributions, layers in Social Security and pension income (with optional COLA), computes the inflation-adjusted spending need, draws excess cash first, then draws from priority-ordered accounts (default: taxable → crypto → tax-deferred → Roth, user-reorderable), enforces RMDs from tax-deferred at age 73, and grosses up non-cash withdrawals for federal + state tax (iterating until convergence within $1).
- **Federal tax year:** 2026 brackets, standard deductions, capital-gains thresholds, IRMAA thresholds, and SS taxability rules.
- **State tax year:** 2025 (state DORs publish on a different schedule than the IRS — this divergence is intentional). Maintained via a source-cited audit harness checked against Tax Foundation data and each state's DOR instructions.
- **Cash treatment:** Cash/savings withdrawals are after-tax principal and are not taxed again; only tax-advantaged and taxable-account withdrawals are grossed up.
- **Social Security:** Benefits are entered as annual dollar amounts at a chosen claim age; the engine applies SSA claiming factors, COLA, and (for married filers) a deterministic first-death survivor model with the widow(er)'s limit (RIB-LIM) floor. The 50% spousal benefit is entered manually rather than auto-derived.
- **Known simplifications:** No local/city income taxes (e.g., NYC, MD counties, OH cities); no government-vs-private pension distinction in state exemptions; AGI includes 100% of Social Security for state purposes (slightly over-taxes OR and MT). These are documented limitations, not bugs.
- **Privacy:** Inputs stay in the browser. No account is needed to run projections. Pro accounts store only saved-scenario inputs and authentication data.

## Topic guides

- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/ — Guide hub (all topics, clustered)
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/safe-withdrawal-rate
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/does-the-4-percent-rule-still-work
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/how-long-will-my-savings-last
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/sequence-of-returns-risk
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/withdrawal-strategies-compared
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/which-accounts-to-withdraw-from-first
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/inflation-and-retirement
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/multiple-income-sources-in-retirement
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/how-much-to-retire
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/what-is-a-retirement-calculator
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/stress-test-your-retirement-plan

### Tax optimization

- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/roth-conversion-strategy
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/roth-conversion-irmaa
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/roth-vs-traditional-ira
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/rmds-explained
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/irmaa-medicare-surcharges
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/reduce-taxes-in-retirement
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/zero-percent-capital-gains-retirement

### Social Security

- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/when-to-start-social-security

### Early retirement and access rules

- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/72t-sepp
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/rule-of-55
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/how-to-retire-at-55
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/can-i-retire-at-58
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/can-i-retire-at-60
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/can-i-retire-at-62
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/can-i-retire-at-63
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/can-i-retire-at-64
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/can-i-retire-at-65
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/can-i-retire-at-67
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/retiring-at-70
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/retire-at-60-vs-65
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/retirement-planning-at-50
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/10-years-to-retirement

## State retirement income tax guides

Hub: https://drawdownarc.com/guides/state-taxes/ — grouped tables of how every state treats retirement income, plus a two-state compare widget. Individual guides follow the pattern https://drawdownarc.com/guides/{state}-retirement-income-tax.

### No state income tax (9)

- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/alaska-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/florida-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/nevada-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/new-hampshire-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/south-dakota-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/tennessee-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/texas-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/washington-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/wyoming-retirement-income-tax

### Flat income tax (15)

- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/arizona-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/colorado-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/georgia-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/idaho-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/illinois-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/indiana-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/iowa-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/kentucky-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/louisiana-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/massachusetts-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/michigan-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/mississippi-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/north-carolina-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/pennsylvania-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/utah-retirement-income-tax

### Progressive income tax (27, including DC)

- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/alabama-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/arkansas-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/california-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/connecticut-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/delaware-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/district-of-columbia-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/hawaii-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/kansas-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/maine-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/maryland-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/minnesota-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/missouri-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/montana-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/nebraska-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/new-jersey-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/new-mexico-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/new-york-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/north-dakota-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/ohio-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/oklahoma-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/oregon-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/rhode-island-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/south-carolina-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/vermont-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/virginia-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/west-virginia-retirement-income-tax
- https://drawdownarc.com/guides/wisconsin-retirement-income-tax