Inflation Calculator
See what an amount today is worth after years of inflation, what it takes to keep purchasing power, and the real return on savings after inflation and taxes.
Two questions, one calculator: what will today's dollars buy in the future at a given inflation rate, and is your savings account actually beating inflation once tax is counted. Use the current CPI print or a long-run average; the US average since 1990 is about 2.6% a year.
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Quick answers
Common cases, computed by this calculator with the assumptions listed under the method. Select one to load it above.
- How much will $100,000 need to be in 20 years at 3% inflation?
- $180,611 (80.6% more) Needed in 20 years to match $100,000 today Open in the calculator
- What will $50,000 buy in 10 years at 3% inflation?
- $37,205 in today's money What $50,000 will buy in 10 years Open in the calculator
- What will $10,000 buy in 5 years at 4% inflation?
- $8,219 in today's money What $10,000 will buy in 5 years Open in the calculator
The math
Future cost = amount × (1 + inflation)^years. Purchasing power = amount ÷ the same factor. The rule of 70 gives the years it takes prices to double: 70 divided by the inflation rate. Real return uses the exact Fisher relation, (1 + nominal after tax) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1, not the shortcut of subtracting.
Which inflation rate to use
For the next year, the latest CPI reading. For a decade or more, a long-run average is safer than any single print: 2% to 3% is the range most planners use for the US. The economy section tracks each monthly CPI release.
Why savings can lose to inflation even at 4%
Interest is taxed as ordinary income before inflation takes its share. At 4% APY, a 22% tax rate and 3% inflation, the real after-tax return is about +0.1%: your money is standing still, which is the correct job for an emergency fund and the wrong job for retirement money.
Calculation notes updated .