With a Roth IRA, you contribute after-tax dollars, your money grows tax-free, and you can generally make tax- and penalty-free withdrawals after age 59½. With a Traditional IRA, you contribute pre- or after-tax dollars, your money grows tax-deferred, and withdrawals are taxed as current income after age 59½.
The key difference between Roth and traditional IRAs lies in the timing of their tax advantages: With traditional IRAs, you deduct contributions now and pay taxes on withdrawals later; with Roth IRAs, you pay taxes on contributions now and get tax-free withdrawals later.
The first five-year rule states that you must wait five years after your first contribution to a Roth IRA to withdraw your earnings tax free. The five-year period starts on the first day of the tax year for which you made a contribution to any Roth IRA, not necessarily the one you're withdrawing from.
A Roth IRA or 401(k) makes the most sense if you're confident of higher income in retirement than you earn now. If you expect your income (and tax rate) to be lower in retirement than at present, a traditional account is likely the better bet.
But when you're earning a lot of money, a Roth IRA could actually hurt you. You will likely be in a higher tax bracket and you'll pay more money to the government this year than you would have needed to if you'd used a tax-deferred account, like a traditional IRA.
Key Takeaways
Roth IRAs offer several key benefits, including tax-free growth, tax-free withdrawals in retirement, and no required minimum distributions. An obvious disadvantage is that you're contributing post-tax money, and that's a bigger hit on your current income.
Yes, if you meet the eligibility requirements for each type
You may maintain both a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA, as long as your total contribution doesn't exceed the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) limits for any given year, and you meet certain other eligibility requirements.
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