Should I Open a ROTH IRA or a Traditional Roth?

Question

Considering inflation -- dollar will be worth less in the long term.. its probably better to have tax cuts on the interest instead of the principal what do u think?

Bunch of lame-oh's. I'd really just appreciate it if you'd answer my question. I'm not poor I make 75K-100K a year.

Ok thanks to no one for answering my question!

finally some decent answers.

I never said anything about "Traditional Roth IRA" you lot of morons. Try "Tradiational Roth" which does exist.

Answer 1

The traditional Roth has the benefit of taking your income before taxes and would be able to lower your taxable income but then you will be taxed on it when it is take out after you retire. based on how much you are making that would be 4,000 in 2006 ( 5,000 if you are over 50 years of age). based on how much you are making it is not likely that you will be able to take the deduction but see the table on the link below to double check. the Roth has the benefit of being take out after taxes and the principle and intrest grow tax free. I like the Roth better myself and since it is unlikely that you will receive the tax deduction for the tradition i think the Roth would be the better choice. Also the end of year for this is the following tax year so if you set up an account for 2006 you would have till April 15 2007 to have your payments in for. When and if you do set it up try to make the deduction automatic out of your checking account or paycheck so you can set this account up once and not have to worry about remembering to send the payments to it before the tax year end. Good luck.

Answer 2

What is a traditional Roth? No such thing. The IRA options are traditional IRA and Roth IRA.

One other assumption you need to think about is: "what would you do with the tax cut today?"

In addition, very few folks actually receive any tax breaks from IRA contributions (income too high, have 401k at work, etc.).

It is quite obvious that the tax savings would exist when the money is withdrawn from a Roth IRA in retirement. Therefore, you'll definitely get a tax break for that buck. It has been my experience that most folks don't productively use their tax breaks today (blow, spend, etc.). Therefore, I'd suggest contributing to a Roth IRA.

I also can't help but think there is going to be something wonderful about having $500,000 in a tax FREE Roth IRA 25 years from now.

Answer 3

Roth IRA.

This assumes that you will be in a higher income tax bracket in the future (or that the federal gov't will need to raise tax rates to cover deficit spending). Assuming you have a 401(k), this money goes in pre-tax and gets taxed later on, so by doing a Roth IRA you can even consider it diversifying your future tax rate risk.

(Some companies do offer Roth 401(k)'s where you can put post-tax dollars in too, and more are likely to adopt it due to passage of the Pension Protection Act which did many things including keeping the Roth 401(k) option around longer and increase contribution limits for many tax-deferred retirement options).

Answer 4

If you are in a high tax bracket now, and do not expect much income in your retirement years (hence a lower tax bracket) open a regular IRA (tax deferred), if your tax bracket is low now, or you expect to be making a lot of taxable income in retirement open a ROTH IRA (growth tax free). Make sure you put more into a regular IRA than a ROTH IRA in order to make your after tax retirement income from it equal. If you are maxing out your IRA contributions every year, get a ROTH IRA.

Answer 5

If your income is below $95K, you can fully contribute to a Roth IRA. If its between $95,001 and $110,000, then you can partially contribute to the Roth and partially to the Traditional. A bank or investment group (like TD Ameritrade) can help set this up for you.

Inflation is a non-issue if you invest in mutual funds e.g. S&P 500 index. TAXES are the biggest issue.

Answer 6

Neither, pay off your bills first. If you have credit cards at even 10% interest. Woulf you be interested in a tax free investment with a gauranteed 10% rate of return?

After no debt. Roth if you plan to maximize your Social Security.

If your poor, and will make less than $25,000 or $32,000 married. Then traditional IRA

Answer 7

Open Roth. Roth you pay taxes now but won't pay on anything you make later. With Traditional you don't pay taxes now but you will be paying on everythign you make later. Would you rather get taxed on 4k(that you can put into Roth) today or on 20k later(lets assume that your 4k grew to be 20k in traditional)? Rival

Answer 8

ROTH, a lot more flexibility with withdrawing deposited funds and all deposited money has the right to accumulate, won' t you feel shell shocked when you decide to stop working so hard and take out the money and them taking out a big chunk out of your funds. Go with the ROTH. If the company you work for has a 401k MAX that out first before investing elsewhere!

Answer 9

you seem to be in a rush....anyway, fyi, there is no such thing as a "traditional roth ira." there's traditional, and there's roth....with traditional, you contribute part of your paycheck before taxes...it's tax deductable now, and you pay taxes on it when you draw from it. with the roth ira, you pay taxes on the money before you contribute it, so when you draw from it, you don't pay taxes on it. that's the major difference. it depends on your tax bracket, really. if you choose the traditional, you have a better chance of getting bumped into a lower tax bracket, whereas with the other one, you won't. also, you can always roll over one into the other.

Answer 10

charter one bank has a calculator that you fill in some spots and it will give you an idea of how much each will give you. im going for a roth just because i want to be able to use it if something comes up and i need money. talk to a banker if you need more info on them and they can figure whats best for you