In a Traditional IRA, your contributions may be deductible on your tax return and any earnings growth is tax-deferred until you withdraw the funds in retirement.
In a Roth IRA, your contributions are not deductible (funded with after-tax dollars), but earnings growth and withdrawals are tax free provided certain requirements are met.
Below we break down the differences between these two types of IRAs to help you better decide which might be the right choice for you.
Traditional IRA
Roth IRA
Anyone with taxable compensation regardless of age.
Anyone with taxable compensation regardless of age.
No income limits to make contributions however, depending on your income, you may not be able to deduct the entire amount.
Income limits apply to contributions – for 2024, you must earn less than $161,000 if filing single, or less than $240,000 if married filing jointly.
For 2024, $7,000 with a $1,000 catch-up contribution if age 50 or older.
For 2024, $7,000 with a $1,000 catch-up contribution if age 50 or older.
Tax-deferred growth and contributions may be tax deductible.
Tax-free growth and tax-free qualified withdrawals.
In 2024, Required Minimum Distributions must commence at age 73.
No Required Minimum Distributions during the owners lifetime.
Withdrawals after age 59 ½ are taxed as ordinary income. Any withdrawals prior to then may be subject to taxes and an early withdrawal penalty of 10%. Up to $5000 can be withdrawn penalty free if used within 1 year of the birth or adoption of a child.
Contributions and earning are withdrawn tax-free as long as you as you’ve had the account 5 years and are over age 59 ½.
The above table provides the basic differences between Traditional IRAs and Roth IRAs including provisions from the recently passed SECURE ACT and does not address every individual’s specific situation. We encourage you to review the plan documents of both types of IRAs before investing. Your individual situation may dictate which plan may be right for you. For more information on the SECURE ACT, click here.
Our plan materials can be found the Download forms page of this website or by clicking the appropriate link Universal IRA Application.
