4 Comments

  1. I’m an index investor so the typical Wall Street products work fine for us.

    Still, I’m interested in learning more. I’m assuming the same $5,500 annual limit applies to all IRAs, including self-directed?

    Also, how could you put pre-tax money in a self directed IRA? I’d be interested in doing so but have never heard of a good way to put money into the fund before it’s subject to income & payroll taxes.

    • Jim says:

      Thanks Done by Forty, I think the max is $5000 for all IRA’s including self-directed. $6000 if you are over 50 years old. A traditional IRA uses pre-taxed dollars, and you pay taxes as ordinary income when you take disbursements. A Roth you pay the taxes now. When you open a self-directed IRA, you decide if you want it to be a Roth or a Traditional.

  2. I get the concept of a traditional IRA, but how exactly do you put money into it before the government taxes it? That is to say, do you have to work with your employer so that it’s a pre-tax deduction?

    Or, do you simply put money in post tax and try to reconcile at tax time (counting it as a itemizable deduction?)

    Also, I think in 2013 they upped the total to $5,500.

  3. Michelle says:

    I always get very confused about pre tax and post tax withdraw. This is something that I need to look more into.

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