Hi there,
Just starting out.
My question is I believe answered indirectly
here but I want to make absolute sure I understand correctly.
Assuming my gross income for this year will be about $78,000.
(I got that number by taking what I've earned so far this year, and adding the product of the my weekly paycheck and the number of paychecks left in the year, then rounding up to the nearest thousand.)
Assuming my contributions to my HSA will be around $2,700, estimating based on current contribution levels, or even that I max them out ($3,400). (HSA is the only kind of deduction to MAGI I understand I have except maybe some moving expenses.)
Assuming I'm not off in my calculations by -$2,000 or so, my MAGI would still exceed the level where any IRA contributions are deductible.
($78,000 - $3,400 = $74,600) > $72,000
I plan on maxing out my 401(k) and an IRA of some kind this year. But which IRA should I use?
The standard line around to T-IRA or to Roth IRA is will your tax bracket will be lower now or in retirement. We assume it's in retirement, so we say use a T-IRA (but
convert to Roth later).
But in my case would it not be so that:
If I contributed to a T-IRA, I would pay taxes on that cash now and then again upon withdraw,
as well as upon any growth.
If I contributed to a Roth IRA, I would only pay the taxes I am already having to pay on it,
and not on any growth.
Am I missing an important factor here? Roth looks like a clear winner in this scenario.