Newb trying to figure out Marginal/ effective tax rate for Roth Vs. Trad

[dieselburps]

Very new to actually looking at what I pay in taxes and what my rate is.  Previous years before MMM I would just plug in the numbers from my w4 into turbotax and it would spit out some number that would be my return for the year.

This last year I have decided to pay closer attention to it. What complicated my taxes as of the last few years is I have been working as a travel nurse where I get paid a low hourly rate around $18-21 dollars an hour, and a larger "per diem" that is tax free.  I end up making quite a bit of my money based on this per diem rate.  I now want to start contributing to either a Roth or Traditional IRA, I know many on here recommend a traditional IRA for a lot of people.

For 2016 I had an adjusted gross income with my student loan interest  of $24,763.   After standard deductions and everything line 43 says my taxable income is $14,413.

It looks like my federal marginal rate is 15%  and my effective tax rate is 6%.  Does this sound right?

If this is the case, would I better off with a Roth IRA?

[MDM]

It looks like my federal marginal rate is 15%....  Does this sound right?

If this is the case, would I better off with a Roth IRA?

You can (and should) ignore the effective rate when it comes to the T vs. R question.  Marginal is all that matters.

See https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Traditional_versus_Roth for some details.  By "rule of thumb" a 15% marginal saving rate is "flip a coin" territory.

Changing your tIRA contribution amount in TurboTax by hand, seeing how that changes tax due, and dividing (change in tax) by (change in tIRA contribution) should be the most accurate way to calculate the marginal saving rate.

You can also (if you are at least a little conversant in Excel, and your tax situation is "at least somewhat normal") use the case study spreadsheet to show your marginal rate for any amount of tIRA contribution.