what would be the better choice ?

[MikeJones2001]

 Would it be better to continue to put a few hundred bucks from each paycheck into my brokerage account (vtsax), or should I wait and just put the money in my roth-ira once January 1, 2022 rolls around ?

I have already maxed out my roth-ira for this year.

[FLBiker]

Assuming that Roth is the right option for your tax situation, you could is invest in VTSAX in a taxable account for now and then shift that into a Roth on Jan 1.

[ChpBstrd]

Assuming that Roth is the right option for your tax situation, you could is invest in VTSAX in a taxable account for now and then shift that into a Roth on Jan 1.

^ I agree with @FLBiker .

I would prioritize maxing out a Roth before I sent anything to a taxable account. Because I’m in the accumulation phase with earnings from work, I prioritize maxing out my 401k prior to maxing out the Roth prior to sending the remainder to taxable prior to spending what’s left on hookers and blow. I’ve found that I defer so much in taxes on my 401k that the fat tax refund check I receive in April mostly funds my Roth for the following year. That’s a system I can live with.

[cool7hand]

Some more information about your situation would be helpful. It can make sense to have money in various types of accounts depending on your situation and goals.

[JJ-]

Assuming that Roth is the right option for your tax situation, you could is invest in VTSAX in a taxable account for now and then shift that into a Roth on Jan 1.

I agree. There's a chance value goes down and you harvest losses, so be sure to not buy VTSAX if this is the case in the ROTH buy something similar (VOO/VFIAX) to avoid a wash sale. If you have gains and are forced to pay a few couple dollars in taxes to cash out and fund ROTH in the new year, welcome to rich people problems 😎

I will say that while I personally like to max a ROTH account in the first few months of a year, there's not a big deal at all in funding it a few hundred bucks a month throughout the year as long as you max it out given the investment growth timeline (decades) and typical index funds. So if you funded taxable and left it as is, and then funded ROTH throughout the year next year that's totally fine.

[FLBiker]

Assuming that Roth is the right option for your tax situation, you could is invest in VTSAX in a taxable account for now and then shift that into a Roth on Jan 1.

I agree. There's a chance value goes down and you harvest losses, so be sure to not buy VTSAX if this is the case in the ROTH buy something similar (VOO/VFIAX) to avoid a wash sale. If you have gains and are forced to pay a few couple dollars in taxes to cash out and fund ROTH in the new year, welcome to rich people problems 😎

I will say that while I personally like to max a ROTH account in the first few months of a year, there's not a big deal at all in funding it a few hundred bucks a month throughout the year as long as you max it out given the investment growth timeline (decades) and typical index funds. So if you funded taxable and left it as is, and then funded ROTH throughout the year next year that's totally fine.

Good point about the risk of the wash sale.  And I also agree -- if you have enough to max the Roth regardless, I wouldn't necessarily bother switching from taxable to Roth just to max it early.

[MikeJones2001]

i appreciate the responses and the advice. I think I will continue to fund the taxable account  each paycheck and then just switch back to funding the roth ira each paycheck come 2022.

I dont make or save enough money to fund the Roth quickly. It normally takes me almost the whole year to reach my $6000 roth  contribution limit. I was able to fully fund it fairly  quickly this year due to the federal government stimulus checks.