What is the difference between a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA?
The difference is when the money is taxed. A traditional IRA contribution may be deductible now, the account grows tax-deferred, and withdrawals of deductible amounts and earnings are generally taxable later. A Roth IRA contribution is never deductible, but qualified withdrawals of contributions and growth are generally tax-free.
Everything else follows from that one difference: who may deduct, who may contribute at all, when money must come out, and what a beneficiary inherits.
Neither account is universally better. Which one helps more depends on your tax picture now, your expected tax picture later, how long the money will stay invested and what else is happening in the same year — and for many households the honest answer is that some of each is useful.
Reviewed by Bay Area Wealth Advisors. Last reviewed 2026-09-16. Educational information only — not individualized financial, tax or legal advice.