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ARTICLE · 17 NOVEMBER 2023

IRAs Part I – The Basics

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Individuals have access to a wide variety of vehicles for investing hard-earned (or not-so-hard earned) money. Some of these, including "individual retirement accounts" (or "IRAs")...

United StatesTax
Jason A. Hendrix
Jason A. Hendrix

Individuals have access to a wide variety of vehicles for investing hard-earned (or not-so-hard earned) money. Some of these, including "individual retirement accounts" (or "IRAs"), provide potential benefits from a federal tax standpoint.

Over the next several weeks, I'll be issuing a series of posts discussing IRAs in depth – general information, tax treatment, and some limitations and pitfalls. For now, let's dive into a few basics.

What is an IRA?

Generally speaking, an IRA is a tax-advantaged retirement account owned by an individual, either for his or her own benefit or for the benefit of a third-party (a "beneficiary"). The Internal Revenue Code defines the term "individual retirement account" as follows:

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