A Roth IRA Is Not Tax-Free, It Is a Tax Swap

There’s a common misconception floating around that a Roth IRA grows tax-free. You may have read or heard this before, and every time I see it, my blood pressure rises a little. The truth is, a Roth IRA doesn’t grow tax-free - it grows after-tax. Understanding this distinction is crucial to making the right retirement planning decisions. So, let me explain this in simple terms.

The Roth IRA vs. Traditional IRA: A Tax Swap

When you contribute to a Roth IRA, what you’re really doing is making a long-term tax swap with the U.S. government. You're essentially telling the government, “I’ll pay taxes now so I don’t have to pay them later.” This is in contrast to a traditional IRA, where you defer the tax payment to the future, taking the tax break today.

Let’s break it down with an example:

Traditional IRA

• You contribute $5,000 into a traditional IRA.
• Your effective tax rate this year is 20%, but since you're using a traditional IRA, you don’t pay taxes now. You’re deferring that tax burden until you take the money out in retirement.

Now, what happens if, when it comes time to withdraw that money years from now, your effective tax rate has dropped to 18%?

• You’re only paying 18% on the entire balance—both the original contribution and the compounded earnings. This makes the traditional IRA a great deal because you deferred paying taxes until a time when your tax rate was lower.

Roth IRA

• You contribute $4,000 to a Roth IRA after paying 20% in taxes upfront.
• That $1,000 in taxes is an outflow—it’s gone and out of your financial picture.

Let’s say both the Roth and traditional IRA investments grow at the same rate. At retirement, if your tax rate is lower (say 18%), the traditional IRA will have been the better deal because you avoided paying 20% in taxes upfront.

However, if your tax rate is higher when you withdraw the money, the Roth IRA wins. Since you paid taxes upfront when rates were lower, you get to take the money out tax-free at a higher rate.

It's About the Long-Term Tax Swap

What you’re really doing with a Roth IRA is making a long-term bet on your future tax rate. You’re telling the government, “I’ll pay taxes now at X%, and I hope that I come out ahead by avoiding higher taxes in the future.”

On the other hand, with a traditional IRA, you’re betting that your tax rate in retirement will be lower than it is today. Both are strategic, and each has its benefits based on your individual financial situation.

Why Should You Have Both?

Because the future is uncertain. You don’t know how your tax rate will change. Maybe you’ll experience a windfall or your income will go down in retirement. What happens if tax codes change drastically? It’s impossible to predict.

That’s why I always recommend diversification in your retirement accounts. By having a mix of traditional and Roth IRAs, you give yourself flexibility and optionality. If tax rates rise, you can pull from your Roth. If tax rates fall, you can withdraw from your traditional IRA.

Planning for the Future

So, which should you prioritize? It depends on your current tax rate and what you think might happen in the future. If you expect to be in a higher tax bracket later, a Roth IRA makes more sense. If you expect your income (and tax rate) to go down in retirement, a traditional IRA is probably better. However, because no one can predict the future with certainty, having a mix of both types of accounts provides the greatest flexibility.

Final Thoughts

The key takeaway here is that a Roth IRA is not some magical tax-free vehicle. It’s simply a tax-timing tool. You pay taxes upfront and hope to avoid them in the future. A traditional IRA is the opposite - you're postponing the tax bill. Both strategies can work to your advantage, depending on your circumstances.

At Haddam Road Advisors, we help clients make sense of these complex decisions. Our Financial Planning Standard of Care covers over 70 different financial planning issues, including retirement planning, IRA distribution strategies, and much more. 

Remember - retirement planning is all about giving yourself options in an uncertain future. Stay tuned for more insights on how to optimize your financial life or schedule a call below to 

We look forward to continuing this journey with you! if you would like to learn more about Haddam Road Advisors and how we can help you achieve your financial goals, please schedule a call below.