A traditional IRA is a personal savings plan that gives you tax advantages for setting aside money for retirement.

• Contributions you make to a traditional IRA may be fully or partially deductible, depending on your circumstances and
  
  
• Generally, amounts in your traditional IRA (including earnings and gains) are not taxed until distributed.

Publication 590 explains the nuts and bolts of IRAs including:

• Setting up an IRA
• Contributing to an IRA
• Transferring money or property to and from an IRA
• Handling an inherited IRA
• Receiving distributions (making withdrawals) from an IRA
• Taking a credit for contributions to an IRA
• A comparison of traditional and Roth IRAs

It also explains the penalties and additional taxes that apply when the rules are not followed. To assist you in complying with the tax rules for IRAs, Publication 590 contains IRA worksheets, sample forms, and tables.

Investing your traditional IRA in a way that makes the most sense for your circumstances is easier with the information from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

"Managing Your IRA" video - a discussion on basic principles of investing. (3:00 min.)

Taxation of pension income - including distributions from traditional IRAs - is covered at Link and Learn Taxes, a self study course on the IRS web site.

More Traditional IRA Resources

• Publication 571, Tax-Sheltered Annuity Plans (403(b) Plans)
• Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income
• Publication 939, General Rule for Pensions and Annuities
• Publication 560, Retirement Plans for Small Business (SEP, SIMPLE, and Qualified Plans)
• Frequently Asked Questions regarding IRAs
• IRS Forms and Publications for your IRA

Web Site Resources

• FirstGov.gov is a one stop portal to access all federal government public web sites.
• The latest retirement plan information can be found at www.irs.gov/ep.
• General tax information for individuals and businesses is located at www.irs.gov.
• Other retirement plan information can be found on the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) site.
• The Social Security Administration site has information on your Social Security retirement benefit to help you plan your retirement savings strategy.
• The Securities Exchange and Commission (SEC) has dozens of publications on investing.
• The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) site explains how to determine whether your IRA account is covered by deposit insurance.

Internal Revenue Code, Regulations and More
Citations and reference material related to your IRA.

• Internal Revenue Code
• Regulations
• Revenue Rulings
• Revenue Procedures
• Notices
• Other Research Documents

Traditional IRAs in SEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, SARSEPs or Payroll Deduction IRAs

If your traditional IRA is part of a SEP, SIMPLE IRA, SARSEP or Payroll Deduction IRA, learn about your plan here:

• SEP plan
• SIMPLE IRA plan
• SARSEP plan
• Payroll Deduction IRA plan