How do you deposit into a Traditional IRA?

[thisisbrianly]

Hi there,

So a really dumb question coming up here....

I was just wondering how money gets deposited into traditional IRAs. If your earnings aren't taxed up front, wouldn't the only way to deposit your pre-tax earnings be for your employer to deposit it directly into your IRA account?

I know I'm missing something here, but how can you open a traditional IRA at, say, Scottrade, and deposit pre-tax funds into it?

[sweeps]

You open a traditional IRA in basically the same way you open any other brokerage/mutual fund account. You send them a check, or electronically transfer (after-tax) funds into an account. Then on your taxes at the end of the year, you get a tax deduction. That essentially turns it into a pre-tax contribution.

[thisisbrianly]

Ahhhh...thank you for clarifying