{"id":20310,"date":"2017-06-14T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-06-14T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T15:46:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T21:46:57","slug":"is-a-401k-the-same-as-a-traditional-ira","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/income\/retirement-income\/is-a-401k-the-same-as-a-traditional-ira\/","title":{"rendered":"Is a 401K a traditional IRA?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you find yourself asking: \u201cIs a 401K a traditional IRA?\u201d The answer is no. There is a difference between 401K and traditional IRA accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditional IRA vs. 401K<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While both plans provide income in retirement, each plan is administered under different rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 401K<\/strong> is a type of employer retirement account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An IRA <\/strong>is an individual retirement account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taxes With 401K or Traditional IRAs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

No matter the type of retirement account you choose to open, there will likely be associated tax questions. At H&R Block, we\u2019re here to help. With many ways to file your taxes<\/a> with H&R Block, you can opt for in-office or virtual tax preparation, keeping all tax laws related to retirement savings accounts in mind, we can make sure you\u2019re producing an accurate tax return that maximizes allowable tax deductions.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"retirement<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Not in need of tax preparation at the moment? Read more about taxes on retirement income, pensions and annuities<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can I deduct contributions to a retirement plan or IRA?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Contributions to a Traditional IRA may be deductible if you qualify. Traditional 401(k) contributions are not deductible on your taxes because they are deducted from your paycheck before taxes. \u00a0For Traditional IRAs, the deduction may be limited if you or your spouse are covered by an employer plan and your income exceeds certain thresholds. Self-employed taxpayers can also deduct contributions to SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get help with tax filing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Whether you choose to\u00a0\u00a0or file with\u00a0, you can rest assured that we\u2019ll get your max refund<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you find yourself asking: \u201cIs a 401K a traditional IRA?\u201d The answer is no. There is a difference between 401K and traditional IRA accounts. Traditional IRA vs. 401K While both plans provide income in retirement, each plan is administered under different rules. A 401K is a type of employer retirement account. An IRA is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":52559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-income","category-retirement-income"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"Is A 401K The Same As A Traditional IRA? | H&R Block<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn more about the similarities and differences between a 401K and a traditional IRA with help from the tax experts at H&R Block.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/income\/retirement-income\/is-a-401k-the-same-as-a-traditional-ira\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is a 401K a traditional IRA?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Learn more about the similarities and differences between a 401K and a traditional IRA with help from the tax experts at H&R Block.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/income\/retirement-income\/is-a-401k-the-same-as-a-traditional-ira\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"H&R Block\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/hrblock\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-06-14T12:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-30T21:46:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.hrblock.com\/tax-center\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/secure-act-retirement-changes-couple-1080x675.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"H&R Block\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@HRBlock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@hrblock\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"H&R Block\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/income\\\/retirement-income\\\/is-a-401k-the-same-as-a-traditional-ira\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/income\\\/retirement-income\\\/is-a-401k-the-same-as-a-traditional-ira\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"H&R Block\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0451551be86ad17708cdd08a71391fcf\"},\"headline\":\"Is a 401K a traditional IRA?\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-06-14T12:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-30T21:46:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/income\\\/retirement-income\\\/is-a-401k-the-same-as-a-traditional-ira\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":265,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/income\\\/retirement-income\\\/is-a-401k-the-same-as-a-traditional-ira\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/06\\\/secure-act-retirement-changes-couple.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Income\",\"Retirement income\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/income\\\/retirement-income\\\/is-a-401k-the-same-as-a-traditional-ira\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/resource-center.hrblock.com\\\/income\\\/retirement-income\\\/is-a-401k-the-same-as-a-traditional-ira\\\/\",\"name\":\"Is A 401K The Same As A Traditional IRA? 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