Roth vs Traditional IRA for 28 year old?

Hey everyone, first time posting here. I'm 28 making about $68,000/year at my current job. I have a 401k through work that I'm contributing 6% to (enough to get the full employer match). Now I want to open an IRA but I can't figure out whether Roth or Traditional is better for me.

I've read like 10 articles about this and they all say the same thing -- "it depends on whether you think your tax rate will be higher or lower in retirement" -- which is completely unhelpful because how am I supposed to know that??

Some details if it matters:
- Single, no kids
- Live in Texas (no state income tax)
- Renting, no mortgage interest deduction
- Student loans paid off
- Expect my income to grow over the next 10-20 years

Should I just do Roth and call it a day?

At 28 making $68k, single, in Texas? Roth. Without a doubt.

Here's the reasoning:

1. Your current marginal tax rate is 22% (federal only since TX has no state tax). After standard deduction of $15,000, your taxable income is ~$53k, putting you solidly in the 22% bracket.

2. If your income grows as expected, you'll likely be in a higher bracket later in your career, which means Traditional contributions will be worth more then (bigger tax deduction). So save the Traditional space for when you're earning more.

3. At 28, you have ~37 years until standard retirement age. That's a LOT of tax-free growth in a Roth. The longer the money compounds, the more valuable the tax-free withdrawal is.

4. You're already getting the pre-tax benefit through your 401k contributions. Your IRA can diversify your tax treatment.

5. Roth has better flexibility -- you can withdraw contributions (not earnings) at any time with no penalty. Nice to have as a worst-case safety valve.

The "it depends on your future tax rate" framing is technically correct but practically useless, as you noticed. The simple heuristic: if you're in the 22% bracket or below and early in your career, go Roth. If you're in the 32% bracket or above and later in your career, go Traditional. The 24% bracket is the gray zone where it genuinely could go either way.

Open a Roth IRA at Fidelity or Vanguard, contribute $7,000 for 2026, invest in a target-date fund, and don't think about this again for a year.

Roth. Next question.

Seriously though bogle covered it well. At $68k in a no-income-tax state, Roth is the obvious answer. The only scenario where Traditional would be better is if you somehow expect to earn LESS in retirement than you do now, which at 28 seems very unlikely.

Also: if Congress doesn't extend the TCJA tax cuts, tax rates go up in 2026. Another argument for paying taxes now (Roth) vs later (Traditional).

As someone who is actually retired and dealing with the consequences of these decisions, let me offer some perspective.

I wish I had done more Roth when I was young. I maxed my Traditional 401k for 25 years because it was the standard advice in the 90s and early 2000s. Now I'm retired with a large Traditional IRA and I have to take Required Minimum Distributions starting at 73 that push me into higher brackets. I'm doing Roth conversions now to mitigate this but it's a pain.

If I could go back and tell my 28-year-old self one thing: Roth, Roth, Roth. Pay the taxes now while you're in a low bracket. Future you will be grateful.

That said, I'll play devil's advocate on one point. The tax deduction from a Traditional contribution is a guaranteed benefit TODAY. The tax-free growth in a Roth is a benefit in 37 YEARS. A lot can change in 37 years -- tax law, your personal circumstances, the political landscape. There's some value in taking the guaranteed benefit now rather than hoping the Roth treatment stays the same.

But at your income level the deduction isn't that valuable anyway ($7,000 x 22% = $1,540 tax savings). I'd still go Roth.

Another vote for Roth. I opened mine when I was 26 and it's one of the best financial decisions I've made. The peace of mind of knowing that money is growing tax-free forever is really nice.

One practical tip: if you open a Roth IRA, don't just leave the money in the default money market fund. I made that mistake for the first 6 months -- contributed $3,500 and it just sat there earning basically nothing. You have to actually invest it in something (index fund, target date fund, etc.) after you contribute. Seems obvious but a lot of people miss this step.

Ok wow unanimous Roth, that makes this easy haha. Thanks everyone especially bogle for the detailed breakdown. The bracket heuristic (Roth below 22%, Traditional above 32%, gray in between) is exactly the kind of simple rule I needed.

Gonna open a Roth at Fidelity this weekend. Target date fund sounds like the move since I don't want to overthink asset allocation right now.

@jenny1987 good call on actually investing the money after contributing. I would have 100% missed that step lol. Appreciate the heads up.