3

I'm doing my taxes. (I'm doing them really late this year because I became an independent contractor and I've been paralyzed by fear - I've procrastinated quite a bit.)

Turbotax is telling me that I can qualify for a deduction if I start an IRA before April 15th. This is something that I've needed to do anyway, and I'm willing to dump the maximum in there for this year (which I believe is $5,500).

(Note - I think I'd have to choose a regular IRA, not a Roth IRA, to qualify for any tax deductions.)

Is this feasible to do in three days (two business days?) Today's the 12th. I don't know how much of this works - ideally, I'd open an account today, dump the money in on Monday, and be good, but I imagine there might be a waiting period or some type of paperwork deal. Does anyone have any idea?

Thanks!

Improve this question
2
  • 2
    Do you already have some kind of account at a brokerage? If so, at least at some places (e.g. Fidelity), adding a new account can be done entirely online and should be almost immediate.
    – Craig W
    Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 21:38
  • I don't, unfortunately.
    – user12337
    Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 21:39

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1

Some banks and credit unions have IRA accounts. They pay interest like a savings account or a CD but they are an IRA. After the 15th you can roll them over into a IRA at one of the big investment companies so you can get invest in an index or Target Retirement Fund.

But it is not too late. Opening an account at one of the big companies takes ten minutes (you need to know your social security number and your bank account info) they can pull it out of your bank account. I helped my kid do the same thing this week. We went on-line Tuesday night, and they pulled the money from his account on Thursday morning.

Also know which type you want (Roth or regular) before you start. Also make sure you specify that the money is for 2013 not 2014.

Improve this answer
1
  • I've done this - I signed up for Vanguard and chose a retirement package (since I really have no idea what I'm doing, although I really should) and it looks as though they'll test my account by depositing and removing a small amount of money. Hopefully, this will happen on Monday (the 14th) so that I can have this set in time to file for the 15th.
    – user12337
    Commented Apr 12, 2014 at 23:40
0

A few years ago, I did something like this at a Wells Fargo; I realized I could put money into an IRA a few days before 4/15, and was able to walk in to the main branch and do the whole thing in under an hour.

Improve this answer

You must log in to answer this question.