An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) provides the taxpayer with two key tax savings: 1) a deduction from gross income for the amount of contributions into the IRA and 2) no taxable income event when the taxpayer begins making distributions 1) the account grows tax free before the taxpayer begins making distributions and 2) no taxable income event when the taxpayer makes distributions 1) the account grows tax free before the taxpayer begins making distributions and 2) an itemized deduction is allowed for the amount of contributions in to the plan 1) a deduction from gross income for the amount of contributions into the plan and 2) the account grows tax free before the taxpayer starts making distributions