Hello,

I am 24 years old and have not started saving for retirement. This tax season, I ended up owing a little under 2k.

Is it a smart idea to invest $5500 into a traditional IRA to avoid paying that tax bill or should I just pay the IRS.

The reason I ask is because if i do invest into the IRA, that money is now tied up until after I am 65 (without penalties) and in the future I may be eligible for a 401k and then the IRA serves me no advantage.