Deferral for traditional individual retirement accounts
Contributions to a traditional IRA are deducted now and taxed on withdrawal.
JCT line: "Individual retirement arrangements: Traditional IRAs". Scored separately from employer plans and from Roth accounts. A deferral, not an exemption.
Available to anyone with earned income, but the deduction is worth more at higher marginal rates and the balances that generate the deferred earnings are concentrated among households able to contribute consistently. Much of the largest balances arrive by rollover from employer plans rather than by annual contribution.
Structural reading
Worth listing separately from employer plans because its stated purpose has drifted. The IRA was created in 1974 for workers whose employers offered nothing; in 1981 it was opened to everyone, including those already covered. What began as a gap-filling measure became a general preference, and the largest balances today are typically not annual contributions at all but rollovers out of employer plans. That makes the account less a distinct policy than a holding vessel for value created by the deferral listed three places above it.
Who gets it
The channels the benefit actually flows through, described by asset position, entity form and form of return. Never by named individuals.
Cost split by the concentration score. That score is a judgement rather than a published figure, so treat this as the scale of the split, not an audited allocation.
- Households able to contribute to the annual limit
The benefit scales with the amount deferred, so it concentrates among those with surplus income after expenses rather than across earners generally.
- Rollover balances from employer plans
The largest IRA balances typically originate as employer plan rollovers, which means the account often accumulates value earned under a different provision on this list.
- Custodians and asset managers
A large, long-dated and largely price-insensitive pool of managed assets, a structural benefit to intermediaries regardless of investment outcome.
Who pays
Taxpayers generally, including those without income to spare after expenses.
This transfer follows a general pattern, asymmetric organisation, sustained expert attention, and scheduled expiry dates.
How rent-seeking works →Legislative history and accountability
Enacting statutes, major amendments, recorded votes with party breakdown, and live reform proposals.
Enabling legislation
- Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974P.L. 93-406Sep 2, 1974
Created the individual retirement account for workers without employer plan coverage.
BipartisanPassed with overwhelming majorities from both parties. No separate roll call on this provision is recorded here.
Major amendment
- Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981P.L. 97-34Aug 13, 1981
Extended IRA eligibility to workers already covered by an employer plan, converting a gap-filling account into a general savings preference.
Mixed coalitionEnacted by a Republican president with a Democratic House, passing with support from a bloc of the majority party alongside the minority. No separate roll call on this provision is recorded here.
Sources and data freshness
Published within the last year. Figures marked unverified are seed estimates that have not been reconciled line-by-line against the primary source document. See the methodology for how each score is constructed.