<prompt> Human: This may be a simple question but Im have trouble with a clear answer. -I already contribute to my traditional pretaxcurrently about 18k-includes my companys matching. -I believe that max contribution for traditional is 18.5k for 2018. Roth post-tax maximum is 5.5k for 2018. - my annual salary is under 80kyear. Im single. Goal- want to start to contribute to Roth. Question- can I keep my 18kyear to traditional and also start about 5.5k to roth? Which would bring the total contribution to 23.5k to both the accounts? Thank you  <response>: I think the confusion here is all in the nomenclature. The 18.5k that you can contribute is for a 401k your employer sponsored plan The 5.5k that you can contribute is an IRA individual retirement account Both of these types of accounts have a Traditional and Roth variant to them. So technically yes you can contribute 23.5k per year to tax advantaged accounts, but they are separate accounts. One that is through your employer and one that you control. 