<prompt> Human: Im a little ignorant on investing, but thanks to Personal Finance, Ive been trying to get my ducks in a row.My 401K investment is maxed out.My Emergency Fund is stable.I have no debt. For the first time, Im actually looking at investment vs. catching up. So now, the question is, if I have 20K to invest, should I first max out my IRA 5.5K and then put the rest in index funds? Or should I ignore the IRA and just invest everything in a brokerage account?I should also note, since tax is probably a consideration for this discussion - thanks to a windfall, my income this year should be 230-240K. In normal years, it would be about 165-170K. Im 37, and theres some potential for income growth, but it will mostly be in this range. Not sure I will hit a higher tax bracket in the future, unless I marry my SO, were holding off due to the likely tax penalty. What is the benefit of investing in an IRA instead of just a Mutual Fund via my Schwab brokerage account? Is it advisable to do so? Should I max out IRA every year, or just years where I think Ill be in a higher tax bracket? Does it matter?I have no short-termmid-term savings goals at the moment, so my savings are mostly for retirement or optimistically, financial independence.  <response>: So now, the question is, if I have 20K to invest, should I first max out my IRA 5.5K and then put the rest in index funds? IRA first. Regular taxable investment account next.Index funds go into both of those. Or should I ignore the IRA and just invest everything?IRAs are an account you invest in, not investments in and of themselves.What is the benefit of investing in an IRA instead of just a Mutual Fund via my Schwab brokerage account? You can get a Schwab IRA and invest in that IRA in the exact same way as you would in a taxable investment account.The difference is you get very favorable tax treatment with an IRA. Use the contribution space you have with the IRA first. 