<prompt> Human: A friend asked me this question, and I am not sure of how this works: If you want to start an IRA for yourself with your own money, obviously you can do so. but is there a way to put money into that account and forgo the taxes, such as with a 401 k? If it was your own money you add then you would have already paid taxes on it, so is there a way perhaps a tax credit to get around this? The way i understand it is that only an employer can contribute to a 401k. with that being said, how does it work for people self employed? Of if you owned a small business LLC or something, could you contribute to your own 401k from that company ?  <response>: For a non-self-employed person, there is the traditional IRA. You will report it on your taxes and it will reduce your taxable income just like in a 401k. See the income limits for taking that deduction here One major difference between this and a 401k is the contribution limit. It is 5,500 for an IRA, but a 401k has an 18,000 limit.If you are self-employed, you can open up a Solo 401k, which has the same contribution limit as a regular 401k. 