<prompt> Human: So Ive read and seen a lot of the discussions on PF about traditional vs roth contributions. I have a 403b acc, and i contribute to it a percentage of my income roth contributions, I also have a roth IRA that i contribute to. I understand the statement that depending on what you think your future tax bracket would be is a key determining factor or if you have to lower your taxable income for other reasons. But Im still confused as to how traditional would ever be better?If you contribute the same amount into each, sure your initial investment into a roth wouldve cost you more because its after tax dollars... But even if youre in a lower tax bracket in the future, youll eventually pay tax on that contribution traditional and on ALL earnings you get. While I havent sat down and done all the math because there are so many moving pieces and assumptions in play here, I cant imagine the tax savings from a traditional contribution now would ever offset the tax savings from the roth earnings over 20-30 years. Am I missing something?  <response>: Am I missing something?Yes, and you know what it is. You said here:While I havent sat down and done all the mathThe math is important. You can see the work of one person who did do the math and what conclusions they came to here And an article on this point from the perspective of early retirement here 