<prompt> Human: I know that a Roth IRA is taxed now as opposed to later. So if you have a paycheck - deposit into roth ira, does it get taxes withheld from check and then you pay taxes on say 5.5k into a roth ira effectively getting double taxed? Am i missing something. This question goes for any pay tax first account.  <response>: You dont get double taxed. Your tax for the year depends on your income. If you make a Roth contribution, that amount does not get subtracted from your gross income. Thats how it gets taxed.I think youre confusing withholding which is prepaying your tax during the year and taxation which is the actual amount you owe. Tax time is when those two things get reconciled: if you paid in enough via withholding, then you dont owe anything at tax time.Contrast this with a traditional IRA contribution. With that, your W-2 wages number that you put on your tax filing you get to reduce by putting your traditional IRA contribution on a later line and subtracting it away before computing your income tax. I think the IRS calls it officially an adjustment to income but we typically call it a deduction. Sometimes people get confused about traditional IRA deductibility. They think, Well, it was money from my take-home after tax that I put into my traditional IRA. So arent I paying taxes on it? Answer is no; you will remove the traditional IRA contribution amount as part of computing your adjusted gross income, before you compute your actual tax. If too much tax got withheld from paychecks, you get a refund. 