[[I have a company sponsored savings investment plan (401k) in which I contribute 6% of my pretax
income and they match it up to 6%. I want to start a Fool Dripfolio and was wondering if i
could/should start an IRA for this. Can I?]]

You can certainly CONTRIBUTE to an IRA account. The big question will be is that contribution deductible or not. And that will depend upon your adjusted gross income. if you are a single person (for 1997), and your AGI is greater than $35k, your contribution will be completely non-deductible since you are a participant in a qualified deferred compensation plan. The AGI limitation for a married couple is $50k for 1997.

Check out IRS Publication 590 for additional information on IRA contributions and how to compute your deduction. If you find that your only option is a non-deductible IRA or a Roth IRA contribution for 1998, you might really consider the Roth IRA contribution for 1998. The reasoning behind this has been explained in many prior posts. You might want to take the time to check them out.

TMF Taxes
Roy

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