Does anyone know the difference between a roth ira and a brokerage ira? do they the same thing? When you put the $2,000 a year at a time. do they go by the calendar year or a year from when you put in. for example, I can open up a roth ira today on 12-29-99. Put the max of 2,000 in it. and put another $2,000 in 1-10-2000 because it's a new calendar year? or it has to be exactly a year?