IRA
Abbreviation with 2 meanings
| Stands for | Individual retirement account |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 2 |
| Categories | Business & Finance, Government & Politics |
IRA has two meanings. It stands for Individual retirement account (personal finance) or Inflation Reduction Act (US law).
Meanings of IRA at a glance
| # | IRA stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Individual retirement account | Business & Finance › Personal Finance |
| 2 | Inflation Reduction Act | Government & Politics › US Law |
1. Individual retirement account
Business & Finance · Personal Finance Abbreviations
Tax-advantaged savings account that a person opens independently of any employer plan, at a bank, brokerage or robo-advisor. A traditional IRA may offer an upfront tax deduction with withdrawals taxed later, while a Roth IRA is funded with after-tax money; both types share a single annual contribution limit.
Example: I rolled my old 401(k) into an IRA at Fidelity so all my retirement money is in one place.
Created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974; the IRS's official name is "individual retirement arrangement." Pronounced as separate letters (I-R-A), never like the first name Ira. Withdrawals before age 59½ generally incur a 10% additional tax unless an exception applies, such as a first-home purchase up to $10,000. The same letters also refer to the Irish Republican Army and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
2. Inflation Reduction Act
Government & Politics · US Law Abbreviations
Budget law of August 2022 that provided hundreds of billions of dollars in clean energy and climate tax credits, allowed Medicare to negotiate prices for some drugs, capped insulin costs for Medicare enrollees at $35 a month and created a 15 percent minimum tax on large corporations.
Example: The heat pump qualified for a tax credit under the IRA.
President Joe Biden signed it on August 16, 2022 as a scaled-down successor to the Build Back Better bill. The first negotiated Medicare drug prices take effect in 2026. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 ended or phased down many of its clean energy credits, including electric vehicle credits after September 30, 2025. IRA also means individual retirement account.
Related abbreviations
More personal finance abbreviations
- HSA – Health savings account
- HYSA – High-yield savings account
- IBR – Income-Based Repayment
- IDR – Income-driven repayment
- ISA – Individual Savings Account
- IVA – Individual voluntary arrangement
- LCOL – Low cost of living
- LISA – Lifetime ISA
See all 69 personal finance abbreviations →
More US law abbreviations
- IDEA – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
- IEEPA – International Emergency Economic Powers Act
- IIJA – Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
- INA – Immigration and Nationality Act
- IRCA – Immigration Reform and Control Act
- ITAR – International Traffic in Arms Regulations
- LMRA – Labor Management Relations Act
- NAGPRA – Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act