@djrich49 there is a small difference.
if the funds are in a taxable account, the interest is counted as 'ordinary income'.
Similarly, the interst that accues in the IRA will also be counted as 'ordinary income' upon distribution.
Both are taxes the same way - so there is no difference in the impact at the federal level.
The difference would be related to state taxes.
those government obligations are not taxed at the state level.
so you are marginally better off to have the US government obligations in a taxable account.
In a taxable account, there are no state income taxes on the interest.
in an IRA, when the income is eventually distributed, it will be taxed by the state as a dsitribution.
So you are better off putting US interest oblications in a taxable account because the state income tax treatment is different.
if you live in a state that doesn't have an income tax, where you have the investment doesn't matter as the tax implications are the same.
