I opened a traditional IRA; can this be considered a self employed retirement account, or does it have to be a 401k?etirement account

[rainydaze · Accepted solution]

A traditional IRA is not a self-employment retirement account.  There are a variety of self-employment retirement accounts including a 401(k).  The easiest to set up is a SEP IRA, which you can contribute to until the 4/18 deadline. The IRS website provides a list of options: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-for-self-employed-people.  

[fanfare]

it is just as easy to open a SEP IRA as it is a Tradtional IRA.
At this late date you would have to open and fund it online somewhere.
First, be sure you had TurboTAX maximize - compute the maximum of - your SEP contribution so you don't overcontribute.