Is a Roth the same as a Roth IRA?

[chrkelly22]

what is a 1095A

[Opus 17]

A 1095A is a form that is sent to you by a marketplace health insurance when you have a marketplace health insurance plan (ACA or “Obamacare”).  You must enter this in TurboTax to determine whether or not you are eligible for a premium tax credit, and whether you must re-pay any premium tax credit you previously received.

A Roth IRA is a type of individual retirement account.

The word “Roth“ is also sometimes referred to after tax retirement plans sponsored through your employer, including 403(b) and a 401(k), although the use of the term “Roth“ is somewhat inaccurate in this case.  A traditional 401(k) or 403(b) takes pretax income, and you are taxed when it is withdrawn in retirement. A “Roth“ 403(b) or 401(k) takes after-tax contributions and you do not pay tax in retirement.  

If you have an after-tax or “Roth“ workplace retirement plan, that is dealt with on your W-2 and you do not enter those contributions again when you are asked about a Roth IRA. The two types of plans are completely different in their rules and  regulations, even though they have similar purposes.

[dmertz]

Although people are sometimes confuse designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans with Roth IRAs, both are referred to in the tax code as Roth accounts, just different types of Roth accounts.  So it's accurate to call this type of account in a qualified retirement account like a 401(k) a Roth account ("designated Roth account" is the proper term).  Using the term "Roth 401(k)" is a bit of a misnomer because the Roth account in the 401(k) is not in a separate plan from the plan which has the traditional account in the 401(k); "Roth 401(k)" simply refers the designated Roth account in the 401(k).

The rules for making contributions to and distributions from Roth IRAs and designated Roth accounts in qualified retirement plans are substantially different.  The things that they have in common and make them both types of Roth accounts are that contributions are made after-tax and earnings are tax-free once the requirements for qualified distributions are met.