When doing my taxes it as if i have an ira. is that the same as a 401a?

[EdwardK]

No. Both are used to save and invest for retirement but they are different.

An Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is an account set up at financial institutions and used by individuals to help save and invest for retirement. There are several types of IRAs, such as Traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs and SEP IRAs.

A 401(a) plan is a retirement plan normally offered by government agencies, educational institutions and non-profit organizations to its respective employees.