A Roth IRA is a retirement savings vehicle like a 401K or traditional IRA. Roth refers to the legislative sponsor, and IRA stands for individual retirement account. Unlike a traditional IRA, your contributions to a Roth IRA are not tax deductible. However, the beauty of a Roth IRA is that you’re not stuck with a tax bill on your withdrawals. That includes the gains on your investments, as long as you are older than 59 ½ years and the Roth IRA has been opened for at five years. In short, a Roth IRA is a tax-advantaged form of wealth accumulation. First-time home buyers can pull out as much as $10,000 in profits, again without penalties or taxes, as long as the account has been in place for five or more years.