Originally Posted By: Astro14
It takes several days to accomplish the paperwork, often a notarized signature is required.
You have until April 15th to make the contributions for Tax Year 2014, but make certain that you've already got the account in place. As others have said, you can always establish an account that invests in a money market for now, until you determine how this will fit into your portfolio.
Be careful, however, in many circumstances, the Traditional IRA is not deductible. If you're covered by a pension (e.g. civil service) or if your income exceeds a certain level (I think it's 160,000 but it might be less) then you can't deduct the contributions.
You can still make contributions in that case, and the amount of your contributions becomes the basis of your account. You'll have to file form 8606 to track that basis.
If you're not able to make deductible contributions, then a Roth IRA (which isn't deductible in any case) might be a better move. The contributions are non-deductible, but you're not taxed on the withdrawals as you would be in a Traditional IRA.
Good post. Also, you have to think about if you will be filing single married or joint. There are income limits for the married couples if you file jointly.