New Law Expands IRA Options for Military; Many Can Still Contribute for 2004 and 2005

New Law Expands IRA Options for Military; Many Can Still Contribute for 2004 and 2005: "Members of the military serving in Iraq, Afghanistan and other combat zone localities can now put money into an individual retirement account, even if they received tax-free combat pay, according to the Internal Revenue Service. Under the Heroes Earned Retirement Opportunities (HERO) Act, signed into law on Memorial Day, taxpayers can now count tax-free combat pay when determining whether they qualify to contribute to either a Roth or traditional IRA. Before this change, members of the military whose earnings came entirely from tax-free combat pay were generally barred from using IRAs to save for retirement."