Even if you can’t pay all of what you owe, you need to make sure you still file on time because of the other penalties and fines you could face. The IRS is actually quite flexible in working with you if you can’t pay all at once. I recommend reading about the IRS collection process and the links on that page so you know your options. Hope that helps!

It sounds like we’re debating definitions rather than misinformation. A person who makes a Traditional IRA contribution and sees their tax bill go down is going to say they received tax savings this year. Yes, they’ll pay taxes later when they withdraw the money, but they did save on taxes today.

When we look at specific situations, contributing to a Traditional IRA could result in “tax savings”, even by your definition, if it lowers their AGI enough to make them eligible for other tax savings they would not have otherwise received. The same could be said if we’re comparing contributing to a Traditional IRA versus a taxable account. You’d save on taxes there by any definition.

The point of these articles is not to debate which retirement investment options are best. I agree with you that a Roth IRA is probably a better long-term choice, and that’s what I use myself. But this article was written to point out ways you can save on your taxes today if you need to.