I am doing my own taxes and I owe federal income tax but when I enter the amount of my traditional IRA, my federal taxes go UP! How can this possibly be?

as you know, as you choose a traditional IRA account, you may deduct the amounts you contribute to this retirement savings plan from your taxes for the year in which you made the contributions . You can reduce your taxable income by contributing money to a traditional IRA. Anyone with earned income can make a contribution to a Traditional IRA, but depending on the retirement package your employer offers and your income, your deduction may not be tax deductible. If it's not tax deductible, then it's really not worth investigating for the purposes of reducing your taxes. GUESS YOU CAN doubleCHECK what you did on YOUR SOFTWARE