You can withdraw your contributions anytime without penalty, but earnings have strict rules

A Roth IRA lets you take out the money you put in — your contributions — at any age without taxes or penalties. The earnings those contributions grew into are different. You can withdraw earnings before age 59½ only in specific situations, and doing it wrong costs you a 10% penalty plus income tax on the earnings portion.

The key distinction is between what you deposited and what it earned. The IRS tracks these separately. When you withdraw, contributions come out first. Once contributions are exhausted, any withdrawal is treated as earnings and subject to the penalty and tax rules.

Key Takeaways

  • You can withdraw contributions (the money you deposited) from your Roth IRA at any time without penalty or tax, regardless of your age or how long the account has been open.
  • Withdrawing earnings before age 59½ triggers a 10% penalty and income tax unless you meet one of five narrow exceptions: disability, medical expenses over 7.5% of income, first-time home purchase (up to $10,000 lifetime), substantially equal periodic payments, or death.
  • The IRS treats withdrawals as contributions first, then earnings, so you must exhaust all contributions before any withdrawal counts as an earnings withdrawal.
  • You do not need to report contribution withdrawals to the IRS, but you must report earnings withdrawals and pay the tax and penalty if no exception applies.

Withdrawing contributions with no penalty or tax

Your contributions — the actual dollars you deposited into the Roth IRA — can come out anytime. There is no age requirement, no waiting period, and no penalty. You also pay no income tax on the withdrawal because you already paid tax on that money when you earned it.

To withdraw contributions, contact your Roth IRA custodian (the bank, brokerage, or investment firm holding the account) and request a withdrawal. They will process it like any other account withdrawal. You receive the money, usually within three to five business days for cash or securities.

The custodian does not withhold taxes on contribution withdrawals because they are not taxable. You do not file any special form with the IRS for contribution-only withdrawals. Your annual Roth IRA statement will show the withdrawal, and that record is sufficient.

Withdrawing earnings before 59½: the five exceptions

Earnings — the investment gains your money made inside the account — normally cannot come out before you turn 59½ without a 10% penalty plus income tax. The IRS allows five exceptions where you can withdraw earnings penalty-free, though you still owe income tax on the earnings portion.

Disability: If you become unable to work due to a physical or mental condition that is expected to last at least 12 months or result in death, you can withdraw earnings without the 10% penalty. You still owe income tax. You must provide medical documentation to your custodian.

Medical expenses: You can withdraw earnings penalty-free to pay unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income for that year. The withdrawal itself is not deductible, but it avoids the 10% penalty. You must have the receipts and calculate the threshold yourself.

First-time home purchase: You can withdraw up to $10,000 in earnings (lifetime limit, not per year) to buy, build, or rebuild a primary residence. "First-time" means you have not owned a home in the past two years. You must use the money within 120 days of withdrawal.

Substantially equal periodic payments: If you set up a series of equal withdrawals based on your life expectancy (calculated using IRS tables), you can withdraw earnings penalty-free at any age. Once started, the payments must continue for five years or until you turn 59½, whichever is longer. Breaking this pattern triggers penalties retroactively.

Death: If the account owner dies, beneficiaries can withdraw earnings without the 10% penalty. Income tax still applies to the earnings portion.

What happens if you withdraw earnings without an exception

If you withdraw earnings before 59½ and do not meet one of the five exceptions, you owe two things: a 10% penalty on the earnings portion and income tax at your ordinary tax rate.

Example: You have $50,000 in contributions and $15,000 in earnings. You withdraw $20,000 at age 45 with no exception. The first $20,000 counts as contributions (no tax, no penalty). If you withdraw $25,000, the first $20,000 is contributions and the remaining $5,000 is earnings. You owe 10% of $5,000 ($500 penalty) plus income tax on $5,000 at your tax bracket.

Your custodian will not automatically withhold the penalty or tax. You report the withdrawal on Form 8606 (Nonqualified Distributions of may have access to Tuition Programs) or your tax return, calculate what you owe, and pay it when you file. If you do not report it, the IRS will catch it through the custodian's reporting and assess penalties and interest.

Roth conversions and the pro-rata rule

If you have converted money from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, the withdrawal rules become more complex. Converted money is treated as contributions for the first five years after conversion (the "five-year rule"). After five years, it acts like a regular contribution.

If you have both regular contributions and converted amounts in the same Roth IRA, the pro-rata rule applies. When you withdraw, the IRS treats the withdrawal as a proportional mix of contributions and conversions. You cannot cherry-pick which part comes out first. This can create unexpected tax bills if you have pre-tax money in a traditional IRA and convert some of it.

Conversions also have their own five-year holding period. Money converted in 2024 cannot be withdrawn penalty-free (except for the five exceptions) until 2029, even if your original contributions have been in the account for decades.

Reporting withdrawals to the IRS

Your custodian sends you a Form 1099-R each January for any withdrawal you made the prior year. This form reports the gross withdrawal amount. You are responsible for calculating how much is contributions (non-taxable) and how much is earnings (taxable).

On your tax return, you report the taxable portion (earnings) as income. If you owe the 10% penalty, you calculate it on Form 5329 (Additional Taxes on may have access to Plans) and include it with your return. If you meet an exception, you note it on Form 5329 to avoid the penalty.

Contribution-only withdrawals do not require Form 5329. You simply do not report them as income. Keep your own records of how much you contributed each year so you can prove the withdrawal was contributions only if the IRS asks.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I withdraw my contributions and put the money back later?

You can withdraw contributions anytime, but you cannot put them back into the same Roth IRA in the same year. If you withdraw $5,000 in June, you cannot redeposit it in December of that year. You can make a new contribution in the next year up to the annual limit ($7,000 for 2024, $8,000 if age 50 or older), but the redeposited amount counts toward that limit.

What if I need money but I'm not sure if it's contributions or earnings?

Your custodian can tell you the breakdown of contributions versus earnings in your account. Ask them for a statement showing your contribution basis. This is the only reliable way to know. Do not guess — if you withdraw what you think are contributions but the IRS determines they were earnings, you owe the penalty and tax retroactively plus interest.

Does withdrawing contributions affect my ability to contribute next year?

No. Your annual contribution limit is separate from withdrawals. If you withdraw $3,000 in contributions in 2024, you can still contribute $7,000 in 2024 (if you are under 50 and meet income limits). The withdrawal does not reduce your contribution room.

What if I'm over 59½ — can I withdraw everything tax-free?

Once you turn 59½, you can withdraw contributions and earnings tax-free and penalty-free, as long as the account has been open for at least five years. The five-year rule applies to the account itself, not to individual contributions. If you opened the Roth IRA at age 58 and turned 59½ at age 59, you still cannot withdraw earnings tax-free until five years have passed from the account opening date.

Can I borrow from my Roth IRA instead of withdrawing?

No. Roth IRAs do not allow loans. You can only withdraw. If you need temporary access to money, you must withdraw it, and the withdrawal rules apply. Some workplace retirement plans (like 401(k)s) allow loans, but Roth IRAs do not.