The basic rule: contributions come out tax-free anytime, earnings have conditions

You can withdraw the money you put into a Roth IRA — your contributions — at any time without penalty or taxes. The earnings those contributions generated are different: you can only withdraw them tax-free and penalty-free if you are 59½ or older and have held the account for at least five tax years. If you withdraw earnings before that, you owe income tax on them plus a 10 percent early withdrawal penalty.

The IRS tracks how much you contributed versus how much you earned. When you take money out, contributions come out first. Once contributions are exhausted, any additional withdrawal is treated as earnings and subject to the age and holding-period rules.

The five-year rule applies to each Roth IRA separately if you have multiple accounts, but the IRS counts all your Roth IRAs together when calculating how much you contributed. If you converted a traditional IRA to a Roth, that conversion has its own five-year clock.

Key Takeaways

  • You can withdraw your contributions (the money you deposited) anytime without taxes or penalties, but earnings are locked until age 59½ and five years of account ownership.
  • The IRS lets you withdraw earnings early without penalty in specific situations: disability, medical expenses over 7.5 percent of income, first-time home purchase (up to $10,000 lifetime), or substantially equal periodic payments.
  • To withdraw money, contact your Roth IRA provider directly — the bank, brokerage, or fund company holding the account — and request a distribution.
  • Withdrawals do not reduce your annual contribution limit for future years, so you can contribute again once the calendar year resets.
  • If you withdraw earnings before age 59½ without a may have access to exception, you owe income tax on those earnings plus a 10 percent penalty.

How to actually withdraw the money

Contact the financial institution that holds your Roth IRA — your bank, brokerage firm, or mutual fund company. Call their customer service line or log into your online account and look for a "distributions" or "withdrawals" section. You will need to specify how much you want to withdraw and where you want the money sent (usually a checking or savings account).

Most providers process withdrawals within three to five business days. Some allow you to request a check mailed to you instead. The institution will ask whether you want them to withhold taxes; if you are withdrawing only contributions, withholding is not necessary, but if any portion is earnings and you are under 59½, you may want to withhold to cover the tax bill.

Keep records of what you withdrew and when. The IRS does not automatically know the breakdown between contributions and earnings — you track that using Form 8606 when you file your tax return.

Exceptions that let you withdraw earnings early without penalty

The IRS allows penalty-free early withdrawal of earnings in these situations:

  • Disability: You are unable to work due to a physical or mental condition expected to last indefinitely or result in death.
  • Medical expenses: You withdraw to pay unreimbursed medical costs that exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income in that year.
  • First-time home purchase: You can withdraw up to $10,000 lifetime (not per year) toward buying, building, or rebuilding a primary residence. "First-time" means you have not owned a home in the past two years.
  • Substantially equal periodic payments (SEPP): You set up a schedule of equal withdrawals based on your life expectancy and must follow it for five years or until age 59½, whichever is longer. This is complex and requires IRS-approved calculation methods.
  • Death or beneficiary status: If the account owner dies, beneficiaries can withdraw earnings without the 10 percent penalty (though income tax still applies).

These exceptions eliminate the 10 percent penalty but do not eliminate income tax on the earnings themselves. You still owe tax on any earnings withdrawn, regardless of the reason.

What happens if you withdraw earnings before 59½ without an exception

You owe income tax on the earnings at your regular tax rate, plus a 10 percent early withdrawal penalty. If you withdrew $5,000 in earnings and your tax bracket is 22 percent, you would owe $1,100 in tax plus $500 in penalty — $1,600 total.

You report this on Form 5329 when you file your tax return. If your provider withheld taxes when you made the withdrawal, that amount is credited against what you owe, but you may still owe more at tax time. If you did not withhold, you will owe the full amount when you file.

The penalty applies to each early withdrawal separately. If you take out earnings multiple times before age 59½, you pay the 10 percent penalty on each one (unless you may have access to for an exception).

The five-year rule and how it works

To withdraw earnings tax-free, your Roth IRA must have been open for at least five tax years. The clock starts on January 1 of the year you opened the account, not on the day you opened it. If you opened a Roth on December 31, 2023, the five-year period ends on December 31, 2028.

If you have multiple Roth IRAs, each one has its own five-year clock. However, if you converted a traditional IRA to a Roth, that conversion starts a separate five-year clock. You cannot mix the clocks — the conversion has to sit for five years before you can withdraw those converted funds penalty-free.

Once five years have passed and you reach 59½, you can withdraw everything — contributions and earnings — without taxes or penalties. Before age 59½, you can still withdraw contributions anytime, but earnings remain locked unless you have a may have access to exception.

How withdrawals affect your contribution room

Withdrawing money from your Roth IRA does not reduce your contribution limit for future years. If you withdraw $5,000 in 2024, you can still contribute the full annual limit (currently $7,000 for most people, $8,000 if you are 50 or older) in 2024 and every year after.

This is different from traditional IRAs, where withdrawals do not restore contribution room either, but the rules around recontribution are stricter. With a Roth, you simply contribute again once the calendar year resets, up to the annual limit.

The only limit is the annual contribution cap itself. You cannot contribute more than the IRS allows in a single year, regardless of how much you withdrew in previous years.

Roth conversions and the pro-rata rule

If you converted money from a traditional IRA to a Roth, that converted amount is subject to a separate five-year rule. You cannot withdraw converted funds penalty-free until five years have passed, even if your original Roth IRA has been open longer.

Additionally, if you have both traditional and Roth IRAs and you convert some traditional IRA money to a Roth, the IRS applies the pro-rata rule. This rule treats all your traditional IRAs as one pool for tax purposes. If 80 percent of that pool is pre-tax money and 20 percent is after-tax contributions, then 80 percent of your conversion is taxable. This can create an unexpected tax bill and is why some people work with a tax professional before converting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I withdraw my contributions without reporting it to the IRS?

You do not owe tax on contributions, but you should still report the withdrawal on Form 8606 when you file your tax return. This documents to the IRS that you withdrew only contributions, not earnings. Keeping records of your contributions and withdrawals protects you if the IRS ever questions the transaction.

What if I need money but I am not sure if it is contributions or earnings?

Contact your Roth IRA provider and ask them to calculate your contribution basis — the total amount you have deposited over the life of the account. Subtract that from your current balance and you know how much is earnings. Your provider can also tell you this when you request a withdrawal.

Do I have to withdraw money at a certain age?

No. Roth IRAs do not require minimum distributions during your lifetime. You can leave the money in the account as long as you live. This is one major advantage over traditional IRAs, which require withdrawals starting at age 73 (as of 2023).

If I withdraw money and then put it back, does that count as a contribution?

No. Putting money back into a Roth IRA is called a rollover or recontribution, not a new contribution. It does not count toward your annual contribution limit. You have 60 days to return the money before it is treated as a permanent withdrawal.

What if my Roth IRA lost money — can I withdraw at a loss?

Yes, you can withdraw at any time, even if the account value is lower than what you put in. However, you cannot claim the loss as a tax deduction unless you withdraw all your Roth IRAs and aggregate the loss across all of them on your tax return. This is a complex situation and worth discussing with a tax professional.