You can withdraw your contributions anytime, but earnings have strict rules

You can pull out the money you personally contributed to your Roth IRA at any time without penalty or taxes — the IRS treats your own contributions as yours to access. Earnings (the investment gains on top of your contributions) are a different story. You can withdraw earnings before age 59½ only in specific situations, and doing it wrong means you owe income tax plus a 10% penalty on the earnings portion.

The key is knowing the difference between what you put in and what your money earned. Your brokerage statement shows both. Contributions are the dollars you deposited yourself. Earnings are the growth — dividends, capital gains, interest — that accumulated inside the account.

Key Takeaways

  • You can withdraw your own contributions to a Roth IRA anytime without taxes or penalties, regardless of your age or how long the money has been in the account.
  • Withdrawing earnings before age 59½ triggers a 10% penalty and income tax unless you meet one of the IRS exceptions: disability, medical expenses, first-time home purchase, or a few others.
  • The IRS uses a specific calculation called the "pro-rata rule" if you have both Roth and traditional IRAs, which can make early withdrawals more expensive than you expect.
  • You must wait five tax years from your first Roth contribution before any earnings withdrawal is penalty-free, even if you are over 59½.
  • Your brokerage or IRA custodian can tell you exactly how much of your balance is contributions versus earnings — ask before you withdraw.

Contributions versus earnings: what the IRS lets you touch

The IRS tracks your Roth contributions using Form 8606, which you file when you make a non-deductible contribution or convert money from another IRA type. Your custodian (the bank, brokerage, or investment company holding your Roth) also keeps records. When you withdraw, the IRS assumes you are taking out contributions first, then earnings — so small withdrawals usually stay penalty-free.

Contributions come out tax-free and penalty-free at any age. This is true whether you withdrew the money last month or 30 years from now. The IRS already taxed that money when you earned it, so it does not tax it again when you take it back out.

Earnings are different. If you withdraw earnings before age 59½, you owe federal income tax on the amount plus a 10% early withdrawal penalty — unless you fall into a narrow list of exceptions. The exceptions are: disability, medical expenses over 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, first-time home purchase (up to $10,000 lifetime), substantially equal periodic payments, or a few others. Being unemployed, needing cash for a vacation, or paying off credit card debt do not may have access to.

The five-year rule: when earnings become accessible

Even if you are 59½ or older, you cannot withdraw earnings penalty-free until five tax years have passed since you first contributed to any Roth IRA. This is separate from the age rule — you need both conditions met.

The five-year clock starts on January 1 of the year you make your first Roth contribution, not the day you deposit the money. If you open a Roth on December 15, 2024, and contribute $7,000, your five-year period runs from January 1, 2024, through December 31, 2028. On January 1, 2029, the five years are satisfied.

This rule applies to each Roth IRA separately if you have more than one, but the five-year period is measured from your first Roth contribution ever — not from each account individually. If you opened a Roth in 2020 and opened another in 2024, both accounts satisfy the five-year rule on January 1, 2025.

Early withdrawal exceptions that avoid the 10% penalty

The IRS allows penalty-free early withdrawals of earnings in these situations: you are disabled (as defined by Social Security), you have unreimbursed medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, you are a first-time homebuyer withdrawing up to $10,000 lifetime, you are taking substantially equal periodic payments under IRS rules, or you are withdrawing to pay for may have access to education expenses.

Disability means you cannot engage in substantial gainful activity due to a physical or mental condition expected to last at least 12 months or result in death. You need medical documentation. Being unable to work your current job is not enough; the condition must prevent you from working any job.

Medical expenses must be unreimbursed and must exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income for the year. If your AGI is $50,000 and you have $5,000 in medical bills, only the amount over $3,750 (7.5% of $50,000) qualifies — so $1,250 of your withdrawal would be penalty-free.

First-time homebuyer means you have not owned a home in the past two years. You can withdraw up to $10,000 total across your lifetime from all Roth IRAs combined. This is a one-time limit, not an annual limit.

What happens if you have both Roth and traditional IRAs

If you own a Roth IRA and a traditional IRA (or SEP-IRA or straightforward IRA), the IRS applies the pro-rata rule to your early withdrawals. This rule treats all your IRAs as one pool for tax purposes, even though they are separate accounts at separate institutions.

Here is how it works: suppose you have a traditional IRA with $40,000 (all pre-tax money) and a Roth IRA with $10,000 in contributions and $5,000 in earnings. Your total IRA balance is $55,000. If you withdraw $5,000 from your Roth to access the earnings, the IRS calculates what percentage of your total IRA balance is pre-tax money: $40,000 ÷ $55,000 = 72.7%. That means 72.7% of your $5,000 withdrawal ($3,635) is treated as coming from pre-tax money and is taxable. You owe income tax on $3,635 plus a 10% penalty on the earnings portion ($1,818 of the withdrawal).

This rule makes early Roth withdrawals much more expensive if you have a traditional IRA. Many people do not realize they have a traditional IRA — old employer 401(k)s rolled into IRAs count, as do SEP-IRAs or straightforward IRAs from self-employment. Before you withdraw from a Roth early, check whether you have any other IRA accounts.

How to request a withdrawal from your custodian

Contact your IRA custodian — the bank, brokerage, or investment company where your Roth is held — and ask for a withdrawal form. Most custodians have online portals where you can request a withdrawal directly. Some require a paper form signed and mailed.

Tell your custodian exactly how much you want to withdraw and ask them to confirm how much of that amount is contributions versus earnings. They are required to provide this breakdown. Ask whether they will withhold taxes; some custodians withhold 10% federal income tax on earnings withdrawals automatically, which reduces the amount you receive.

The withdrawal typically takes three to five business days to reach your bank account. If you are withdrawing before age 59½ and the withdrawal includes earnings, ask your custodian whether they will file Form 5329 (Report of Excess Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements) on your behalf or whether you must file it yourself when you do your taxes. You are responsible for reporting the penalty even if your custodian does not.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I put the money back if I change my mind?

Yes, but only within 60 days. This is called a rollover. You must deposit the full amount back into a Roth IRA within 60 days of receiving the withdrawal. You can do this only once per 12-month period across all your IRAs combined. If you miss the 60-day window, the withdrawal is permanent and counts against your contribution limits for that year.

Do I owe state income tax on an early withdrawal?

Most states tax IRA withdrawals the same way the federal government does, so yes — if you owe federal income tax on the withdrawal, you likely owe state tax too. A few states do not tax retirement income, but you need to check your state's rules. Your custodian will not withhold state tax automatically; you may owe it when you file your state return.

What if I do not know how much I contributed?

Your custodian has records of every contribution you made. Call them or log into your online account and request a contribution history. You can also look at your past tax returns — Form 8606 shows your contributions. If you converted money from a traditional IRA, that counts as a contribution for withdrawal purposes.

Can I withdraw to pay off student loans?

No. Student loan payments do not may have access to as an exception to the early withdrawal penalty. You can withdraw your contributions penalty-free, but if you need to tap earnings, you will owe the 10% penalty and income tax unless you meet one of the specific exceptions (disability, medical expenses, first-time home purchase, or substantially equal payments).

Does a Roth conversion count toward the five-year rule?

A Roth conversion (moving money from a traditional IRA to a Roth) starts its own five-year clock separate from regular contributions. Money you convert has a five-year waiting period before you can withdraw it penalty-free, even if you already satisfied the five-year rule with regular contributions. The converted amount and your regular contributions are tracked separately.