You can withdraw your contributions anytime, but earnings have rules
You can take out the money you personally contributed to your Roth IRA at any time without penalty or taxes — that money is yours. The earnings your contributions generated, however, are locked until you turn 59½, with limited exceptions. The difference between contributions and earnings matters because the IRS tracks them separately, and your withdrawal comes out contributions-first.
If you are under 59½ and try to withdraw earnings, you will owe income tax on that amount plus a 10% early withdrawal penalty, unless you meet one of the IRS exceptions. The most common exceptions are a first-time home purchase (up to $10,000 lifetime), disability, medical expenses above 7.5% of your income, or a Roth conversion (a separate rule). Even then, you only avoid the penalty — you still owe income tax on the earnings themselves.
Key Takeaways
- Contributions you made to your Roth IRA can be withdrawn at any age without tax or penalty.
- Earnings on those contributions cannot be withdrawn before age 59½ without owing income tax and a 10% penalty, except in specific IRS-approved situations.
- Your withdrawal pulls from contributions first, so you can take out your own money before touching any earnings.
- The account custodian (your bank or brokerage) will ask you to specify whether you are withdrawing contributions or earnings, or will calculate it for you based on IRS rules.
How to tell contributions apart from earnings
Your Roth IRA statement shows your contribution history separately from the growth. If you contributed $5,000 and it grew to $6,200, the $5,000 is your contribution and the $1,200 is earnings. You can withdraw the $5,000 anytime. The $1,200 stays locked until 59½ unless you meet an exception.
If you have made contributions over multiple years, the IRS uses a "pro-rata rule" when you withdraw. This means if your account is 80% contributions and 20% earnings, any withdrawal you take is 80% contribution and 20% earnings. You cannot cherry-pick just the contributions and leave the earnings behind. Your account custodian will calculate this for you when you request a withdrawal.
The process for withdrawing contributions
Contact your bank or brokerage and request a withdrawal. You will need to specify the amount and may be asked whether you are withdrawing contributions, earnings, or a mix. If you are under 59½, tell them you are withdrawing contributions only — they will calculate how much of your request counts as contributions versus earnings using the pro-rata rule.
The custodian will process the withdrawal, typically within 3 to 5 business days for cash or a transfer to another account. If your Roth IRA holds investments like stocks or mutual funds, you may need to sell those positions first to access the cash. Some custodians allow you to withdraw specific holdings instead of cash.
You will receive a Form 1099-R at tax time showing the withdrawal amount. If you withdrew only contributions, the taxable portion will be zero. If any earnings came out, that amount will be taxable and subject to the 10% penalty if you are under 59½ and do not meet an exception.
Exceptions that let you withdraw earnings early
The IRS allows penalty-free (but not tax-free) withdrawal of earnings in these situations: you are disabled, you have significant medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, you are a first-time homebuyer taking up to $10,000 lifetime, or you are taking distributions as part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments. There is also an exception for Roth conversions, which have their own five-year holding period.
Even with these exceptions, you still owe income tax on the earnings you withdraw — you only avoid the 10% penalty. For example, if you withdraw $3,000 in earnings for a first-time home purchase, you pay income tax on that $3,000 but no penalty. You will report this on your tax return, and your custodian will send you a Form 1099-R marked with the exception code.
The disability and medical expense exceptions require documentation. For disability, you need proof from the Social Security Administration or Railroad Retirement Board. For medical expenses, you need receipts and a calculation showing the amount exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income for that year.
What happens if you withdraw before the five-year rule is met
Roth IRAs have a separate five-year rule for earnings. Even if you are 59½ or older, you cannot withdraw earnings tax-free unless you have held the account for at least five tax years. The five-year period starts on January 1 of the year you made your first contribution to any Roth IRA (not per contribution, but per account owner).
If you opened your Roth IRA in 2023 and are now 60 in 2024, you can withdraw contributions anytime, but earnings are still locked until 2028 (five full tax years: 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, 2027). If you withdraw earnings before then, you owe income tax on them even though you are over 59½. The 10% penalty does not explore because of your age, but the tax does.
Roth conversions and the pro-rata rule
If you converted money from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, that converted amount has its own five-year holding period. You can withdraw the converted amount penalty-free after five years, but earnings on the conversion are still subject to the 59½ age rule. This gets complicated if you have both regular contributions and conversions in the same account.
The pro-rata rule applies to conversions too. If you have $20,000 in contributions, $10,000 in conversion amounts, and $5,000 in earnings, a withdrawal is calculated as a percentage of each bucket. Your custodian can help you track this, but it is worth keeping conversion records separate or asking your custodian how they handle the calculation.
Taxes and forms you will receive
Your custodian will send you a Form 1099-R for any withdrawal. Box 1 shows the gross amount withdrawn. Box 2a shows the taxable amount (usually zero if you withdrew only contributions). Box 7 contains a code that tells the IRS why you withdrew early — code 1 means you are over 59½, code 2 means an exception applied, code 4 means early withdrawal with no exception.
If you withdrew earnings and do not meet an exception, you will owe income tax at your ordinary rate plus the 10% penalty. The penalty is calculated on the earnings portion only, not the contributions. You report this on Form 5329 when you file your tax return. If you do meet an exception, the Form 1099-R will show the exception code and you will owe tax but not the penalty.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I withdraw my contributions without telling the IRS?
Your custodian reports all withdrawals on Form 1099-R, which goes to the IRS. You do not need to ask permission, but the withdrawal is recorded. If you withdrew only contributions, you report zero taxable income. If earnings came out, you report that on your tax return.
What if I need money but do not want to withdraw from my Roth IRA?
Some custodians offer Roth IRA loans, though this is rare. More commonly, you can take a loan from a traditional IRA (not a Roth) if your custodian allows it. Otherwise, a personal loan, home equity line of credit, or 401(k) loan may be options depending on what you have available.
If I withdraw contributions, can I put them back?
You can re-contribute the amount in future years, but only up to your annual contribution limit. If you withdrew $3,000 in contributions and your limit is $7,000 that year, you can contribute $7,000 total (not $10,000). The withdrawn amount does not give you extra room.
Do I owe state income tax on Roth IRA withdrawals?
Most states do not tax Roth IRA withdrawals, but a few do. Check your state's tax rules or ask your tax preparer. Federal income tax always applies to earnings withdrawn before 59½ (unless an exception applies), but state rules vary.
What if I made a mistake and over-contributed to my Roth IRA?
You can withdraw the excess contribution and any earnings on it before your tax filing important date (including extensions). If you do, you only owe tax on the earnings, not the excess contribution itself. File Form 5329 to report the correction. If you do not correct it, you owe a 6% penalty each year the excess sits in the account.