The Roth IRA Withdrawal Rules to Know Before You Touch It
Key Takeaways
- Roth IRA withdrawals come out in a fixed order: regular contributions first, then conversion and rollover contributions, then earnings.
- Regular contributions are generally available without federal income tax or the 10% additional tax, regardless of age.
- Each Roth conversion can have its own five-year period for the 10% additional tax when you are under age 59½.
- Earnings are generally tax-free only in a qualified distribution, which requires both the Roth IRA five-year holding period and a qualifying event.
Direct answer: You can generally withdraw your regular Roth IRA contributions first without federal income tax or the 10% additional tax. Converted amounts come next, and earnings come last. The two five-year rules are different: one helps determine whether earnings are part of a qualified distribution, while a separate five-year period can apply to each conversion before age 59½. See the IRS Publication 590-B for the governing rules.
A Roth IRA can add flexibility to a retirement withdrawal plan. The mistake is treating every dollar in the account as identical. Your withdrawal treatment depends on what type of dollar comes out, your age, and which five-year period applies.
This guide separates the rules that are often blended together: regular contributions, conversions, earnings, qualified distributions, and the age-59½ threshold.
Table of Contents
Roth IRA Withdrawal Order at a Glance
For federal tax purposes, the IRS applies this ordering rule across all of your Roth IRAs. You cannot elect to pull earnings before contributions. The IRS ordering rules are described in Publication 590-B and the instructions for Form 8606.
| Order | What comes out | General federal tax treatment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Regular contributions | Generally not included in income and not subject to the 10% additional tax. |
| 2 | Conversion and rollover contributions | Taxable conversion amounts may be subject to the 10% additional tax if withdrawn within their separate five-year period before age 59½, unless an exception applies. |
| 3 | Earnings | Generally tax-free only when the distribution is qualified. Otherwise, tax and possibly the 10% additional tax may apply. |
Source: IRS Publication 590-B, Roth IRA ordering rules and qualified distributions.
Keep records of your lifetime regular contributions and each conversion year. The ordering rule is set by the IRS, but your records help you and your tax professional identify which layer a withdrawal reaches.
Withdrawing Regular Roth IRA Contributions
Regular Roth IRA contributions are the first dollars treated as distributed. Because those contributions were not previously deducted, a withdrawal up to your cumulative regular-contribution amount is generally not included in federal income and is not subject to the 10% additional tax, regardless of age. This is an ordering-rule result, not a reason to overlook the effect a withdrawal can have on the rest of your plan. IRS Publication 590-B explains the rule.
For example, if your lifetime regular Roth IRA contributions total $40,000 and you withdraw $25,000, the IRS ordering rules generally treat that $25,000 as regular contributions. The result can differ if other rules apply to your situation, so review your records before acting.
That distinction is one reason a Roth IRA is not interchangeable with a traditional IRA. For a broader comparison, see Traditional vs. Roth IRA: what changes when you withdraw.
Withdrawing Roth Conversion Amounts
After regular contributions, the IRS treats conversion and rollover contributions as distributed. Conversions are generally ordered from the earliest conversion year to the latest. Within a conversion year, the taxable portion is treated before the nontaxable portion. See the IRS Roth IRA ordering rules.
Each conversion can have its own five-year period
The conversion five-year rule is not the same as the five-year rule for qualified distributions. For the 10% additional tax, each conversion has a separate five-year period that begins on January 1 of the tax year of that conversion. If you are under age 59½ and withdraw the taxable portion of a conversion before its five-year period ends, the 10% additional tax may apply unless an exception applies. The IRS describes this rule in Publication 590-B.
For example, a conversion reported for 2026 generally uses a five-taxable-year period that starts January 1, 2026. A later conversion can have a different clock. This example illustrates the timing rule only. Your tax return, conversion records, and any exception to the additional tax can change the analysis.
Conversion timing and withdrawal timing belong in the same conversation. Roth conversion strategy explains the broader questions that can affect a conversion decision, including current taxable income, Medicare timing, and the years when you expect to draw on the account.
Roth IRA Earnings and Qualified Distributions
Earnings are the last dollars treated as distributed. A distribution of earnings is generally tax-free only when it is a qualified distribution. Under IRS Publication 590-B, that normally means both of the following are true:
- The five-year holding period has been met. It begins with the first tax year for which a contribution was made to a Roth IRA set up for your benefit.
- The distribution is made on or after age 59½, because of disability, after death, or for a qualifying first-home purchase, subject to the IRS lifetime limit.
This qualified-distribution five-year period is one Roth IRA holding period. It is different from the separate conversion periods described above. Reaching age 59½ meets the age condition, but it does not by itself satisfy the Roth IRA five-year holding period for earnings.
Two clocks, two questions: The qualified-distribution five-year period asks whether earnings can generally be tax-free. A conversion five-year period asks whether the 10% additional tax can apply to taxable converted amounts withdrawn before age 59½. IRS Form 8606 instructions addresses both concepts.
For more context on decisions that happen before a conversion, read the Roth conversion basics and why the source of conversion taxes matters.
What Changes After Age 59½
Age 59½ is important, but it is not the entire Roth IRA rulebook. Once you reach age 59½, the 10% additional tax generally does not apply to a distribution. Earnings still need the qualified-distribution five-year holding period to be generally tax-free. IRS Publication 590-B makes this distinction.
That means a person who opens a first Roth IRA after age 59½ may still need to wait for the qualified-distribution five-year period before withdrawing earnings tax-free. Regular contributions and conversion amounts follow the ordering rules first, so the answer depends on the composition of the withdrawal, not only on the account balance.
What about a Roth 401(k) rollover?
A designated Roth account in a workplace plan and a Roth IRA are not the same account type. Their holding-period rules can differ. Before relying on a rollover to satisfy a Roth IRA five-year period, review the applicable rollover rules with a tax professional and the IRS guidance for your plan type.
Put Roth Withdrawals in a Broader Plan
Roth withdrawal rules answer a narrow tax question. They do not decide which account should fund your spending in a particular year. That decision can also involve taxable income, Medicare premium thresholds, required distributions, Social Security taxation, cash reserves, and the most you can safely spend.
Retirement withdrawal strategy covers the broader sequencing question. If you are considering both conversions and withdrawals, map the timing before money leaves the account. Tax rules are fact-specific, and this guide is educational information rather than personal tax advice.
For the IRS rules and definitions behind this guide, start with Publication 590-B and the Form 8606 instructions.
This content is for educational purposes only and is not investment, tax, or legal advice.
