About the Roth IRA Withdrawal Calculator
This Roth IRA withdrawal calculator works out what you would actually keep from a Roth IRA withdrawal. It applies the IRS ordering rules — your regular contributions come out first, then converted amounts (oldest first), and earnings last — and checks both five-year rules: the one that makes a distribution "qualified" and fully tax-free, and the separate five-year clock on each conversion that controls the 10% additional tax.
It is meant for early retirees tapping a Roth before 59½, people using a Roth as an emergency fund, and anyone running a Roth conversion ladder who needs to know which dollars are penalty-free. Enter your total contributions, your conversions split by whether they are more or less than five years old, the current balance and the amount you want to take out.
Rules follow IRS Publication 590-B. A distribution is qualified once five tax years have passed since your first Roth IRA contribution and you are 59½, disabled, or using up to $10,000 for a first home. All your Roth IRAs are treated as one for the ordering rules. Conversions here mean the taxable amount converted; the result estimates federal tax at your marginal rate and excludes state tax.
With the default inputs, the you keep after tax and penalty is $99,000.00. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the roth ira withdrawal calculator
- 1Enter your age and whether your first Roth IRA contribution was at least five tax years ago.
- 2Add up regular contributions across all your Roth IRAs, net of past withdrawals.
- 3Split your conversions into those more than five years old and those within the last five years.
- 4Enter your total Roth balance and the amount you plan to withdraw.
- 5Select any penalty exception and your tax rate, then review what you keep and which dollars are taxed.
Formula and method
The IRS treats all Roth IRA withdrawals as coming first from regular contributions, then from conversion and rollover contributions on a first-in, first-out basis, and last from earnings. Contributions are never taxed or penalized. Converted amounts are not taxed again, but the taxable part of each conversion is subject to the 10% additional tax if it is withdrawn within five years of January 1 of the conversion year while you are under 59½. Earnings are taxed as ordinary income and, under 59½, also hit with the 10% additional tax — unless the distribution is qualified.
A distribution is qualified, and entirely tax-free, if five tax years have passed since your first Roth IRA contribution and you are 59½ or older, disabled, a beneficiary, or using up to $10,000 (lifetime) for a first home. Other exceptions — education, medical expenses above 7.5% of AGI, health insurance premiums while unemployed, birth or adoption up to $5,000, one emergency personal expense distribution of up to $1,000 a year, 72(t) payments — remove the 10% additional tax but not the income tax on earnings. This calculator applies those caps and assumes the full exception amount is available.
- Contributions
- Regular annual contributions (your basis)
- Conversions
- Taxable amounts converted or rolled over from pre-tax accounts
- Earnings
- Balance minus contributions minus conversions
Worked examples
Age 50 withdrawing $100,000
The first $60,000 comes from contributions and the next $30,000 from conversions more than five years old — all tax- and penalty-free. The last $10,000 comes from a recent conversion: not taxed again, but the 10% additional tax costs $1,000, so you keep $99,000.
Dipping into earnings at 50
After $110,000 of contributions and conversions, $30,000 comes from earnings. Those earnings are taxed at 22% ($6,600), and the $20,000 of recent conversions plus the $30,000 of earnings carry a 10% additional tax of $5,000, leaving $128,400.
Qualified withdrawal at 60
At 60 with a Roth IRA open for more than five tax years, every dollar is a qualified distribution, including the $30,000 of earnings, so the full $140,000 is tax-free.
Age 60 but the 5-year rule is not met
Being over 59½ removes the 10% additional tax, but because the first contribution was less than five years ago the distribution is not qualified, so the $30,000 of earnings is taxable: $6,600 at 22%.
Frequently asked questions
Can I withdraw Roth IRA contributions at any time?+
Yes. Regular contributions can be withdrawn at any age, for any reason, without tax or the 10% penalty, because they were made with after-tax money. The ordering rules treat contributions as coming out first.
What are the two Roth IRA 5-year rules?+
The first decides whether earnings are tax-free: five tax years must pass from January 1 of the year of your first Roth IRA contribution. The second applies to each conversion separately: withdrawing a converted amount within five years triggers the 10% additional tax if you are under 59½.
Are Roth earnings taxed if I am over 59½?+
Only if the five-year rule for your first Roth IRA contribution is not met. In that case the earnings are taxable as ordinary income, but the 10% additional tax does not apply because you are over 59½.
Do I pay tax on converted amounts I withdraw early?+
No income tax — you already paid it when you converted. But if the conversion is less than five years old and you are under 59½, the 10% additional tax applies to the taxable amount converted, unless an exception applies.
How do I report a Roth IRA withdrawal?+
Nonqualified Roth distributions are reported on Form 8606 Part III, which applies the ordering rules to your contribution and conversion basis. Any 10% additional tax is figured on Form 5329.
Does the first-time homebuyer exception make earnings tax-free?+
Up to $10,000 of lifetime first-home distributions is a qualified, tax-free distribution if the five-year rule is met. If it is not met, the exception only removes the 10% penalty and the earnings remain taxable.
Tax results are estimates based on published rules and simplified assumptions. They are not tax advice — check official guidance or a tax professional for your situation.