Tool · Decision Engine

What would a Roth IRA withdrawal mean in 2026?

For a simple, personally owned Roth IRA history, see how a 2026 withdrawal uses regular contributions, Traditional IRA conversions and earnings. Check the scope below first: workplace rollovers and other special histories need a separate review.

verifiedIRS Pub 590-B ordering rules By RothIRAHub Editorial Updated 2026-10-29

Correction, October 29, 2026: We restricted the calculator to supported account histories, added input safeguards and corrected rollover and exception explanations. View correction history.

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JavaScript is needed for the calculator

No result is available without JavaScript. This 2026 calculator supports only your own ordinary Roth IRAs funded by regular contributions and ordinary Traditional IRA conversions. It excludes workplace-plan rollovers, in-plan Roth history, inherited accounts, divorce transfers, SEP/SIMPLE, 529, corrective or other special transactions and unreconciled records.

You can still read the instructions and worked example below or the Withdrawal Rules guide. A generic rollover label does not establish how the money would be taxed.

First, is this the right tool for your history?

This is a 2026 federal illustration for your own ordinary Roth IRAs funded only by regular contributions and conversions from ordinary Traditional IRAs. Include all your own Roth IRAs together; do not leave out an account with a different history to make the inputs fit.

It does not model money rolled directly from a workplace plan into a Roth IRA, including Roth 401(k), 403(b) or governmental 457(b) money and in-plan Roth conversions. It also excludes inherited accounts, divorce transfers, Roth SEP/SIMPLE histories, 529 rollovers, corrective transactions, recharacterizations, special repayments and unreconciled records. A generic “rollover” label is not enough to classify the dollars.

Which history applies?

Transfers between your own ordinary Roth IRAs do not create a new contribution or conversion layer: carry forward the underlying history. Unsupported or uncertain histories hide all result panels and clocks. Selecting a supported history is your confirmation, not verification of your records.

The starting numbers are examples, not your account. Replace them before relying on an illustration. Enter dollars and cents, from $0 to $1 billion per money field; combined remaining contributions and conversions must also stay within $1 billion. This is a practical calculator capacity, not a legal account or withdrawal limit.

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1 · Your profile

Age at withdrawal in 2026

The 10% penalty and qualified-distribution rules hinge on 59½.

First Roth IRA tax year

Tax year of your first Roth IRA contribution or conversion, not your first Roth 401(k) deposit. Starts the earnings 5-year clock.

Qualifying exception (if any)

Disability is modeled only if the IRS definition is met: inability to do substantial gainful activity because of a physical or mental condition, with a physician determining that it is expected to result in death or be long-continued and indefinite. This tool does not establish eligibility. Other exceptions, including first-home relief, stop the numbers for a separate review of conditions, costs and limits.

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2 · Contributions

Regular contributions still available

Add regular contributions across all your Roth IRAs, then subtract contribution dollars you already withdrew. Do not include conversions here. If you have never withdrawn money, use your total regular contributions.

Have you taken earlier Roth withdrawals?

Earlier withdrawals use up these layers in the same order. If you cannot reconstruct what remains, pause here rather than reuse the original totals.

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3 · Conversions

Each conversion year has its own 5-year clock. Add the principal still available from each year, after any earlier withdrawals. Remaining basis is the part of that principal that was not taxable when converted. Use your tax records; your current balance alone cannot tell you this history.

Enter only conversions from ordinary Traditional IRAs. A workplace rollover is not an entry here. This snapshot uses the remaining amounts you enter; later transactions, including contributions designated for 2026 by the applicable deadline, can change the tax-return allocation.

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4 · Balance & withdrawal

Total balance of your own supported Roth IRAs

Amount you want to withdraw

One more check before showing a result

We have hidden the numbers rather than assume the withdrawal is penalty-free. See the exception guide and check your records with a tax professional.

summarize

Of your withdrawal…

Tax-free & penalty-free

No income tax, but a penalty

conversion dollars subject to the 10% additional tax

Subject to income tax

earnings; a 10% additional tax may also apply

The three categories partition the modeled withdrawal. Displays round to cents; the additional tax may include a fraction of a cent before rounding. “Subject to income tax” is not your tax bill. This is a 2026 illustration within the confirmed scope, not a tax-return calculation.

10% penalty

Composition of the withdrawal

How this supported withdrawal uses each layer

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Your 5-year clocks

There are two separate 5-year clocks running in a Roth IRA: one for qualified earnings (from your first contribution), and one for each conversion (to avoid the 10% penalty on the taxable portion if you're under 59½).

Earnings clock

You're fully qualified. Every dollar in the account — including earnings — comes out tax-free and penalty-free. You can ignore the per-conversion clocks entirely (the 10% penalty rule sunsets at 59½). Earnings will be taxable but penalty-free. You're 59½ or older, so the 10% additional tax does not apply. The first-Roth clock is incomplete, so earnings remain taxable. That clock completes on January 1, . The disability rules apply. Assuming you meet the IRS definition, there is no 10% additional tax. Earnings are also income-tax-free if the first-Roth 5-year clock is complete; otherwise earnings remain taxable. Watch recent conversions. Before age 59½, a conversion less than 5 tax years old can trigger a 10% penalty on the portion that was taxable when converted. That principal is not taxed as income a second time. Regular contributions still come out first. All your conversions are seasoned. Their 5-year clocks are complete, so their principal comes out without the 10% penalty. Earnings are still subject to income tax and the penalty in this no-exception scenario. No conversions to season. Your remaining regular contributions come out tax- and penalty-free. Earnings are subject to income tax and the 10% penalty in this no-exception scenario.

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The IRS ordering rules (Pub 590-B, Chapter 2)

For a nonqualified withdrawal within this tool's ordinary-IRA scope, you do not choose which layer comes out first:

1 Remaining regular contributions — first, without federal income tax or the 10% additional tax in the supported ordinary-IRA scenario.
2 Traditional IRA conversions — oldest tax year first. Within each year's combined conversions, taxable-at-conversion dollars come before the nontaxable portion. Do not place every kind of rollover in this layer.
3 Earnings — withdrawn last. A qualified distribution requires the first-Roth 5-year clock plus age 59½, disability, death or an eligible first-home withdrawal. Otherwise earnings are taxable; an exception may remove the 10% additional tax.

User Guide

How to use the Withdrawal Explainer

A Roth IRA withdrawal can contain dollars with different tax rules. This tool separates three categories: no federal income tax or additional tax, additional tax only, and taxable income. It is a fixed-2026 planning illustration for a limited account history, not a tax-return calculator or a forecast of future rules.

Think of the supported history as three layers: remaining regular contributions, remaining Traditional IRA conversions by tax year, and earnings. Withdrawing conversion principal does not make it income again, but some recent taxable-at-conversion dollars can face a separate additional tax. Earnings have a different test.

Who should use this tool

First confirm that all your own Roth IRAs fit the scope above: ordinary regular contributions and ordinary Traditional IRA conversions only, with records reconciled after any earlier withdrawals. The tool calculates the no-exception case and disability assuming the IRS definition is met. Other exceptions stop the result. Workplace-plan rollovers into Roth IRAs, in-plan Roth history, divorce transfers, SEP/SIMPLE accounts and other special transactions are not modeled, even if their records are available.

For an inherited account, use the Inherited Roth IRA tool. This tool does not determine beneficiary deadlines or inherited-account treatment.

For an ordinary owner distribution, age 59½ or older plus completion of the first-Roth IRA five-tax-year period makes the distribution qualified. Merely reaching 59½ removes the age-based additional tax; it does not finish the earnings clock.

Walking through the inputs

Regular contributions still available. Add the regular contributions across your Roth IRAs and subtract contribution dollars already withdrawn. Forms 5498 show contributions for particular years; they do not provide a running lifetime balance. Keep your contribution and withdrawal records, including relevant Forms 8606.

Conversion history. Enter each year's remaining principal converted from ordinary Traditional IRAs, including the taxable-at-conversion part and the nontaxable part. Subtract earlier withdrawals from the correct layers first. Multiple rows for one year are combined, with taxable-at-conversion dollars used before that year's nontaxable dollars. A Roth-to-Roth transfer preserves these original layers; it is not a new conversion.

Implied earnings. The current account value minus remaining regular contributions and conversion principal, with a floor of zero. After investment losses, remaining principal can exceed market value; the tool never treats that historical principal as extra cash available to withdraw.

Proposed withdrawal amount. The dollars you're thinking about taking out.

Your age and first Roth IRA tax year. The five-tax-year period starts January 1 of that first tax year, not the account-opening anniversary. Both the completed period and a qualifying condition matter for tax-free earnings.

How to read the result

The stacked bar follows the supported layers. Recent taxable conversion principal can carry a 10% additional tax before 59½ unless an exception applies; the nontaxable conversion portion does not carry that charge. Nonqualified earnings are included in income, but the additional tax is a separate question. For example, earnings withdrawn at age 60 before the first-Roth clock is complete are taxable without the 10% additional tax.

The three headline categories partition the modeled withdrawal; displays round to cents. The separate additional-tax estimate may contain fractions of a cent before display rounding. A positive amount below half a cent is shown as “<$0.01,” not as zero. The tool does not calculate the income-tax bill, state tax, take-home cash, withholding or a next-year comparison. “Subject to income tax” means income, not the amount owed to the IRS.

Common mistakes this tool prevents

Thinking the five-year clock is a single clock. There are actually two five-year clocks for a Roth: the "first contribution" clock (for earnings qualification) and per-conversion clocks (for avoiding penalty on converted principal). Different clocks, different rules.
Confusing “no income tax” with “no penalty.” Conversion principal is not taxed as income again when withdrawn, but recent taxable conversion dollars may still face the separate 10% additional tax.
Counting dollars already withdrawn. Use the contribution and conversion principal still available, not unreduced lifetime totals.
Assuming a dropdown grants an exception. Qualifying expenses, timing and dollar limits matter. The tool does not establish eligibility or calculate relief for the exceptions marked for review.

After you see the breakdown

Use the clock panel to identify the tax year when a conversion completes its 5-year period. Before withdrawing, confirm your records and any exception with a tax professional. A 10% penalty exception is not necessarily an income-tax exemption.

The Withdrawal Rules guide explains the rules in more detail.

Worked example: three withdrawal sizes at age 55

In 2026, Carlos is 55 and has $180,000 across his ordinary Roth IRAs: $90,000 of regular contributions still available, $30,000 converted from an ordinary Traditional IRA in 2022, and $60,000 of earnings. Of that conversion, $21,000 was taxable when converted and $9,000 was basis. His first Roth contribution was for 2002. Assume no workplace rollovers, special transactions, prior withdrawals or penalty exception. These are alternative scenarios, not successive withdrawals.

If he withdraws $30,000: it all comes from regular contributions. Federal income tax: $0. Additional tax: $0.

If he withdraws $100,000: the first $90,000 is tax- and penalty-free. The next $10,000 comes entirely from the conversion's $21,000 taxable-at-conversion portion—not a proportional mix of taxable dollars and basis. The 2022 conversion's clock finishes on January 1, 2027. In 2026, that $10,000 has no income tax on withdrawal, but carries a $1,000 additional tax.

If he withdraws all $180,000: $99,000 is tax- and penalty-free ($90,000 of contributions plus $9,000 of conversion basis). Another $21,000 has a penalty only. The remaining $60,000 is earnings subject to income tax and a penalty. The 10% additional tax is ($21,000 + $60,000) × 10% = $8,100. His income-tax bill on the earnings depends on his full tax return. A $200,000 request would exceed his balance by $20,000; the tool cannot treat that shortfall as extra earnings.

The takeaway: the withdrawal's size alone does not tell you its tax cost. Which layer it reaches matters—and income tax and the additional tax are two separate questions.

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Methodology & sources

The supported federal tax rules are traced below. The scope exclusions and $1 billion capacity are calculator limits, not legal restrictions on an account. Calculations use 2026 regardless of today's date. Your answers are not sent or saved by this tool; site analytics and cookie choices are separate.

1. Ordering rules (why contributions come out first) expand_more

For the ordinary contribution/Traditional IRA conversion history supported here, IRC §408A(d)(4)(B) and Publication 590-B, Chapter 2, “Ordering Rules for Distributions,” establish this sequence for a nonqualified distribution:

Regular contributions still available after earlier withdrawals.
Traditional IRA conversions, oldest tax year first. Within each year's combined conversions, use the taxable-at-conversion portion before the nontaxable portion.
Earnings.

Layer 1 uses your remaining regular contributions. Layer 2 combines conversions by year and takes each year's taxable-at-conversion portion before its basis portion. Layer 3 is the current balance minus those remaining principal amounts, with a minimum of $0 earnings. After losses, historical basis can exceed the balance; withdrawals are still limited to the actual balance.

Why workplace rollovers stop this tool: under Treasury Regulation §1.408A-10, a nonqualified designated-Roth plan rollover generally carries its investment-in-the-contract portion into the Roth IRA contribution layer and its remainder into earnings. A qualified designated-Roth distribution rolled over has different basis treatment. Separately, recent in-plan Roth conversions can retain an additional-tax recapture rule after the rollover. A generic rollover cannot simply be put in this calculator's conversion list.

2. The two 5-year clocks expand_more

The two clocks modeled here answer different questions:

The earnings clock — governs whether earnings come out tax-free. It starts on January 1 of the tax year of your first Roth IRA contribution or conversion and it runs only once per person across all Roth IRAs. Until it expires (plus 59½/disability/death/first-home), earnings are taxed as ordinary income.

The per-conversion clock — governs whether the taxable portion of a conversion is subject to the 10% penalty if withdrawn before age 59½. Each conversion has its own independent 5-year clock starting January 1 of the conversion year. After 59½, this clock becomes irrelevant.

Reference: IRC §408A(d)(2)(B), Treas. Reg. §1.408A-6 Q&A 5, Pub 590-B Ch. 2.

3. The 10% early-withdrawal penalty and its exceptions expand_more

Without an exception, the 10% additional tax can apply before age 59½ to two different amounts: earnings included in income, and recent conversion principal that was taxable when converted. The latter is not included in income again. Regular contribution dollars are not subject to either charge.

IRC §72(t)(2) includes exceptions for qualifying circumstances. Eligibility, timing and limits vary. Examples include:

First-time home purchase — subject to a lifetime limit and qualifying costs
Qualified higher-education expenses
Unreimbursed medical expenses above 7.5% of AGI
Health insurance after job loss — qualifying unemployment compensation for 12 consecutive weeks (with a specified self-employment rule), premiums and distribution-year/reemployment timing conditions; not simply being out of work for 12 weeks
Total and permanent disability (§72(m)(7))
Substantially equal periodic payments (72(t) / SEPP)
Qualified reservist distributions — a qualifying active-duty order after September 11, 2001 for more than 179 days or an indefinite period, with the distribution during the eligible call-up period
Qualified birth or adoption distributions
Certified terminal illness
Qualifying domestic abuse, disaster recovery or emergency personal expenses

This tool calculates the disability case assuming the IRS definition is met. Other exception selections require review and hide the numbers; they do not automatically erase the penalty. Disability and an eligible first-home distribution can also qualify for income-tax-free earnings once the first-Roth 5-year clock is met.

4. Taxable conversion dollars come before basis expand_more

The example inputs use zero nontaxable conversion basis. That is an illustration, not an assumption about your records or a claim about how common that situation is.

A backdoor Roth involves a nondeductible Traditional IRA contribution followed by a conversion. The amount not taxed at conversion comes from the applicable basis calculation, not automatically the amount just contributed. For an unseasoned conversion withdrawn before 59½ without an exception, the additional tax applies to taxable-at-conversion dollars, not the nontaxable portion. The year's taxable portion comes out first.

Use the nontaxable conversion amount established by your tax records, not the contribution amount alone. A backdoor Roth conversion may include taxable growth even without other IRA balances. For a year with $7,000 of taxable conversion principal and $3,000 of basis, the first $5,000 withdrawn from that layer is entirely from the taxable-at-conversion portion—not 70% of each category.

5. What the tool does not model expand_more

Your actual income-tax bill. We show the amount included in federal income, not the income tax, state tax, withholding or take-home cash. Those depend on more than the inputs here.
Most penalty exceptions. Selecting an exception other than disability stops the numeric result. We do not calculate qualifying expenses, dollar caps, prior use, timing or first-home income-tax relief.
Reconstructing earlier withdrawals. You must enter remaining contribution and conversion amounts from reconciled records. The tool cannot infer them from a current balance. Selecting an uncertain history stops the result.
Inherited Roth IRAs. Beneficiary and distribution rules need a separate analysis. Use our Inherited Roth IRA tool instead.
Workplace-plan rollovers and in-plan Roth recapture. Basis, earnings and any additional-tax history require separate treatment. A rollover is not automatically a Traditional IRA conversion.
Divorce transfers and special histories. SEP/SIMPLE accounts, 529 rollovers, corrective distributions, recharacterizations and special repayments can change the rules or records needed. Select the corresponding stop option; do not force these dollars into the ordinary input fields.
A complete annual tax return. Later transactions and contributions designated for the withdrawal year can change the annual allocation. A snapshot is not final Form 8606 or Form 5329.

6. Primary sources expand_more

IRS Publication 590-B — Chapter 2: qualified distributions, conversion recapture, ordering and aggregation rules
IRC §408A — Roth IRAs (ordering rules, 5-year rules, qualified distribution definition)
IRC §72(t) — 10% additional tax on early distributions and statutory exceptions
Treas. Reg. §1.408A-6 — Distributions (Q&A 1 through 19 cover ordering, 5-year, qualified distributions)
SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, Pub. L. 117-328, Div. T — new §72(t) exceptions phased in 2023–2026
Form 8606 instructions — Roth contribution/conversion records, rollover basis adjustments and Roth SIMPLE cautions
Treas. Reg. §1.408A-10, Q&A 3–4 — designated-Roth rollover layers and the IRA clock
Notice 2010-84, Q&A 12–13 — in-plan Roth conversion recapture, including after an IRA rollover
Form 5329 instructions — additional tax and exceptions
Notice 2022-6 — SEPP/72(t) methods and changes to Rev. Rul. 2002-62; SEPP calculations are not modeled here

Source check: October 29, 2026, using the available 2025 IRS publications/form instructions and cited authorities. Illustration year: 2026. Educational content only; not tax advice or a claim of professional review.

Corrections and updates

October 29, 2026 — Correction: The earlier explanation grouped rollovers too broadly and did not enforce its account-history limits. Results now require an explicit supported-scope choice and stop for workplace rollovers, inherited accounts, divorce transfers and other special or unreconciled histories. We corrected earnings-versus-additional-tax explanations, exception conditions and the Notice 2022-6 citation; added bounded input checks and cent-based amount handling; and preserved the ordinary contribution/conversion examples. These calculator limits do not change the tax law.

September 4, 2026: Corrected overlapping result categories: recent taxable-conversion principal is no longer described as both tax- and penalty-free while also carrying a 10% additional tax. Same-year conversions now use taxable-first ordering, and withdrawals cannot exceed the current balance. The tool distinguishes qualified disability withdrawals from penalty-only relief and asks for review when an exception or incomplete records cannot be calculated. Worked examples and remaining-balance labels were also corrected.

Full correction record and sources