A Roth IRA withdrawal can contain dollars with different tax rules. This tool separates them so you can see which part has no federal income tax or penalty, which part has a penalty only, and which part is taxable income. It is a planning aid for your own Roth IRAs, not a tax-return calculator.
Most Roth owners don't realize that a "withdrawal" is actually a stack of potentially different tax treatments. The first dollars out are always your basis (original contributions), which come out tax- and penalty-free, always. After that, you're pulling conversion principal on a FIFO basis, and each year's conversion has its own five-year clock. Only after exhausting conversions do you touch earnings, which is where most of the tax and penalty exposure lives.
Who should use this tool
Use it when you know your remaining regular contributions and conversion history and want to understand a possible withdrawal. It calculates ordinary owner withdrawals and the IRS disability case. Other exceptions require a separate review, so selecting one hides the numeric result rather than assuming unlimited relief.
For an inherited account, use the Inherited Roth IRA tool. This tool does not determine beneficiary deadlines or inherited-account treatment.
Over-59½ Roth owners whose Roth is at least five years old can skip this tool — everything is qualified, tax- and penalty-free.
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 Add the regular contributions across your Roth IRAs and subtract contribution dollars already withdrawn.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 conversion principal, including both the part that was taxable when converted and the basis portion that was not. Subtract earlier withdrawals from the correct layers first. If you enter multiple rows for one year, the tool combines them and takes that year's taxable-at-conversion dollars before its basis dollars.
Earnings to date. The current account value minus basis minus conversion principal. The tool can compute this automatically if you enter your current balance.
Proposed withdrawal amount. The dollars you're thinking about taking out.
Your age and whether the Roth has been open five years. Both triggers matter for whether earnings qualify as tax-free.
How to read the result
The tool returns a stacked bar showing how the withdrawal is layered: contributions first (always clean), then conversion principal by year (penalty-subject if within five years of the conversion and under 59½), then earnings (taxable plus penalty if not qualified). Each layer shows dollars, tax, and penalty separately.
The three headline amounts add up to the withdrawal. Below them, the tool shows the 10% additional-tax bill separately. It does not calculate the income-tax bill, take-home cash, withholding, or a next-year comparison. “Subject to income tax” is the amount included in 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 Roth IRAs: $90,000 of regular contributions still available, $30,000 converted 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 prior withdrawals and no 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.