I bought a house in 2022 and needed some extra cash for it, so I withdrew $15,000 from my Roth IRA with Vanguard. After the withdrawal, the account still had $10,000 left in it. I’d been putting in $3,000 to $5,000 every year for a while, and my market earnings were around $4,000.
Now I’ve received a letter from the IRS saying I owe about $5,000 in taxes on that $15,000 and asking me to file form 8606 if I think it shouldn’t be taxed. From what I know, I should be allowed to withdraw up to the amount I contributed without paying tax since that money was already taxed before it went into the account. You only get taxed if you withdraw more than your contributions and start dipping into the earnings. Am I getting this right?
For example, if I’ve put in $15,000 and my account grew to $20,000, I should be able to take out $15,000 tax-free. If I took out $16,000, I’d have to pay tax on the extra $1,000, right?
Yeah, you’ve got it right. When you withdraw from a Roth IRA, you’re supposed to file form 8606 to tell the IRS that you’re only taking out contributions and not earnings.
If they ask for proof, you can show them form 5498s from previous years that show how much you’ve contributed.
It sounds like the IRS is just asking you to file that form for the year you made the withdrawal. If your withdrawal was less than your total contributions, you shouldn’t owe any taxes.
@Ren
This is correct. Also, if you’re using the money to buy your first home (or haven’t owned one in the past few years), you can withdraw up to $10k from a Roth IRA without paying the 10% early withdrawal penalty. You’ll still owe income tax if you’re withdrawing earnings, though.
@Ren
Actually, up to $10k for a first-time home purchase is considered a qualified distribution, meaning no taxes or penalties, even if it’s from earnings.
If you take money out early from a Roth IRA, you need to report it on your tax return. What you did counts as a non-taxable distribution, but the IRS flagged it because it didn’t see the right forms.
Just respond to the IRS with a correctly filled-out form 8606, and you should be good.
You should check out IRS publications 590-B (withdrawals) and 590-A (contributions). They explain how this stuff works and can help you understand your situation better.
You’re right—you can withdraw up to the amount you’ve contributed tax-free because it’s a Roth IRA. For example, if you put in $12.5k and the account grew to $25k, you could take out $12.5k without paying taxes. But if you touch the gains, it becomes taxable. Just file that form and you should be fine. Sounds like either the wrong form was filed or none was filed at all.
Did you forget to file the proper forms with your tax return? I took $11k from my Roth IRA for closing costs on my first house and had to include form 8606 and form 5329 (with exception code 9). Some free tax software doesn’t cover Roth withdrawals, so maybe that’s what happened?
@Lennon
If it’s for a first-time home purchase, you can take out up to $10k of earnings without paying the 10% early withdrawal penalty, as long as the account is at least 5 years old.