Yes, you can take money out of an IRA at any time — the account is yours and no custodian can block a distribution request. What it costs you is the real question. The answer depends on your age, whether the account is Traditional or Roth, how long you’ve held it, and why you’re taking the money out. In some situations you’ll owe ordinary income tax plus a 10% penalty; in others you’ll owe nothing at all.
Traditional IRA Withdrawals
Traditional IRA contributions are generally made with pre-tax dollars, so the IRS treats every dollar you withdraw as ordinary income.1Internal Revenue Service. Traditional IRAs That income stacks on top of whatever else you earned during the year and is taxed at your marginal rate, which for 2026 ranges from 10% to 37%.2Internal Revenue Service. IRS Releases Tax Inflation Adjustments for Tax Year 2026
If any of your contributions over the years were nondeductible — money you put in after already paying taxes on it — that portion isn’t taxed again. You’ll file Form 8606 with your return to calculate how much of the withdrawal is taxable and how much is your already-taxed basis.3Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 451, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
A large withdrawal can push you into a higher bracket for the year. If you normally earn $50,000 and pull $40,000 from a Traditional IRA, you’re taxed as if you earned $90,000. Spreading a big distribution across two or more tax years often costs less than taking it in a single lump.
Roth IRA Withdrawals
Roth IRAs work differently because you funded them with money you already paid taxes on. You can withdraw your original contributions at any time, at any age, with no taxes and no penalty. No waiting period, no conditions.
Earnings on those contributions are treated differently. To pull out investment gains tax-free and penalty-free, both of these must be true: you’re at least 59½, and the account has been open for at least five taxable years.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 408A – Roth IRAs A distribution meeting both requirements is a “qualified distribution” and is entirely excluded from income.
When you take money out of a Roth, the IRS treats it as coming from your contributions first, then any conversion amounts, and finally earnings. That ordering is what makes Roth accounts flexible for emergencies. Most people can access a meaningful amount before reaching the earnings layer, where taxes and penalties start to apply.
The 10% Early Withdrawal Penalty
If you’re younger than 59½ and withdraw from a Traditional IRA, the IRS adds a 10% additional tax on top of ordinary income taxes.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 72 – Annuities; Certain Proceeds of Endowment and Life Insurance Contracts On a $20,000 withdrawal in the 22% bracket, that’s roughly $4,400 in income tax plus another $2,000 in penalty, so you net about $13,600 from your own money. That math is why early withdrawal from a Traditional IRA should be a last resort.
For Roth IRAs, the 10% penalty applies only to the earnings portion of an early withdrawal, and only if no exception applies. Since contributions come out first and are always penalty-free, many Roth holders under 59½ can take money out without triggering the penalty at all.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 557, Additional Tax on Early Distributions From Traditional and Roth IRAs
Exceptions That Waive the Penalty
Federal law lets you access IRA funds before 59½ without the 10% additional tax in specific situations. Income tax still applies to Traditional IRA withdrawals in these cases; the exceptions only remove the penalty layer. The most commonly used ones:
- First-time home purchase, up to $10,000 over your lifetime, applied to buying, building, or rebuilding a principal residence. The buyer cannot have owned a home in the prior two years, and the funds must be used within 120 days of the distribution.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 72 – Annuities; Certain Proceeds of Endowment and Life Insurance Contracts
- Higher education expenses — tuition, fees, books, and room and board for you, your spouse, children, or grandchildren at an eligible institution.8Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions
- Unreimbursed medical expenses above 7.5% of your adjusted gross income.8Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Exceptions to Tax on Early Distributions
- Health insurance premiums while unemployed, if you’ve received unemployment compensation for at least 12 consecutive weeks.
- Total and permanent disability.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 72 – Annuities; Certain Proceeds of Endowment and Life Insurance Contracts
- Emergency personal expenses. Starting in 2024, you can withdraw up to $1,000 per year for an unforeseeable personal financial emergency without penalty. If you don’t repay it within three years, you can’t take another emergency distribution during that period.9Internal Revenue Service. Notice 2024-55, Certain Exceptions to the 10 Percent Additional Tax Under Code Section 72(t)
Substantially Equal Periodic Payments
One exception deserves its own explanation because it’s powerful but unforgiving. A Substantially Equal Periodic Payment plan (often called SEPP or the 72(t) rule) lets you take regular annual withdrawals before 59½ without penalty, provided the payments continue for at least five years or until you turn 59½, whichever is later.10Internal Revenue Service. Substantially Equal Periodic Payments
The withdrawal amount must follow one of the IRS-approved calculation methods, and you cannot change or stop the payments early. If you modify the schedule before the required period ends, the IRS applies the 10% penalty retroactively to every distribution you took under the plan, plus interest.10Internal Revenue Service. Substantially Equal Periodic Payments This is where most people who attempt SEPP run into trouble. Life changes, and the plan doesn’t flex with it.
When You Must Start Taking Money Out
Traditional IRA owners eventually have to start withdrawing whether they want to or not. The age when Required Minimum Distributions begin depends on your birth year: for people born between 1951 and 1959, distributions must start at 73; for people born in 1960 or later, the starting age is 75.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 401 – Qualified Pension, Profit-Sharing, and Stock Bonus Plans
Your first RMD is due by April 1 of the year after you reach the applicable age. Every RMD after that is due by December 31.12Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Plan and IRA Required Minimum Distributions FAQs Delaying that first distribution to April means you take two RMDs in the same calendar year — the delayed first one and the regular one due by December 31 — which can create an unexpectedly high tax bill.
Miss an RMD and you face a 25% excise tax on the shortfall between what you should have withdrawn and what you actually took. If you correct the mistake and take the missing distribution before the earlier of an IRS notice or the end of the second tax year after the penalty was imposed, the rate drops to 10%.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 4974 – Excise Tax on Certain Accumulations in Qualified Retirement Plans
Roth IRAs have no RMDs during the owner’s lifetime. You can let the balance grow indefinitely, which makes Roth accounts useful for estate planning.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 U.S.C. 408A – Roth IRAs
Inherited IRAs Follow Different Rules
If you inherit an IRA rather than own one, the rules above don’t apply the same way. A surviving spouse has the most flexibility and can roll the inherited IRA into their own, treating it as if it had always been theirs.14Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Beneficiary
Most non-spouse beneficiaries who inherited from someone who died in 2020 or later must empty the entire account within 10 years of the owner’s death. Whether annual distributions are required during that 10-year window depends on whether the original owner had reached RMD age. If the owner died after reaching RMD age, the beneficiary must take distributions in years one through nine and withdraw whatever remains by the end of year 10. If the owner died before reaching RMD age, the beneficiary has more flexibility on timing but must still drain the account by the 10-year deadline.14Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Beneficiary
A few beneficiaries are exempt from the 10-year rule: minor children of the original owner (until they reach the age of majority), people who are chronically ill or disabled, and beneficiaries who are no more than 10 years younger than the deceased owner. These “eligible designated beneficiaries” can stretch distributions over their own life expectancy.
How to Actually Request the Withdrawal
The mechanical process is simpler than the tax rules. Most custodians let you initiate a distribution through their website or app, though some still require a paper form by mail or fax. You’ll need your account number, the dollar amount or percentage, and your Social Security number for identity verification.
On the distribution form, you’ll select the type of withdrawal — normal, early, or early with an exception. That classification determines how the custodian reports the distribution on the Form 1099-R you’ll receive the following January. If the form miscodes your withdrawal as a regular early distribution when an exception applies, you’ll fix it on your return using Form 5329.
Tax Withholding
The form asks whether you want federal income tax withheld. The default rate on IRA distributions is 10% of the taxable amount, and you can request a higher rate or opt out entirely.6Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 557, Additional Tax on Early Distributions From Traditional and Roth IRAs Opting out doesn’t reduce what you owe. It just means you pay the full amount when you file, and you may need to make estimated tax payments to avoid an underpayment penalty.
State tax withholding rules vary. Some states require minimum withholding whenever federal taxes are withheld; others let you opt out of state withholding separately.
Timing
Once you submit the request, expect three to seven business days for processing. Funds can go by electronic transfer to a linked bank account or as a mailed check. If your withdrawal requires selling investments rather than drawing from cash inside the IRA, the trade settlement period may add a day or two.
Some custodians require a medallion signature guarantee for certain transactions, typically when sending funds to a new bank account, mailing a check to an address that doesn’t match their records, or rolling money to an employer-sponsored plan. You can get a medallion guarantee at most banks or credit unions where you hold an account.