Check 5-year rule eligibility for tax-free Roth withdrawals.
Earnings withdrawable tax-free?
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5-year rule complete
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Age 59½ requirement
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Your breakdown
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Two clocks, one common confusion
The phrase "Roth 5-year rule" actually covers two separate rules that people constantly mix up, and getting them straight is the whole game. The first governs earnings: to pull investment gains out of a Roth IRA completely tax-free, your very first Roth contribution must be at least five tax years old and you must be 59 and a half or older. The second governs converted dollars: each Roth conversion starts its own five-year clock, and withdrawing that converted principal before the clock runs (and before 59 and a half) triggers the 10 percent early-withdrawal penalty. This checker models the earnings clock, the five-years-plus-59-and-a-half test that makes a distribution "qualified." It is not tracking the per-conversion penalty clock, which is a different calculation tied to each conversion's date.
Tracing a 2020 Roth to 2026
Run the defaults: a first Roth contribution in 2020, the current year 2026, and a current age of 55. The tool checks both conditions for a qualified, tax-free withdrawal of earnings.
Even though the five-year clock cleared two years ago, this saver still cannot touch earnings tax-free because the age requirement is the binding constraint. Both gates must open. The chart lays the two clocks side by side so you can see which one finishes last.
What this checker watches, and what it does not
Worth being precise about scope. This tool confirms whether a fully qualified distribution is available, meaning earnings come out tax-free and penalty-free. It does not track individual conversion dates, so if your situation involves money you converted from a traditional IRA, the separate per-conversion five-year clock for penalty purposes is not part of this output. It also assumes a tax year, not a rolling 365-day count: a contribution made in early 2020 for tax year 2019 actually starts the clock on January 1, 2019, which can shave a year off the wait. A common mistake is counting calendar days instead of tax years and concluding you have longer to go than you really do.
The ordering rules that save most early withdrawals
Here is the practical comfort most people miss. The IRS applies Roth withdrawals in a fixed order: your direct contributions first, then converted amounts, then earnings last. Your own contributions can always come out tax-free and penalty-free, at any age, for any reason, because you already paid tax on that money. So even if neither clock has run, you can typically access what you put in without consequence. The five-year rule and the 59-and-a-half age test only matter once you start dipping into earnings. That ordering is why a Roth IRA doubles as a flexible backstop, not just a retirement account.
Do exceptions let me take earnings out early without penalty?
Some. Even before 59 and a half, you can withdraw up to $10,000 of earnings penalty-free for a first-time home purchase once the five-year clock is met, and there are exceptions for disability, certain medical costs, and a beneficiary after death. But penalty-free is not the same as tax-free: if the five-year rule is not satisfied, the earnings can still be taxable even when the 10 percent penalty is waived. Read the qualified-distribution rules in Publication 590-B carefully before relying on an exception.
If I open a brand-new Roth at 60, can I withdraw earnings immediately?
No. The five-year clock is keyed to your first Roth IRA contribution ever, and a brand-new Roth opened at 60 has not cleared it, so earnings stay off limits tax-free for five years even though you are well past 59 and a half. The fix is to open and fund a Roth IRA early, even with a small amount, so the clock is already running when you need it later.