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July 17, 2020
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Early withdrawal of Roth IRA for downpayment

  • July 17, 2020
  • 2 replies
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I will be making an early withdrawal of $10,000 from my Roth IRA, which was opened in 2008 for a newly built construction home. However, the home won’t be built until Feb 2021. Along the way, I will be adding upgrades to the home where I will have to put a deposit. The deposit will go into the escrow account and count towards the down payment. I know there’s a rule of spending the withdrawal amount within 120 days. All the upgrades/deposits will be within 120 days. Does this fall in line with purchasing a new home? Thanks

Best answer by macuser_22

If you are over 59 1/2 then it is irreverent.

 

Here are the rules:

 

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p926.pdf

 

First home.

Even if you are under age 59½, you don't have to pay the 10% additional tax on up to $10,000 of distributions you receive to buy, build, or rebuild a first home. To qualify for treatment as a first-time homebuyer distribution, the distribution must meet all the following requirements.

  1. It must be used to pay qualified acquisition costs (defined next) before the close of the 120th day after the day you received it.

  2. It must be used to pay qualified acquisition costs for the main home of a first-time homebuyer (defined below) who is any of the following.

    1. Yourself.

    2. Your spouse.

    3. Your or your spouse's child.

    4. Your or your spouse's grandchild.

    5. Your or your spouse's parent or other ancestor.

  3. When added to all your prior qualified first-time homebuyer distributions, if any, total qualifying distributions can't be more than $10,000.

If both you and your spouse are first-time homebuyers (defined later), each of you can receive distributions up to $10,000 for a first home without having to pay the 10% additional tax.

 

Qualified acquisition costs.

Qualified acquisition costs include the following items.

  • Costs of buying, building, or rebuilding a home.

  • Any usual or reasonable settlement, financing, or other closing costs.

First-time homebuyer.

Generally, you are a first-time homebuyer if you had no present interest in a main home during the 2-year period ending on the date of acquisition of the home which the distribution is being used to buy, build, or rebuild. If you are married, your spouse must also meet this no-ownership requirement.

 

Date of acquisition.

The date of acquisition is the date that:

  • You enter into a binding contract to buy the main home for which the distribution is being used, or

  • The building or rebuilding of the main home for which the distribution is being used begins.

If you received a distribution to buy, build, or rebuild a first home and the purchase or construction was canceled or delayed, you could generally contribute the amount of the distribution to an IRA within 120 days of the distribution and not pay income tax or the 10% additional tax on early distributions. This contribution is treated as a rollover contribution to the IRA.

2 replies

macuser_22
July 18, 2020

If you are over 59 1/2 then it is irreverent.

 

Here are the rules:

 

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p926.pdf

 

First home.

Even if you are under age 59½, you don't have to pay the 10% additional tax on up to $10,000 of distributions you receive to buy, build, or rebuild a first home. To qualify for treatment as a first-time homebuyer distribution, the distribution must meet all the following requirements.

  1. It must be used to pay qualified acquisition costs (defined next) before the close of the 120th day after the day you received it.

  2. It must be used to pay qualified acquisition costs for the main home of a first-time homebuyer (defined below) who is any of the following.

    1. Yourself.

    2. Your spouse.

    3. Your or your spouse's child.

    4. Your or your spouse's grandchild.

    5. Your or your spouse's parent or other ancestor.

  3. When added to all your prior qualified first-time homebuyer distributions, if any, total qualifying distributions can't be more than $10,000.

If both you and your spouse are first-time homebuyers (defined later), each of you can receive distributions up to $10,000 for a first home without having to pay the 10% additional tax.

 

Qualified acquisition costs.

Qualified acquisition costs include the following items.

  • Costs of buying, building, or rebuilding a home.

  • Any usual or reasonable settlement, financing, or other closing costs.

First-time homebuyer.

Generally, you are a first-time homebuyer if you had no present interest in a main home during the 2-year period ending on the date of acquisition of the home which the distribution is being used to buy, build, or rebuild. If you are married, your spouse must also meet this no-ownership requirement.

 

Date of acquisition.

The date of acquisition is the date that:

  • You enter into a binding contract to buy the main home for which the distribution is being used, or

  • The building or rebuilding of the main home for which the distribution is being used begins.

If you received a distribution to buy, build, or rebuild a first home and the purchase or construction was canceled or delayed, you could generally contribute the amount of the distribution to an IRA within 120 days of the distribution and not pay income tax or the 10% additional tax on early distributions. This contribution is treated as a rollover contribution to the IRA.

**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**
July 31, 2020

For a Roth IRA, you may withdraw principal contributions tax-free at any time.  You only have to worry about tax and penalties if you are dipping into the income (growth).

 

If you are dipping into the growth, then that part of the distribution will be subject to income tax and a 10% penalty if you are under age 59-1/2.  You can be exempt from the 10% penalty using the first time home buyer rule.  In the case of a home under construction, the 120 days counts backwards from when you start living in the home (it is complete and you have a C/O and move in). 

 

March 13, 2022

How do you document that your withdrawal is principal and not earnings? We mistakenly made an early withdrawal 22 days before actual 59 1/2 and can't understand how not to pay the full 10% and penalty?

macuser_22
March 13, 2022

@tam3rd wrote:

How do you document that your withdrawal is principal and not earnings? We mistakenly made an early withdrawal 22 days before actual 59 1/2 and can't understand how not to pay the full 10% and penalty?


You must keep track of your own contributions using your records.

 

You can always withdraw your own Roth contributions tax and penalty free.

Enter a 1099-R here:

Federal Taxes,
Wages & Income
I’ll choose what I work on (if that screen comes up),
Retirement Plans & Social Security,
IRA, 401(k), Pension Plan Withdrawals (1099-R).

OR Use the "Tools" menu (if online version under My Account) and then "Search Topics" for "1099-R" which will take you to the same place.

Be sure to choose which spouse the 1099-R is for if this is a joint tax return.
Be sure to pick the correct 1099-R type: Standard 1099-R, CSA-1099-R, CSF-1099-R, RRB-1099-R.

[NOTE: When you get to the "Your 1099-R Entries" screen where you can add another 1099-R, use "continue" to keep going as there are additional interview questions after that screen in most cases. You can always return as shown above.]

One of the followup questions will ask for your prior year** contributions not previously withdrawn. Those contributions that still remain in the Roth will not be taxed or subject to a early withdrawal penalty. That will add a 8606 form to your tax return with the Roth contribution and tax calculation in part III.

Note: **Prior year - any current year Roth contributions should be entered into the IRA contributions section. They will not show up in the prior years contributions but will be accounted for on the 8606 form that calculates the taxable amount.

**Disclaimer: This post is for discussion purposes only and is NOT tax advice. The author takes no responsibility for the accuracy of any information in this post.**