• The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has established withdrawal rules for Roth Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), which are listed IRS Publication 590. Contributions to Roth IRAs are not deductible for tax purposes, generally withdrawals are not taxable. Withdrawal rules for Roth IRAs are quite straightforward. There are several rules you will need to pay attention to.
  
  

No Required Distributions

• You are not required to take distributions from your Roth IRA at any age. This is different from traditional IRAs where required minimum distributions (RMDs) must be taken no later than April of the year after you turn 70 ½.
  
  

Removal of Contributions

• You may remove contributions made to a Roth IRA for a tax year prior to the due date of your return for that year, without regard to your age. There is no age limit on making contributions to a Roth IRA.
  
  

Inherited Roth IRAs

• Generally you must remove all assets from an inherited IRA within five years. A spouse beneficiary is allowed to maintain the Roth IRA in his or her name. These rules are not age dependent.
  
  

Age 59 ½ Rules

• Withdrawals made prior to age 59 ½, or before the account is five years old, may be subject to an early withdrawal penalty, unless an exception applies. For example, you establish a Roth IRA when you are age 57. You must be age 62 (account five years old) to take withdrawals without early distribution penalty.
  
  

Conversion Roth IRAs

• Withdrawals from Roth IRAs funded by conversion from a traditional IRA or qualified plan are subject to an early distribution penalty if the withdrawals are made within five years of the conversion. There are exceptions for hardship, disability, education expenses, and other exceptions. Exceptions are detailed in IRS Publication 590.
  
  

Caution

• You cannot use withdrawals from a Roth IRA to meet your post age 70 ½ RMDs from a traditional IRA.