60-day withdrawal from a Roth IRA

Dear Tax Talk,
Am I able to withdraw my contributions and earnings from a Roth IRA and redeposit them to my Roth within a 60-day timeframe without penalties? What are the rules for a 60-day withdrawal from a Roth IRA?
— Chris

Dear Chris,
Yes, the IRS will allow you to withdraw, tax-free (bet you don’t hear that too often), all or part of the assets from one Roth IRA if you contribute them within 60 days to another Roth IRA. Please keep in mind that a rollover is not allowed from a Roth IRA to an employer retirement plan. Additionally, if you have an employee-designated Roth account, the rollover can only be made to another designated Roth account or to a Roth IRA.

Going forward, the five-year period used to determine qualified distributions does not change if you roll over from one Roth IRA to another Roth IRA. The five-year period begins with the first taxable year for which the contribution was made to the initial Roth IRA.

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