my bank says i lose 20% of my ira roth, if i close it before 59 1/2. i thought it was 10 % of the interest?

Question

how can they take 20% of the principal?

Answer 1

that would be the penalty that the irs collects if you take the proceeds in cash. if you roll the money to another qualified retirement plan (please check with your tax advisor and the irs) there should be little to no penalty. the bank may charge other fees based on the type of account.

Answer 2

What the bank told you does not sound right.

There is a 20% withholding tax that applies to any distribution from a traditional IRA that you receive in cash, but that's just a withholding tax--you can get it back when you file your tax return if you owe less in taxes. I would be surprised if this applies to Roth IRAs, but it might.

As I understand it, the 10% penalty applies to the earnings of the Roth and also applies amounts rolled over from traditional IRAs, if you opened you first Roth account less than 5 years ago.

You should ask your bank to clarify.

Answer 3

If you indeed own a ROTH IRA, then you have received incorrect information. If you have owned your ROTH for five years, you can withdraw ALL $ totally tax and penalty FREE. Even the growth on a ROTH is NON taxable.
Let me repeat this, if you have had this Roth account for five years, ALL of the principal and interest is YOUR without paying any tax or penalties.
Check it out! This is what the ROTH is all about.

Good Luck and Best Wishes!

Answer 4

they probably mean There is a 10% penalty for early withdrawal you pay the federal gov. You also have pay !0% tax up front. At the end of the year you pay the rest of the tax. You could actually lose 35% to taxes plus the penalty. An IRA is tax free until its taken out once it is taken out it counts as regular income.

Instead of taking it out see if its possible to borrow the money from your account. You do have make payment just like a loan and the interest is tax deductable.

think twice!

Answer 5

The person you are talking to is confused. Go to the irs.gov website and get the publication on tax treatment of Roth IRA. There is mandatory 20% withholding on retirement plan distributions. Maybe that is what they were thinking of.

Answer 6

There could be a contingent deferred surrender charge on the investment made. The question is what is the investment you made. Look at the small print. If that is ok, look at the ROTH IRS rules as if you do not keep the money in there for at least 5 years, then you can also be penalized.

Answer 7

I don't know, but my bank did the same thing. Supposedly this is federal tax for early withdrawal. It wasn't a huge amount, I only had $8,000 in there and only got $6,400 when I closed it out at 54 years old. Oh, well, live and learn, I guess.

Answer 8

Dont close it Have it rolled to a CD account so you dont pay ints, pnpl. Good Luck Do an annual to regain loss

Answer 9

Maybe, there is a percentage of tax taken off.