Roth IRA Rules 2026: What a Roth IRA Is, Who Can Contribute, and When Withdrawals Are Tax-Free

What is a Roth IRA, and what are the rules?

A Roth IRA is an IRA you fund with after-tax money: contributions are not deductible, and qualified distributions are tax-free (IRS: Roth IRAs). For 2026 you can put in $7,500 ($8,600 at 50 or older) across all your IRAs if your modified AGI is under $153,000 single or $242,000 married filing jointly; the amount phases out to zero at $168,000 and $252,000 (IRS Notice 2025-67). A withdrawal is qualified when the account is past its 5-year period and you are 59½ or older, disabled, a beneficiary after your death, or using up to $10,000 for a first home (Publication 590-B). Anything else comes out in a fixed order: contributions first (never taxed again), then conversions, then earnings, and the earnings are taxable with a 10% additional tax before 59½. Example: a 45-year-old who has put in $40,000 and earned $15,000 takes out $50,000: $40,000 is tax-free, $10,000 is taxable earnings, and the 10% additional tax is $1,000.

Roth IRA key numbers for 2026.
Key number	2026
IRA contribution limit (Roth + traditional combined) (Notice 2025-67)	$7,500
At 50 or older (Notice 2025-67)	$8,600
Single / head of household: phase-out range (MAGI) (Notice 2025-67)	$153,000 to $168,000
Married filing jointly: phase-out range (MAGI) (Notice 2025-67)	$242,000 to $252,000
First-home distribution, lifetime (Pub. 590-B)	$10,000

Figures are the published 2026 limits quoted from the linked official sources; the calculators below are arithmetic on those limits and on the assumptions you type. Not tax advice: check a move with your plan administrator, custodian or tax preparer before acting.

Is my Roth IRA withdrawal tax-free?

Amount you want to take out in 2026 ($)

Tax year of your first Roth IRA contribution

Regular contributions you have made in total ($)

Conversions and rollovers made in 2021 or earlier ($)

Conversions and rollovers made in 2022 or later ($)

Earnings in the account ($)

Why are you taking it?

I am 59½ or older when I take it

Federal rules from Publication 590-B only: other exceptions to the 10% tax, state tax, and the extra rules for inherited Roth IRAs are not modelled. The first-home reason treats up to the lifetime limit as qualified. Conversions are listed by calendar year because each has its own 5-year clock that starts on January 1 of the year it was made.

Roth IRA rules, one by one

The Roth IRA rules that decide most questions, with the official source for each
Rule	What it says
Contributions	Not deductible. $7,500 ($8,600 at 50+) across all your IRAs, up to your taxable compensation; you can still make a 2026 deposit until the 2027 filing deadline (Pub. 590-A)
Income limit	Reduced from $153,000 (single) or $242,000 (joint) of modified AGI, zero from $168,000 and $252,000 (Notice 2025-67)
Age	No age limit for contributions if you have compensation; you can leave the money in as long as you live (IRS)
Required distributions	None while you are alive: withdrawals from Roth IRAs are not required until after the owner’s death (IRS RMD FAQs)
Qualified distribution	Made after the 5-year period that begins with the first tax year for which you made a Roth IRA contribution, and on or after 59½, because of disability, to a beneficiary after death, or for a first home up to $10,000 (Pub. 590-B)
Order of withdrawals	Regular contributions first, then conversion and rollover amounts (oldest first), then earnings (Pub. 590-B, ordering rules)
Withdrawing contributions	Come out tax-free and penalty-free at any age, because you already paid tax on them
Conversions	Not taxed again, but a separate 5-year period applies to each: take the converted amount out sooner, under 59½, and the 10% additional tax applies to the part you included in income (Pub. 590-B)
Earnings	Taxable, plus the 10% additional tax under 59½ unless an exception applies, when the distribution is not qualified

The 5-year rule is really two rules

One clock starts with the first tax year you contributed to any Roth IRA and decides whether earnings are tax-free. A separate clock starts with each conversion and decides whether the 10% additional tax hits the converted amount if you are under 59½. They are not the same period (Publication 590-B gives the example: a regular contribution for 2024 and a conversion in 2025 have different start dates). More on the clocks: Roth 5-year rule.

Roth IRA against traditional IRA

A traditional IRA deposit may be deductible and its withdrawals are taxed; a Roth deposit is not deductible and its qualified withdrawals are not taxed, and only the traditional IRA has required minimum distributions during your life (IRS Roth comparison chart). Which is better depends on your tax rate now against later: Roth IRA calculator runs your numbers.

Roth 401(k) is different

A designated Roth account in a 401(k) or 403(b) has its own, much higher, limits and different rules; see 401(k) contribution limits 2026 and your 401(k) maximum.

Paid tool Roth rules tell you what is tax-free once the money is in; the question that costs real money is how much to convert from a traditional balance, and in which years. The Roth Conversion Planner works out how much to convert in each year from now to your plan end age: the federal and state tax each conversion costs, the IRMAA tier that year’s MAGI sets two years later, and the ACA subsidy it affects — beside the same years with no conversions, and downloadable as a PDF you keep. A planning tool, not advice: the numbers move when your assumptions do. Build my conversion schedule — Personal PRO ($49) → Roth Conversion Planner: see what is included, and price this year free, first →

Roth rules decide what is tax-free; the bigger question is how much traditional money to move into Roth, and when. QuantCalc runs the whole retirement — withdrawals, taxes, Medicare surcharges — year by year.

Run the free tax-aware simulation →

Common questions

What is a Roth IRA?

An IRA funded with after-tax money: contributions are not deductible and qualified distributions, including the earnings, are tax-free (IRS: Roth IRAs). For 2026 the limit is $7,500, or $8,600 at 50 or older.

What is the 5-year rule for a Roth IRA?

Earnings are tax-free only if the first contribution to any Roth IRA was made for a tax year at least five years back and you are 59½, disabled, a beneficiary, or buying a first home (Pub. 590-B). A separate 5-year period applies to each conversion for the 10% additional tax.

Can I withdraw Roth IRA contributions at any time?

Yes. Regular contributions come out first and are not taxed again or penalised at any age; only earnings, and recent conversions under 59½, can be taxed (Pub. 590-B). The checker above splits a withdrawal for you.

Does a Roth IRA have required minimum distributions?

Not for the owner: withdrawals from Roth IRAs are not required until after the owner’s death (IRS RMD FAQs).

What are the Roth IRA income limits for 2026?

A full contribution below $153,000 of modified AGI (single) or $242,000 (married filing jointly), phased out to zero at $168,000 and $252,000 (IRS Notice 2025-67). See Roth IRA income limits 2026 for the reduced-limit calculator.

How much of a first-home withdrawal is penalty-free?

Up to $10,000 over your lifetime for a first-time homebuyer (Pub. 590-B). It must be used within 120 days of receiving it.

Sources

Roth IRA calculator → Roth IRA income limits 2026 → IRA contribution limits 2026 → Roth 5-year rule → Roth conversion rules → Backdoor Roth calculator → RMD rules 2026 → Max 401(k) contribution 2026 →