Most people think a Roth IRA is a locked box until retirement.
It is not.
You can always take out your contributions tax free.
Why? Because you already paid taxes on that money going in.
If you put in seventy thousand over ten years and it grew to one hundred twenty thousand, you can still pull your seventy without penalty.
What you cannot touch early is the fifty thousand in growth.
That stays locked until you hit fifty nine and a half and the account is five years old.
The catch is simple. Report it right on form 8606 or the IRS will treat you like you took earnings and hit you with penalties.
