Borrowing from Roth IRA for 60 days and then returning the same securi

[Guest Alexspencer]

Can I remove securities from my conversion Roth IRA for 60 days and then transfer them back into my Roth IRA without any penalty or tax similar to the way it was previously, using a traditional IRA? I have a short term need to use the borrowing power of these securities and I plan to return them in their exact form within 60 days to my Roth IRA. Does anyone know if this is allowed or not?

[Appleby]

Absolutely. The 60-day rollover rule that applies to traditional IRA also applies to Roth IRAs.

[John G]

You should understand that this kind of transaction does have dangers associated with missing the 60 day period. For example, after day 55 you send a letter to the custodian, but they fail to execute the instructions in a timely fashion. Lots of small things can go wrong and the time period is fixed. Run this idea past your accountant or tax preparer and see if he/she thinks it is a good idea.... my guess is that they will also think of the severe downside of not getting the yolk back into the egg on time.

Let's say something messes up the timing and you want to put restore the account.... under most circumstances you must wait a year to try it again.

If it was a regular IRA, you would have tax witholding to deal with as well.

[mbozek]

Remember that there can be only one rollover from the IRA within any 12 month period. The second withdrawal is treated as a taxable distribution. However a transfer from a regular IRA to a Roth IRA does not count toward this limit. Also the amount that can be rolled back to the IRA cannot exceed the amount recieved, e.g, any dividends paid during the 60 day period will be taxed as income to the IRA owner. I would be very wary of using the securities as collateral for any loan because the lender may not release the securities before the expiration of the 60 day period or sell the securities.

John: There is no withholding on regular IRAs because the owner can opt out of voluntary 10% withholding. If the funds are returned within 60 days there is no taxable distributoin.