Roth IRA Contributions for Home Purchase

[Guest mischni]

My wife and I are planning on purchasing our first home in the next few months. I have been contributing to a Roth IRA since 2001, so the account is not old enough to withdraw any of the earnings. My question is, can I still withdraw my contributions to use toward a down payment for the house without paying additional taxes or the 10% penalty? Thanks for your help.

[ElGuapo]

Regular annual contributions (not conversions from a traditional IRA) can always be withdrawn tax- and penalty-free. If your distribution meets the rules for a qualified first-time home purchase, you could even take out the earnings and pay only the tax (no penalty), but obviously that would be a last resort. For detailed rules on the subject see Publication 590, beginning on page 59.