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The Daily Insight

How to withdraw money from an IRA to buy a house?

Author

Mia Ramsey

Published Feb 13, 2026

The Best Way to Use Your IRA to Buy a House. 1 Withdraw from a Roth IRA account that’s at least five years old. 2 Make the withdrawal within 120 days of your house acquisition date or during the construction process. 3 Only withdraw up to $10,000 from your Roth IRA and your spouse’s Roth IRA.

Can you withdraw money from an IRA without penalty?

Under normal circumstances, you cannot withdraw money from your traditional individual retirement account (IRA) without facing a penalty tax until you reach age 59.5. You can, however, avoid this sanction if you make an IRA hardship withdrawal.

How old do you have to be to withdraw money from an IRA?

Normally, you can’t withdraw money from your traditional individual retirement account (IRA) until you reach age 59.5 without facing a penalty tax.

When to take money out of an IRA?

For example, if you saved $100,000 in your IRA, you could withdraw the entire $100,000 or withdraw $10,000 a year, so long as $10,000 meets the required minimum distribution. You are free to withdraw as much money as you like from a traditional IRA without penalty after age 59 1/2.

Can a spouse withdraw from a Roth IRA for a down payment?

Alternatively, you can withdraw up to $10,000 penalty-free for the purchase of a home for your spouse, parents, children, or grandchildren. Just like with a Roth IRA, your spouse can also withdraw $10,000 from his or her traditional IRA, so you can collectively obtain $20,000 penalty-free for a down payment if you’re married.

Can a Roth IRA be used to purchase a home?

So if you and your wife have qualifying Roth IRAs, you could pull money out of your accounts and use it for your home purchase tax-free. In fact, withdrawals of contributions from a Roth IRA can be withdrawn at any age without tax consequence since they are always made after-tax.

How much can I withdraw from my 401k for a home purchase?

In addition, after you’ve held the account for five years, you can withdraw up to $10,000 in earnings without penalty or tax for the purchase, repair, or remodel of a first home. In other words, if you withdraw all of your contributions, you can still withdraw another $10,000 and not pay the 10% penalty or taxes on any of it.