- The IRS limits the amount of money you can contribute to a Roth 401k account, and the amount is subject to change at any time. For 2010 and 2011, the Roth 401k limit was $16,500. If you were age 50 or older, the IRS permitted a catch-up contribution of an additional $5,500. Unlike with a Roth IRA, you can contribute to a Roth 401k regardless of your income. If you over-contribute to a Roth 401k, you can withdraw the contribution before your tax filing date. If you fail to remove the contribution, you must include it as ordinary income.
- A Roth 401k is a long-term retirement plan, and the IRS encourages saving until traditional retirement age through the enforcement of penalties. As with other plans, such as IRAs, if you take a distribution from your Roth 401k before you reach age 59 1/2, you must pay a 10 percent early withdrawal penalty. The IRS permits certain exceptions to this penalty, including distributions due to disability, a court order or high medical expenses.
- Typically, distributions of both contributions and earnings from a Roth 401k are tax-free. However, if you take a distribution from your Roth 401k in the first five years after you make a contribution, the withdrawal is considered nonqualified. As a result, the earnings portion of the distribution is taxable.
- Once you reach the age of 70 1/2, you must begin taking required distributions from your Roth 401k account. As with other retirement plans, the amount of your distribution is based on an IRS calculation of your life expectancy and the total value of your account. If you do not take your Roth 401k distribution as required, you are subject to an IRS penalty of 50 percent on the amount not taken.
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