Help me end this debate with my friend - cant find it on the irs website

[Emergo]

So ive been arguing with my friend about how you can withdraw from roth for your contributions only without penalty or tax but he doesnt seem to think so and points out to me on the irs website the table comparing traditional and roth. I cant seem to find it on the irs website but its on every other site that shows you can withdraw without penalty or tax.

Please help.

[dandarc]

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590b/ch02.html#en_US_2015_publink1000231057

Ordering Rules for Distributions

If you receive a distribution from your Roth IRA that is not a qualified distribution, part of it may be taxable. There is a set order in which contributions (including conversion contributions and rollover contributions from qualified retirement plans) and earnings are considered to be distributed from your Roth IRA. For these purposes, disregard the withdrawal of excess contributions and the earnings on them (discussed under What if You Contribute Too Much? in chapter 2 of Pub. 590-A). Order the distributions as follows.

1.  Regular contributions.

2.  Conversion and rollover contributions, on a first-in, first-out basis (generally, total conversions and rollovers from the earliest year first). See Aggregation (grouping and adding) rules, later. Take these conversion and rollover contributions into account as follows:

      a.  Taxable portion (the amount required to be included in gross income because of the conversion or rollover) first, and then the

      a.  Nontaxable portion.

3.  Earnings on contributions.

[lthenderson]

Here is the IRS publication including a nice flow chart on whether or not a withdrawal from a Roth IRA is a Qualified Distribution.

https://www.irs.gov/publications/p590b/ch02.html

[dandarc]

You can also look at forms 8606 Part III (figure the taxable amount from a non-qualified distribution from a Roth IRA) and 5329 Part I (Additional Tax).

In the simple case where you withdraw only up to your contributions, you wind up with nothing on line 25 of Part III of form 8606 - which gets copied over to your 1040, so no tax to pay.  Per the instructions, on 5329 line 1, you put this number (0).  Zero on lines 2 and 3, and on line 4 10% of zero is zero.  So no additional tax either.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5329.pdf
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5329.pdf

Of course, none of this will actually help in your argument, because your friend probably doesn't have the desire to go actually look at tax forms, or there would be no argument.

[Gen Y Finance Journey]

I think the sentence you want is actually this one (from the same form):

Are Distributions Taxable?

You do not include in your gross income qualified distributions or distributions that are a return of your regular contributions from your Roth IRA(s).

[Emergo]

I think the sentence you want is actually this one (from the same form):

Are Distributions Taxable?

You do not include in your gross income qualified distributions or distributions that are a return of your regular contributions from your Roth IRA(s).

So i can take out however much i want right? Not just $10000 for a home? Anytime and however much, just as long as its a contribution and not an earning.

[PathtoFIRE]

So i can take out however much i want right? Not just $10000 for a home? Anytime and however much, just as long as its a contribution and not an earning.

Yes, emphasis on regular contribution.

[Emergo]

So i can take out however much i want right? Not just $10000 for a home? Anytime and however much, just as long as its a contribution and not an earning.

Yes, emphasis on regular contribution.

What do you mean?