Introduction

Generally, if you make withdrawals from your traditional or Roth IRA before you reach age 59 1/2, you must pay a 10% additional tax on the early withdrawal.

However, you can make withdrawals from your traditional or Roth IRA for qualified higher education expenses without having to pay the 10% additional tax. You will owe income tax on at least part of the amount withdrawn, but you will not have to pay the 10% additional tax on early withdrawals.

The part not subject to the tax is generally the amount that is not more than the qualified education expenses for the year.

Traditional IRA. A traditional IRA is an IRA that is not a Roth IRA or a SIMPLE IRA. Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs), has more information about traditional and Roth IRAs.

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