ChristinaS
Expert Alumni

Retirement tax questions

You have a few options- Briefly stated:

-Amend your return to remove the IRA deduction. Don't both doing anything on the investment level

-Recharacterize the Roth contribution to a Traditional IRA. You will need the custodian to report the earnings on the rechacterization and you will need to amend your return to create a statement, but you won't owe tax. If you recharacterize the contribution to a Traditional IRA, you are moving the money into a taxable account. These earnings would be taxed when she withdraws money. 

-Withdraw the Roth contribution, with earnings. Pay a tax (and likely a 10% penalty) on any growth. So, if you contributed $6500 and its now $6800, you have $300 in taxable income. The tax impact here really depends on the earnings.

All of these considerations have their own nuances (like anything else in taxes), but this is it in a nutshell. 

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