Thanks dmertz. In talking further with Vanguard there does not appear to have been any means of arranging a "return of contribution" that would have reset the contribution limit. The only time they accept any funds back following a distribution is within 60 days of the contribution. You mention the 1099 code -- what code would Vanguard have assigned if I had been able to exercise "return of contribution"distribution as you suggest? (I was assigned a T code for distribution because they couldn't verify how long I'd had a Roth account -- not sure what that implies regarding the type of distribution I received; I will be paying taxes on all but the original contributions I made over the years). In short, I had thought I could achieve a reset of the contribution limit based on article at this link which matches my situation fairly closely: <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="
https://www.rothira.com/blog/can-you-return-withdrawn-roth-ira-contributions">https://www.rothira.co...>.
