Hi, if my ira contributions are all after tax dollars do i need to pay tax if i withdraw it in 2020

[Bsch4477]

After tax contributions are not taxed when withdrawn but you must file Form 8606 to demonstrate that the contributions were non-deductible. 

[Critter-3]

If this is a traditional IRA then you cannot JUST take out the contributions ... the form 8606 will prorate the contributions and earnings to compute the taxable portion of the distribution.

[tomd64]

Yes itnis a traditional ira started in 2019....i contributed $14000 in after tax dollars ..but i only have $13,000 in there to remove

[Critter-3]

Then the form 8606 will show that none of it is taxable since you lost ground.  

[Opus 17]

We need to get @dmertz here to clarify some things.

If this is a Traditional IRA with 100% non-deductible contributions, (and not specifically a Roth IRA), then you will owe no income tax on the withdrawal since you have no gains, but I believe you will still owe a 10% penalty for early withdrawal if you are under age 59-1/2.  This is one of the ways that after-tax contributions to a traditional IRA is different from a Roth IRA.

You may be able to do this in two steps; first convert the traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, and then second withdraw the money from the Roth IRA.  The conversion will be tax-free if the contributions are all after-tax and you have no gains, and you can then withdraw your contributions from a Roth IRA at any time without tax or penalty.  (You pay tax and a penalty if you withdraw gains from a Roth IRA if you are under age 59-1/2.)

Also, if the reason you are withdrawing the money from the traditional IRA is a COVID-related hardship, you would be exempt from the 10% early withdrawal penalty on the traditional IRA and could probably skip the Roth conversion step. 

[dmertz]

The 10% early-distribution penalty only applies to taxable retirement distributions.  The nontaxable portion of a distribution from a retirement account is not subject to this penalty.  For 2020, this penalty also does not apply to any distribution that is a qualified Coronavirus-Related Distribution.

Opus 17's workaround does not work to avoid an early-distribution penalty if a portion of the Roth conversion is taxable.  The distribution of portion of the Roth conversion that was taxable upon conversion would be subject to a recapture of the 10% early-distribution penalty unless 5 years had passed from the beginning of the year in which the Roth conversion occurred.