How to Determine Roth IRA Contributions?

[sjlocke]

I have a ROTH with Etrade that is more than 10 years old.  I have no idea when I opened it, or how much I put into it when I did.  I am 54, and I took all the money out of it for my child's higher education.  I am getting taxed on the entire distribution because I don't know the original contribution amount.   It wants to know Prior Year contributions from before 2023.  I haven't contributed to it since it was opened.

Any ideas what I can do here?  And where do I tell TT it was for education so I don't get penalized?

[ThomasM125]

You can call the brokerage company that services the account and they can probably look up what the original amount you contributed was.

After you enter your form 1099-R for the pension distribution in TurboTax, you should see a screen that says Did you use your IRA to pay for any of these expenses? One of the options will be Higher education. Enter the amount of the distribution there and you may qualify for a reduction in the penalty you pay for taking an early distribution from the retirement account.