I took money out of my IRA for college tuition, why is this subject to the 10% penalty for early withdrawal?

[Robert_Lewis]

I took money out of my IRA for college tuition, why is this subject to the 10% penalty for early withdrawal?

[MindyB]

It is excluded from the penalty, but you do need to indicate that you used the money for tuition.

Here's how to do this in TurboTax Online:

• Navigate to Federal > Wages & Income > IRA, 401(k), Pension Plan Withdrawals (1099-R) Add/Edit
• Your withdrawal will be shown in a summary on a screen that says "Here's your 1099-R info"
• Choose "Continue"
• Continue through the interview until you arrive at a screen that says "Did you use your IRA to pay for any of these expenses?"
• Here, enter the amount of the withdrawal spent on tuition.