CalcStack — free, instant, no signup. The interactive calculator loads automatically.
A 2022 conversion clears on Jan 1, 2027 — regardless of when in 2022 you made it. Know your dates before you touch the money.
The "Roth 5-year rule" is actually three different clocks running at once, and confusing them costs real money. Contributions come out first and are always tax- and penalty-free at any age. Each Roth conversion carries its OWN 5-year clock — under 59½, withdrawing converted principal within five tax years of the conversion triggers a 10% penalty, and because the clock starts January 1 of the conversion year, a December 2022 conversion is "five years old" on January 1, 2027. Earnings are the strictest: they're tax-free only when you're 59½ AND at least five tax years have passed since your FIRST Roth account of any kind. Withdrawals follow IRS ordering rules — contributions first, then conversions oldest-first, then earnings — which means the earnings clock rarely bites if you have basis. This calculator computes all three clocks for your situation and shows the exact penalty on any planned withdrawal.
Early retirees and converters use it before touching Roth money: each conversion seasons Jan 1 of year+5, the 10% penalty only applies under 59½, and withdrawals hit contributions first — so the earnings clock rarely bites if you have basis.
January 1 of the tax year you converted — not the conversion date. A conversion executed December 15, 2022 starts its clock on January 1, 2022 and seasons fully on January 1, 2027. This is why the backdoor-Roth crowd converts early in the year and why December conversions are nearly as good. The penalty for breaking the clock is 10% on the converted principal withdrawn, and it applies only if you're under 59½ at the withdrawal — a 60-year-old never owes the conversion penalty regardless of clock status.
Neither — it's per-PERSON, and it runs from your first Roth IRA ever. Open any Roth IRA with $100 in 2020 and the earnings clock for every Roth you own is done January 1, 2025. This is the strongest argument for opening a Roth IRA early even with a token amount. Note Roth 401(k)s have their own separate 5-year rule per plan, though rolling a Roth 401(k) into a Roth IRA replaces it with the IRA's clock — which can be shorter or longer depending on when you first opened an IRA.
The ladder IS this rule, weaponized. An early retiree converts one year of spending each year; each rung seasons five years later. Convert $50,000 a year starting at 45 and from 50 onward a seasoned rung unlocks every January — penalty-free living expenses a decade before 59½. The gaps are covered by taxable savings or the ladder's own contributions. The two mistakes that break ladders: withdrawing a rung early (10% on the whole rung) and forgetting that conversions withdrawn count against the FIFO ordering — you can't cherry-pick which conversion you're tapping.