Removal Before Your Tax Filing Deadline An excess contribution may be corrected by withdrawing the excess amount, along with the earnings attributable to the excess, before your tax filing deadline, including extensions, for the year for which the excess contribution was made. An excess withdrawn under this method is not taxable to you, but you must include the earnings attributable to the excess in your taxable income in the year in which the contribution was made. The six percent excess contribution penalty tax will be avoided.
Removal After Your Tax Filing Deadline If you are correcting an excess contribution after your tax filing deadline, including extensions, remove only the amount of the excess contribution. The six percent excess contribution penalty tax will be imposed on the excess contribution for each year it remains in the IRA. An excess withdrawal under this method will only be taxable to you if the total contributions made in the year of the excess exceed the annual applicable contribution limit.