What Are the Penalties for Moving Money From an IRA to a Money Market Account?

An individual retirement account can consist of several types of investments, such as mutual funds, stocks or real estate. You can also create an IRA money market account or certificate of deposit. In most cases, you need to keep money in an IRA until you reach the age of ​59 1/2​ or you will face an early withdrawal penalty. However, you can move money inside an IRA from one account to another.

​Read More​: What Are the Penalties for Taking Money Out of an IRA?

When you remove money from an IRA and place it in a regular money market account, you will need to pay a ​10 percent​ penalty tax on the amount you withdraw, in addition to income tax on the amount of the withdrawal. For example, if you withdraw $5,000, you will owe a tax of $500. The penalty only applies if you have not reached age ​59 1/2​.

There are also some exceptions to the early distribution rule. For example, if you become disabled and transfer your IRA to a money market, you will not owe the penalty tax. You must be able to prove that you are permanently disabled to avoid the penalty, though. You can also avoid the ​10 percent​ penalty if you are the beneficiary of an IRA and the original owner has passed away.

When you make contributions to a traditional IRA, you are generally able to deduct the amount from your income, so that it is initially tax-free. You will owe income tax on the original amount plus earnings if you withdraw it from that type of account, including if you withdraw it and place the money in a standard money market account.

If you make contributions to a Roth IRA, the money is post-tax funds. If you want to do a rollover of funds in any way to any account, you must verify the IRS and financial institution's regulations for the transaction. Typically, you may have to pay taxes on the growth of your funds before completing transactions like movement to a money market account.

​Read More:​ Early IRA Withdrawal Tax Penalty Calculation

Rolling over money from one qualified account to another – for example, from a 401(k) into an IRA – carries no tax consequences, regardless of your investment choices. But if you roll money from an IRA into a non-qualified account, like a simple money market fund, you will likely owe a 10-percent penalty plus income taxes on the amount of the rollover unless you are ​59 1/2​ or older.

While not a direct penalty, another consequence of moving funds from a stock or bond mutual fund into a money market fund – even if it is still within an IRA account – is that a money market typically has a lower rate of return. At the time of publication, the interest rate for money market funds was less than ​half of a percent,​ even for money market investments of more than ​$100,000​. Other investment options have an average rate of return around ​8 percent​ per year.