If you want rules-based "keeping track", I don't think GC is the place for that. Of course, depending on the complexity you are comfortable with, you could elect to track an individual Roth IRA with multiple sub-accounts, including Contributions, or even two accounts for Contributions older than 5 years, more recent Contributions, or even year by year contributions, and then at the end of each year time period, credit and debit multiple sub-accounts. I won't do that, but you certainly could.
On Thu, Jun 4, 2026 at 11:58 AM Clint Chaplin <[email protected]> wrote: > Roth distributions MAY be taxable under certain conditions. Contributions > are always non-taxable when distributed. Roll-overs and conversions when > distributed may be taxable. And earnings when distributed may also be > taxable. The taxability depends on age of the contributor (59 1/2 or > more), age of the contribution (5-year rule) > > The IRS has rules about where distributions come from: contributions > first, then rollovers and conversions, and then earnings. > > Thus my question about keeping track of contributions vs. > rollover/conversions vs. earnings in GnuCash, and if so, how. > > On Thu, Jun 4, 2026 at 3:46 AM David Warren <[email protected]> wrote: > >> I track Roth IRAs and my Roth 401(k) the same way I do all of my other >> broad investment / brokerage accounts: >> >> Contributions credit the bank account and debit the Roth IRA. >> At some periodicity (could be every 3, 6, or 12 mos), I change the >> investment balances, which in a rising stock market has typically meant >> debit the Roth IRA, credit Income:Nontaxable Investment Income. (I >> understand other people may prefer a different credit account; this works >> for me for tracking. David T says below "earnings are tracked in separate >> income accounts for tax tracking purposes. Note that *nothing *on Roth >> IRAs needs to be 'tracked' or reported in the USA, but perhaps David T >> means "separate" from his/my *other *income accounts that do need to be >> reported.) >> >> When I eventually take distributions, no, I won't make "extra" entries to >> track for the IRS, I will simply credit the Roth IRA account and debit the >> asset account where I have sent the distribution. >> >> Note that this is less involved than what I would do if I had REGULAR >> IRAs or 401(k)s, as there I would be tracking eventual tax liabilities on >> growth in those accounts, and then when I eventually take Required >> Distributions, then the portion of the distribution that is taxable I would >> track into a taxable income account. Here's an example for a REGULAR IRA. >> Say the account balance was $500,000 at 2029-12-31 and I was required to >> withdraw 5% of it per the tax code in 2032. When I take that $25,000 >> required withdrawal, I would record it as: >> >> Credit Regular IRA $25,000 >> Debit Brokerage Account $25,000 [these two record the transfer of assets] >> Credit Income:Taxable:IRA withdrawal $20,000 [this presumes a calculation >> that my tax basis in the IRA as of the withdrawal date was 100,000, or 20% >> of the balance] >> Debit Income:Nontaxable:IRA Deferred Growth $20,000 >> Credit Liabilities:Taxes Due this year $8,000 [at 40% tax rate] >> Debit Liabilities:Deferred Taxes on IRAs $8,000 (this account would have >> been credited every year as the IRA grew from investment earnings) >> >> >> On Thu, Jun 4, 2026 at 2:29 AM David T. via gnucash-user < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Clint, >>> >>> I don't see any other replies, so... >>> >>> Our family has four Roth accounts-- one each for an IRA and an employer >>> retirement plan. I track all the contributions and earnings for those >>> accounts* (we haven't yet taken distributions **). That way, I can see >>> generally what our retirement savings look like. >>> >>> Tracking actual daily value for these accounts is, frankly, more trouble >>> than it's worth. Our retirement plans mask the investment details, and only >>> provide generalized data, which makes tracking difficult. So, I mostly >>> check that the share balances are correct from year to year. This gives me >>> a broad sense of our progress toward the long term goals. >>> >>> HTH, >>> David T. >>> >>> * - Contributions are handled as standard transactions between asset >>> accounts, while earnings are tracked in separate income accounts for tax >>> tracking purposes. >>> >>> ** - IANAA, but I understand that when distributions are made, extra >>> entries must be made in GnuCash to allow you to track the distribution as >>> income for IRS tracking. >>> >>> >>> >>> On June 3, 2026 9:22:21 PM GMT+05:30, Clint Chaplin <[email protected]> >>> wrote: >>> >For those of you using GnuCash and having Roth accounts, do you use >>> GnuCash >>> >to keep track of contributions vs. rollover/conversions vs. earnings, >>> and >>> >if so, how? >>> > >>> >-- >>> >Clint (JOATMON) Chaplin >>> >_______________________________________________ >>> >gnucash-user mailing list >>> >[email protected] >>> >To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >>> >https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >>> >----- >>> >Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >>> >You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. >>> _______________________________________________ >>> gnucash-user mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: >>> https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user >>> ----- >>> Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. >>> You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All. >>> >> > > -- > Clint (JOATMON) Chaplin > _______________________________________________ gnucash-user mailing list [email protected] To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe: https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user ----- Please remember to CC this list on all your replies. 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