Our Internal Revenue Service doesn't want us to touch the money in our Roth IRAs or Traditional IRAs before we reach 59 1/2 yrs of age.

They have a 10% tax if you do take out your money before that age.

The IRS says "The 10% additional tax applies to the part of the distribution that you have to include in gross income.

It is in addition to any regular income tax on that amount

"You can take a distribution and roll it over or transfer the amount to another IRA or qualified retirement plan and not be subject to this 10% additional tax.

Take a look at IRS Topic 413 for more specifics..

The are exceptions to the 10% additional tax for early distributions:

This list here comes right from the Internal Revenue Service:

made to a beneficiary or estate on account of the IRA owner's death
made on account of disability
made as part of a series of substantially equal periodic payments for your life (or life expectancy) or the joint lives (or joint life expectancies) of you and your designated beneficiary
qualified first-time home buyer distributions
not in excess of your qualified higher education expenses
not in excess of certain medical insurance premiums paid while unemployed
not in excess of your un-reimbursed medical expenses that are more than a certain percentage of your adjusted gross income
due to an IRS levy, or
A qualified reservist distribution

Get more info below: Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements, for more information on these exceptions.

Other exceptions apply to distributions from other qualified employee retirement plans. For information on these exceptions, refer to Topic 558.

To Publication 575 ,Pension and Annuity Income.

For more info about the IRA distributions, look at Publication 590.

You have to report the 10% additional tax on Form 5329 .

You don't have to file Form 5329 if your Form 1099-R (Example only do not print this file to submit) shows the distribution code "1" or "J" in Box 7.

In that case you only have to enter the 10% additional tax on the appropriate line of your Form 1040 (PDF).

If one of these exceptions to the tax apply to you, and your Form 1099-R doesn't have a distribution code numbered "2", "3", or "4" in the "distribution code(s)" box, or if the code shown is incorrect, you'll have to file Form 5329 to claim the exception.

Federal income tax withholding is required for distributions from IRAs unless you elect out of withholding on the distribution.

But if you decide to elect out of withholding you might have to make estimated tax payments.
Get more information by reading Publication 505, "Tax Withholding and Estimated Tax."