Q. Can I convert my traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs and then immediately withdraw money and avoid the 10% penalty associated with withdrawing from a traditional IRA?

A. No. Money that's converted from a traditional individual retirement account to a Roth IRA must remain in the Roth IRA for five years before it can be withdrawn without paying the 10% penalty.

We know that's different from the rules governing direct contributions to Roth IRAs, which can be withdrawn anytime you want without paying and penalties.

That's because those contributions are not tax deductible. Or, to put it another way, they were made with income that was already fully reported and taxed.

The contributions you made to your original traditional IRA were tax deductible and made with pretax income.

While it's true that you must pay income taxes on the full value of traditional IRAs when they're converted to Roth IRAs, you still benefitted from deferring the tax on that investment for at least a few years. Maybe many years.

As a result, the rules governing the withdrawal of conversions aren't as liberal and actually are designed to stop someone from doing exactly what you would like to do.