What is the 60-day rule for rollovers and what happens if I miss it?

If you receive retirement money personally (an indirect rollover), you must redeposit it into an eligible retirement account within 60 calendar days to preserve its tax-deferred status. Miss the window and the IRS treats the amount as a taxable distribution, adding ordinary income tax plus a 10% early-withdrawal penalty if you are under 59 1/2.

The IRS can grant a waiver for certain hardships, and a self-certification procedure exists for a limited set of qualifying reasons like a lost check or serious illness, but relying on relief is risky. The clean fix is to always use a direct trustee-to-trustee rollover so the money never touches your hands and no 60-day clock ever starts.