Suppose you need cash for a medical emergency. You can tap your IRA, especially if you plan to repay your account. The key is to repay the money within 60 days. In IRS jargon, that’s an IRA-to-IRA rollover. If you return the cash within 60 days, you won’t owe any tax, and your ongoing IRA earnings are still tax-deferred. You can do this kind of rollover only once per year.