# Partial 401k withdrawal **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 5, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partial-401k-withdrawal/709067 "2015-01-05T22:02:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partial-401k-withdrawal/709067/1 "2015-01-05T22:02:23Z")
After reading this thread > **[Getting to my 401k funds early, if I am laid off.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=688390)** > > My 401k is currently inaccessible to me. I am employed, and my employer’s rules restrict me from getting anything more than about 20-25k from it as a 48-month loan. The rest is off limits. If I were laid off at 45 years of age after 20 years of... I have another question. Can a partial withdrawal be made such that the amount is less than the Minimum Income Requirement for paying federal taxes so that only the 10% penalty is owed? ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partial-401k-withdrawal/709067/2 "2015-01-05T22:15:38Z")
Forgot to add… assuming no other additional income. ---
**Author:** ![Fallen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@Fallen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fallen)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partial-401k-withdrawal/709067/3 "2015-01-05T22:27:00Z")
> [@dougrb](#): > > After reading this thread > > [Getting to my 401k funds early, if I am laid off. - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=688390) > > I have another question. Can a partial withdrawal be made such that the amount is less than the Minimum Income Requirement for paying federal taxes so that only the 10% penalty is owed? First, does your retirement plan allow for a “partial withdrawal”? So you don’t anticipate even a net income from self-employment of $400? I believe “owing additional taxes” on a retirement plan (IRA or other “tax-favored account”) would include the 10% penalty, so even if the taking from the 401k was less than, for instance, $10,150 (under 65, single), you’d still need to file a tax return. And, it may or may not go without saying, but a requirement to file a tax return or not doesn’t mean that one wouldn’t owe or be subject to taxes. At any rate, I’ll make a guess that the plan will be one where the administrator is obligated to withhold a certain amount to account for tax and penalty. I’m not a tax geek, however. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partial-401k-withdrawal/709067/4 "2015-01-05T22:56:55Z")
I don’t know if partial withdrawals are allowed. If they are, and someone under 65 with no other income withdraws $10,150, will they only get charged the 10% penalty + 20% for taxes but THEN get the 20% back when they file taxes the next year. The way I’m reading the “Minimum Income Requirement” is you have to make at least that much to owe taxes, which is why you don’t have to file if you don’t make that much. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2015, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partial-401k-withdrawal/709067/5 "2015-01-05T23:45:23Z")
Last year one of my kids (as a student with no income) did an IRA-\>Roth conversion and no taxes were due when they filed a tax return. So I suspect only the 10% penalty would apply to a cash withdrawal. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partial-401k-withdrawal/709067/6 "2015-01-06T00:27:04Z")
Ok, I guess I should have said “withdraws $10,149”, to make it less than the Minimum Income Requirement. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partial-401k-withdrawal/709067/7 "2015-01-06T01:19:12Z")
The taxes including the penalty are automatically withheld by the administrator. You would need to file a return to get a refund of your taxes from Uncle Sam. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/partial-401k-withdrawal/709067/8 "2015-01-06T02:03:39Z")
That answers my question. Thanks