How much tax will I have to pay if I withdraw early from 401(a) and i have no other income to report that year

Question

My employer used to contribute to a 401(a) retirement account with TIAA-CREF. I am an Alien in the United States and I am about to go back to my home country. If I withdraw from this retirement account next year, how much tax will I have to pay, assuming I will have no other income from US next year

My employer used to contribute to a 401(a) retirement account with TIAA-CREF. I am an Alien in the United States and I am about to go back to my home country. If I withdraw from this retirement account next year, how much tax will I have to pay, assuming I will have no other income from US next year. The amount is less than the $7000

Answer 1

The regular amount of income tax you would have paid if you had earned the same amount of money that you withdrew, plus an extra 10% of the withdrawal amount as a penalty.

There are exemptions for "first home" purchases and paying for school tuition. Otherwise, you pay the penalty if you're too young.

Answer 2

That will depend upon the amount of the distribution. It's fully taxable as ordinary income plus a 10% penalty. Without knowing the amount of the distribution and the rest of your tax situation it's not possible to say exactly how much it will be.