Roth 401(k) withdrawal vs. Roth IRA withdrawal

[mgrapperhaus]

I know that you can withdraw dollars that have been contributed (excludes growth) to the Roth IRA at any time without penalty. Can you do the same on the Roth 401k if you are only withdrawing the dollars you have contributed and do not touch the growth portion?

[tsj513]

In the Roth 401k you must be 59 1/2 and the first contribution must have occurred 5+ years ago for the distribution to be "qualified". A qualified distribution has no tax implication.

if you're doing a non-qualified distribution, you have to take a proportianate amount of earnings with the amount of contributions you are withdrawing. So if you take 50% of your contribtuion out, you have to also take 50% of your earnings. The earnings are then included in your income for federal tax purposes.