Deb

Thanks for replying, both of you. I have filed tax returns for many years until I stopped working. When I attempted to file electronically with 0 income I kept getting a message from the IRS.gov software that I didn’t need to file. I guess I should just get a 1040EZ and mail in a handwritten just to have it on record as filing even 0 income. If I decide to proceed with partial withdrawal I’ll go ahead and file for the $5000 so it’s on record and get the refund even though it's well below the threshold.

I’m single and have zero income so I haven’t had to file a tax return for the last couple of years. If I take a small early w/d, say $5000, from my 401k would I need to file a tax return for an annual income of only $5000. My rough calculations seem to show that between my exemption and standard deduction it would be a wash. But I thinking that because of the source of the income I would have to?