401k cash out after job loss for hardship

I lost my job about a year ago.  I could not take a hardship withdrawal because I was no longer with the company

I was unable to pay large recent medical bills or rent due to the job loss so I cashed out my 401k (around $20k) to take care of those things

The tax paperwork from my plan does not indicate a hardship withdrawal so I'm getting killed on taxes.    Is there a way to show on my taxes that it was a hardship or can my plan provide corrected docs?

A "HARDSHIP" is only a means of receiving a distribution from the plan when one would not otherwise be available.  ALL distributions are going to be taxable to you.  Hardship doesn't impact the taxes; it only makes the distribution permissible when it otherwise would not have been.  In your case, you didn't need a hardship because you were already eligible for a distribution; you had a severance of employment.

Good Luck!

Have your tax preparer look at Form 5329 to see if you might be able to at least avoid the 10% excise tax, if applicable.

edit: typo

And you may be able to deduct some of the medical bills