What's A Hardship Withdrawal 401K? 
An employer can establish a defined contribution retirement plan in accordance with Internal Revenue Code 401 -LRB- k. -RRB- The employer is responsible for the plan documents including definitions . While not required there may be some mention of hardship withdrawals . If your plan has provisions like this , they would be in the plan document which is available from your employer . The taxation of those withdrawals is governed by the Internal Revenue Service . 