<prompt> Human: It is just under 1000 I want to say they somehow took 400 from my 401k on purpose just to kick me out since there was nothing going into it, but I know better.. I was going to reinvest it into my current 401k but after being confronted with an expense that I cannot currently pay no, I cannot take a loan out for it and I also dont have enough in savings for it I am thinking about cashing this check and taking a hit on my taxes.My question is... if I cash this check, what do I need to prepare for when tax return season comes? I know cashing 401 is a horrible idea, I appreciate your opinion but I am not looking for feedback on my decision making. Just curious about the tax part of it. Thank youEdit: Also, can anyone advise on if I am able to simply cash this check? I ask because I had this check setup to be rolled over to my other 401K, they sent it to the other investment company who then sent it to me because I missed something on the rollover paperwork I dont know what this FIIOC and FBO means thoughEdit 2: According to this site: I can not cash this check which means I dont have to worry about the taxes anymore at this point. Thank you everyone for your input and your patience with my questions, have a lovely day  <response>: The check is made out to FIIOC so you were rolling it into a fidelity 401k for which youd also need roll in paperwork from your current plan. A regular bank probably wouldnt be able to cash it but dont know for sure. That said, Fidelity can deposit checks made out to FIIOC into IRAs and brokerage accounts if you go to a branch.What you may want to do is set up fidelity IRA or brokerage account no opening or maintenance fee on either, though maybe 50 closeout fee on the IRA but not on brokerage and deposit it in there as a direct rollover. It would be direct rollover since it was made out to fidelity as the custodian its unlikely that Merrill withheld the mandatory 20 taxes. Once it clears 3-4 biz days you can send it wherever. Fidelity is similar to Schwab and others in that they dont keep cash at branches or issue cashiers checks, so best bet would be EFT to bank account. When you do that it will count as a distribution to the IRS. But you can choose the exact tax rate for both fed and state that you want to withhold could be 0 if you want.Fidelity will send a 1099 to you at the end of the year saying you took an early distribution. The 1000 will add onto your current income for that year and youll be taxed for it. Youll also owe 10 penalty on it when its tax time. 