<prompt> Human: Basically I want some clarification on my math: if you withdraw early you receive a 10 penalty, in addition to normal tax rates which I believe are 15 for Capitol gains tax unless you are in one of the lowest or the highest tax brackets. This puts a tax rate at 25. If Im being taxed at a rate higher than that, isnt it worth it to put money in a 401k and withdraw once you hit the long term Capitol gains tax rate? Or am I missing something?I know a lot of people will say just keep it in the 401k, but for something like saving to buy a home, this would result in me getting closer to that goal, right?  <response>: to normal tax rates which I believe are 15 for Capitol gains tax Nope, itll be taxed as normal income. but for something like saving to buy a homeWhy not put it in a Roth IRA? You can take out your contributions penalty free. 