Craig Wear, CFP, explains that withdrawing from a 401(k) won't directly tank your credit, but you'll get a 1099-R that must be reported to the IRS. Skip reporting it and you'll face income tax and penalties. Check your documents, pull IRS transcripts from IRS.gov if needed, and file properly.
Does draining your 401k ruin your credit? A woman I met with once claimed that she drained her 401k twice and now owes taxes that ruined her credit. Now, if she did withdraw from her 401k, the IRS would have issued a 1099R form. That form tells the government how much you pulled, and if you don't report it properly, you're going to owe income tax and possibly penalties. If you didn't get the form, you can always pull the IRS transcripts online@the IRS.gov site and fix it with some tax software. Moral of the story don't panic. Don't guess. Always check your documents and file them properly, especially with retirement accounts, because there's so much to lose if you don't get it right.
