Hi folks, first time on this board looking for advice. I am considering quitting my job to take another. I've racked up over 4K in the last year I have been here. I've been trying to be very good about saving for my retirement now (I'm 29). BUT I have a car loan of 11K at 18% on my 2015 car. No chance of refinancing anytime soon. I may have the money to pay it off within the next few months, BUT I don't have a guaranteed date.
So a poll - disregarding the payoff scenario which is a possibility - would you:
A. take the 10% penalty and taxes, and put the 3K ish toward the 11K loan balance or B. Not take it out at all?
**I've worked in the tax industry so I'm well aware of this situation with taxes and penalties.
TIA 
@novabama wrote:Hi folks, first time on this board looking for advice. I am considering quitting my job to take another. I've racked up over 4K in the last year I have been here. I've been trying to be very good about saving for my retirement now (I'm 29). BUT I have a car loan of 11K at 18% on my 2015 car. No chance of refinancing anytime soon. I may have the money to pay it off within the next few months, BUT I don't have a guaranteed date.
So a poll - disregarding the payoff scenario which is a possibility - would you:
A. take the 10% penalty and taxes, and put the 3K ish toward the 11K loan balance or B. Not take it out at all?
**I've worked in the tax industry so I'm well aware of this situation with taxes and penalties.
TIA
Ah it is that time of year where tax accountant's look for other CPA firms to join or get out of public accounting all together. I understad your pain well novabama. 
Change jobs or look to get out of public accounting. The grass is usually greener on the other side. Just don't put in your notice unti you have something else secured.
Once you have that new job going, then join a credit union and re-fi your auto loan to a lower amount. Roll over the 401K into a seperate account and keep investing in it. After all you are investing in yourself and your future.
Welcome to the forums, OP.
I would recommend 100% staying away from the mindset that it is ok to raid your 401k for any reason.
The reason may seem urgent or to be a legitimate reason at the time, but consider why you are thinking of raiding your 401k - because you don't have additional funds saved up that you could use instead. I'd seriously recommend working on the savings issue instead of raiding a retirement account.
Voluntarily quitting a job and then raiding a 401k plan while also being in debt does not sound like a good combination of actions, in my opinion.
I also would recomment investigating the credit union route as a possible auto refinance option.
Another suggestion that may help - I'd recommend avoiding large financial moves when you are quitting a job or starting a new one.
You wouldn't want to make a large financial move (i.e., buying a new house or car, raiding your 401k plan), only to find out that the new company is cutting staff after 2 months for cost containment purposes, or that they didn't decide to extend your employment beyond your probationary period.
Good luck, OP.