# 401k.loans > See what a 401(k) loan really costs: payments, lost growth, and what happens if you leave your job. Then compare it with your other options. 401k.loans is an independent website. Contact: the form at https://401k.loans/contact/. A free, read-only MCP server for AI assistants runs the site's calculators (401(k) loan true cost, loan vs. withdrawal vs. personal loan vs. HELOC, early withdrawal tax) at https://401k.loans/mcp; setup on https://401k.loans/developers/. ## Pages - [What a 401(k) loan really costs you](https://401k.loans/): See your 401(k) loan payment per paycheck, the growth you give up, the tax on interest, and what you'd owe if you left your job. 2026 rules. - [About 401k.loans](https://401k.loans/about/): Why 401k.loans exists, how its calculators and rule pages are researched against IRS and Federal Reserve sources, how corrections work, and how to reach us. - [Using a 401(k) loan to buy a house](https://401k.loans/buy-a-house/): A 401(k) loan for a home purchase can run longer than 5 years, and Fannie Mae doesn't count its payment in your debt-to-income ratio. The rules and the catches. - [401(k) loan vs. hardship withdrawal vs. personal loan vs. HELOC](https://401k.loans/compare/): Price the same amount of cash four ways with your own tax bracket, age and quotes: monthly payment, money gone for good, and the hit to your 401(k) at 65. - [Contact 401k.loans](https://401k.loans/contact/): Send 401k.loans a question or request. We read every message and reply by email. - [401(k) loan calculators for AI assistants: MCP server](https://401k.loans/developers/): Connect Claude, ChatGPT or another AI assistant to the free 401k.loans MCP server to run the 401(k) loan, comparison and withdrawal calculators. - [How we make money](https://401k.loans/disclosures/): 401k.loans is not a lender, broker or adviser, and no lender pays it. What the forms do with what you send, and what the calculators can and can't tell you. - [401(k) early withdrawal penalty calculator](https://401k.loans/early-withdrawal-penalty/): Work out what an early 401(k) withdrawal leaves you after income tax and the 10% additional tax, what gets withheld, and which exceptions apply to a 401(k). - [Guides from 401k.loans](https://401k.loans/guides/): All guides from 401k.loans, newest first. The real cost of borrowing from your 401(k). - [401(k) hardship withdrawal rules](https://401k.loans/hardship-withdrawal/): The seven IRS safe-harbor reasons for a 401(k) hardship withdrawal, how it's taxed, why it can't be paid back, and how it compares with a 401(k) loan. - [What happens to your 401(k) loan if you leave your job](https://401k.loans/leaving-your-job/): If you quit or are laid off with a 401(k) loan, the balance is usually offset. You have until your tax filing deadline to roll it over and avoid the tax. - [Check a personal loan rate before you borrow from your 401(k)](https://401k.loans/options/): Where to check a personal loan rate to compare with your 401(k) loan, what to look for in the offer, and how to plug it into the comparison tool. - [Privacy policy](https://401k.loans/privacy/): What 401k.loans collects when you visit or contact us, why, who it is shared with, and how to reach us about it. - [401(k) loan repayment](https://401k.loans/repayment/): How 401(k) loans are repaid by payroll deduction, how to pay one off early, what happens when a payment is missed, and how leave and military service pause it. - [ROBS: using your 401(k) to start a business, with the costs counted](https://401k.loans/robs/): How a rollover as business startup works, what the IRS found when it audited ROBS plans, and a calculator for fees, C corporation tax and the cost of failure. - [401(k) loan rules for 2026](https://401k.loans/rules/): The tax-code rules for 401(k) loans: the $50,000 and 50% limits, the 12-month lookback, the 5-year term, home loans, missed payments and default. - [Sources and how the calculators work](https://401k.loans/sources/): The statutes, IRS regulations and publications, Department of Labor rules, Federal Reserve data and SBA rules behind every figure on 401k.loans, with dates. - [Using your 401(k) to start or buy a business](https://401k.loans/start-a-business/): Three ways to put retirement money into a business, and where an SBA loan fits. Who each one suits, what it costs, and what you're risking. - [Terms of use](https://401k.loans/terms/): The terms that apply when you use 401k.loans, including what the information here is and is not. ## Guides - [Using a 401(k) loan to pay off credit cards](https://401k.loans/guides/401k-loan-to-pay-off-credit-cards/): A 401(k) loan can cut card interest sharply, but it turns unsecured debt into retirement risk. The numbers on $10,000, and the two ways it goes wrong. - [Is 401(k) loan interest taxed twice?](https://401k.loans/guides/is-401k-loan-interest-taxed-twice/): Only the interest is, and it matters less than people say. The math against not borrowing, against a personal loan, and why lost growth is the bigger cost. - [Should you stop contributing while you repay a 401(k) loan?](https://401k.loans/guides/keep-contributing-while-repaying-401k-loan/): Pausing contributions to afford a 401(k) loan payment often costs more than the loan. The math on a lost employer match, with a worked example.