The TSP-76 hardship withdrawal form is the request you submit to pull money from your Thrift Savings Plan account while still working for the federal government or uniformed services because of a qualifying financial hardship. You generate it through the online tool in My Account at tsp.gov, which asks about your situation and produces a pre-filled Form TSP-76 (WEB) based on your answers. Your account needs at least $1,000 in your own contributions and their earnings, and that is the only pool you can draw from. Agency Automatic (1%) contributions, agency matching, and the earnings on both stay in the account no matter what.
Who Qualifies for a Hardship Withdrawal
The rules are narrower than most people expect. Your need has to fit one of five categories, and the withdrawal amount cannot exceed the actual financial need or cover anything that has been or will be reimbursed.
- Negative monthly cash flow, where your recurring monthly expenses exceed your net income on an ongoing basis.
- Unreimbursed medical expenses for you, your spouse, or a dependent. Eligible costs generally mirror what qualifies as a medical deduction on your federal return and include structural home changes needed for a medical condition, such as wheelchair ramps or widened doorways.
- Personal casualty loss from a sudden, unexpected event like a fire, flood, tornado, or theft. Losses covered by insurance don’t count.
- Legal costs of a separation or divorce, meaning attorney fees and court costs. Child support, court-ordered payments to a spouse or former spouse, and prepaid legal service plans don’t qualify.
- Losses from a FEMA-declared disaster under the Stafford Act, where your home or workplace at the time of the disaster was in an area designated for individual assistance.
How to Start the Request
Log into My Account at tsp.gov, choose “Withdrawals and Changes to Installment Payments,” then “Financial Hardship In-Service Withdrawal.” The tool walks you through the qualifying condition, the amount, the source of funds, and payment details, then produces Form TSP-76 (WEB) as a pre-filled summary. Some requests can be completed entirely online. If signatures, notarization, or additional documents are required, you print the generated form, add what’s needed, and return it to the TSP.
You can also call the ThriftLine to start the request by phone instead of using the tool.
What the Form Asks For
Beyond your name, Social Security number, and current mailing address, the form’s financial section is where you make the real choices.
Withdrawal amount. Enter a gross dollar figure of at least $1,000. The ceiling is the lesser of your documented need or the total of your own employee contributions plus their earnings.
Source of funds. If your balance holds both traditional and Roth money, you decide whether the withdrawal comes from traditional only, Roth only, or a pro-rata mix matching the traditional-to-Roth ratio in your eligible balance. Any Roth distribution includes a proportional share of both Roth contributions and Roth earnings; you cannot take the contributions and leave the earnings behind.
Tax withholding. The TSP withholds 10% of the taxable portion for federal income tax by default. You can change that to any percentage, including zero. Traditional contributions and all earnings are taxable. Roth contributions come out tax-free, and Roth earnings are taxable unless the distribution is a qualified Roth distribution under IRS rules. State tax treatment varies, so check your state’s rules before picking a number.
Payment method. Provide your bank’s routing number and your account number for electronic funds transfer. Without correct bank information, the TSP mails a paper check to your address of record, which takes longer.
Spousal Consent or Notification
If you are married, what the form requires depends on your retirement system. FERS and uniformed services participants must obtain the spouse’s written consent before the TSP will process the withdrawal. The online tool generates a section of Form TSP-76 that the spouse signs in front of a notary public. CSRS participants have a lighter rule: the TSP notifies the spouse in writing, but the spouse cannot block the request. Both rules apply even if you and your spouse live apart.
If you cannot locate your spouse or obtain consent because of exceptional circumstances such as abandonment, you can request Form TSP-16, Exception to Spousal Requirements, through My Account or the ThriftLine.
Submitting the Form and What Happens Next
Completed forms that can’t be finished online go back to the TSP by mail or fax:
- Mail: Thrift Savings Plan, P.O. Box 385021, Birmingham, AL 35238
- Fax: 1-866-817-5023
Keep a copy of everything you send. The TSP handles only one withdrawal or loan request at a time on a single account, so a pending loan application needs to be resolved before your hardship request can move.
Once submitted, the TSP verifies that your account has enough eligible money to cover the withdrawal and any withholding and that at least six months have passed since your last hardship disbursement. A Retirement Benefits Court Order or other legal hold can freeze the request until it’s resolved. Approved payments are disbursed each business day on a rolling basis. Electronic transfers usually reach your bank within a few business days after disbursement. Paper checks take longer.
Taxes and the 10% Early Withdrawal Penalty
A hardship withdrawal is taxable in the year you receive it. The taxable portion, meaning traditional contributions, all traditional earnings, and any non-qualified Roth earnings, is reported as ordinary income on your federal return.
If you are younger than 59½ when the distribution is processed, the IRS adds a 10% early withdrawal penalty on top of regular income tax. Certain exceptions under 26 U.S.C. § 72(t), including permanent disability and substantially equal periodic payments, can eliminate the penalty, but financial hardship by itself is not one of them. The TSP cannot certify a disability exception to the IRS for you; you claim it when you file.
Hardship withdrawals cannot be rolled over into an IRA or another employer plan. Once the money leaves the account, it cannot go back.
Rules That Apply After the Withdrawal
You can take more than one hardship withdrawal over your career, but the TSP enforces a six-month wait after each disbursement before it will accept another hardship request.
Your payroll contributions and any agency match continue uninterrupted. The six-month contribution suspension that used to follow a hardship withdrawal was eliminated under the TSP Modernization Act in September 2019.