| You can not use the 403(b) money for a first-time home purchase without paying a 10% early-withdrawal penalty as well as income tax on the distribution. The rules for this are similar to the early withdrawal rules for 401(k) participants - unlike IRAs, the penalty is not waived for first time home buyers.
You can withdraw up to $10K from your IRAs for a first-time home purchase without penalty. You can use the Roth IRA money without having to pay income taxes or penalties as long as the money has been in the account at least 5 years. The timing of this can be tricky - even if you deposited money in the account more than 5 years ago, if you withdraw more than what you put in (i.e., take some of the earnings), those earnings may be less than 5 years old, and hence you could owe income tax on that portion of the withdrawal. If you use money from your traditional IRA there is no 5-year waiting period, but you will be taxed on all except any after-tax contribution money you may have deposited. In either case there is no 10% early withdrawal penalty as long as the money is used for a first-time home purchase and is not more than $10K. One last thing - if you make these withdrawals from your IRAs you have 120 days to use the money towards the house purchase, so be sure to wait until you need the down payment before making the withdrawal.
Bottom line - if you really need to use your retirement savings for this home purchase, I would recommend taking it first from the Roth IRAs (if they meet the 5-year rule), then from your traditional IRA. I would not recomend taking anything from your 403(b) - you'd be better off making a smaller down payment, and/or doing your best between now and the fall to save a little extra for the house. | 
Linear Mode
