Rollover 401k IRA capital gains taxation

[ramaonline]

Hello all

The IRS publication states that Rollover 401k IRA withdrawals are exempt from the early 10 percent penalty if used for qualified expenses such as education, etc. however the withdrawal is subject to taxes.

I have a few stock transactions in my Rollover 401k IRA with a mix of long and short sales (under one year) but am not clear if the tax needs to be calculated as long / short or just as ordinary income when I do the withdrawal, and do the taxes for this year. My age is under 50.

[dmertz]

The taxable amount of distributions from retirement plans is always subject to income tax as ordinary income.  Investments inside of retirement accounts are not subject to capital-gains treatment.