Early Withdrawal Penalty on Roth Hardship Withdrawals

A Roth 403(b) participant wants to take a hardship withdrawal for down payment on a house. The plan allows hardship withdrawals for salary deferral contributions only, not for growth or gains. 

Q. If there is no taxation on Roth 403(b) hardship withdrawals because the Roth deferrals that were made were already post-tax, will the participant be required to pay the 10% tax penalty for early withdrawal, that is, before age 59½?

A. Since nothing is taxable, there would be no 10% early withdrawal tax.