by Mat Sorensen | Oct 3, 2022 | News
Have you taken a loan from your employer 401(k) plan and plan on leaving? Unfortunately, most company plans will require you to repay the loan within 60 days, or they will distribute the amount outstanding on the loan from your 401(k) account. Its one of the ways they try to keep their employees from leaving. “Don’t leave or we’ll distribute your 401(k) loan that you took from your money in your 401(k) account.”
How to Buy Yourself More Time & Avoid the Distribution
The good news is that following the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) you now have the option to re-pay the loan to an IRA to avoid the distribution and you have until your personal tax return deadline of the following year (including extensions) to contribute that re-payment amount to an IRA. By re-paying the amount outstanding on the loan to an IRA, you will avoid taxes and penalties that would otherwise arise from distribution of a participant 401(k) loan.
How It Works In Practice
Let’s say you left employment from your employer in February 2019 and that you had a 401(k) loan that was distributed by your employer’s plan following your termination of employment. You will have until October 15th of 2020 (if you extend your personal return, 6 month extension from April 15th) to make re-payment of the amount that was outstanding on the loan to an IRA. These funds are then treated as a rollover to your IRA from the 401(k) plan and your distribution and 1099-R will be reported on your federal tax return as a rollover and will not be subject to tax and penalty. While it’s not perfect it’s far greater time than was previously allowed. Traditionally, you had 30 or 60 days at most to make re-payment.
Limitations
The ability to rollover an outstanding 401(k) loan amount to an IRA is only available when you have left an employer (for any reason). It does not apply in instances where you are still employed and have simply failed to re-pay the loan or to make timely payments.
Mat has been at the forefront of the self-directed IRA industry since 2006. He is the CEO of Directed IRA & Directed Trust Company where they handle all types of self-directed accounts (IRAs, Roth IRAs, HSAs, Coverdell ESA, Solo Ks, and Custodial Accounts) which are typically invested into real estate, private company/private equity, IRA/LLCs, notes, precious metals, and cryptocurrency. Mat is also a partner at KKOS Lawyers and serves clients nationwide from its Phoenix, AZ office.
He is published regularly on retirement, tax, and business topics, and is a VIP Contributor at Entrepreneur.com. Mat is the best-selling author of the most widely used book in the self-directed IRA industry, The Self-Directed IRA Handbook: An Authoritative Guide for Self-Directed Retirement Plan Investors and Their Advisors.
by Mat Sorensen | Jan 29, 2019 | Investing
Every Roth IRA account owner knows that the main benefit of the Roth IRA is that there are no taxes due on withdrawals taken after the account owner is 59 ½. However, what taxes or penalties apply to distributions taken before the Roth IRA owner reaches 59 ½?
Roth IRA distributions before age 59 ½ are broken into two categories, contributions and earnings.
Contributions Can Be Withdrawn Before 59 ½ Without Tax or Penalty
The first first category is Roth IRA contributions. This category is distinct because these amounts have been subject to tax before the funds were included in the Roth IRA. The amounts withdrawn from a Roth IRA that do not exceed the amounts of Roth IRA contributions are not subject to taxes or penalties upon early distribution from the Roth IRA. However, any amounts distributed in excess of the Roth IRA contributions, which would typically be the investment returns, are subject to taxes and the early withdrawal penalty of 10%.
This is an excellent perk as it allows Roth IRA owners to take money back that they contributed to the Roth IRA without worrying about penalties or taxes.
Earnings Are Subject to Tax the 10% Early Withdrawal Penalty
Amounts withdrawn before 59 ½ that comprise the Roth IRA’s earnings are subject to tax and a 10% early withdrawal penalty. IRC § 408A(d)(2)(A) & Treasury Reg. §1.408A-6, Q&A-1(b). “Earnings” is the amount over the sums you have contributed to the Roth IRA, and is essentially your investment returns and gains.
Since there are taxes AND penalties on the earnings, you should only take distributions when absolutely necessary.
Example of Roth IRA Distribution Before 59 ½
For example, let’s say a Roth IRA owner is 45 and has a Roth IRA with $65,000. This balance consists of $35,000 in Roth IRA contributions and $30,000 in earnings or investment returns. If the Roth IRA owner took a distribution of the entire account then $35,000 would NOT be subject to early withdrawal penalties as this amount comprised Roth IRA contributions where taxes have been paid already. However, the remaining $30,000 distributed represents investment returns/gains made in the Roth IRA and would be subject to early withdrawal penalties of 10% and must be also be included in the taxable income of the Roth IRA owner. As a result, Roth IRA owners under age 59 ½ should avoid distributions of their Roth IRA in excess of their contributions.
by Mat Sorensen | Aug 13, 2018 | Investing
I’m routinely asked questions about what taxes and rules apply when a distribution occurs from a retirement account. Here are the top ten rules you should know about distributions from retirement accounts:
The first 5 facts apply to Traditional IRA and 401(k) accounts
1. Early Withdrawal Penalty
A distribution from a traditional IRA or 401(k) before the account owner reaches 59 1/2 causes a 10% early withdrawal penalty on the amount distributed. This is in addition to taxes owed on the amount distributed. So, for example, if you take a $10,000 distribution from your traditional IRA at age 45 then you will be subject to a $1,000 penalty and you will also receive a 1099-R from your IRA custodian and will need to report $10,000 of income on your tax returns. Once you reach age 59 1/2, the 10% early withdrawal penalty does not apply.
2. Required Minimum Distributions
Whether you need the money or not, at age 70 1/2, the IRS requires a traditional IRA or 401(k) owner (unless still employed by employer 401(k)) to begin taking distributions from their retirement account. These distributions are subject to tax and the account owner will receive a 1099-R of the amount distributed that will be included on their tax return. The amount of the distribution is based on the person’s age and the account’s value. For example, someone with a $100K IRA who has turned 70 1/2 and is taking their first RMD would take $3,639 (3.79%).
3. Avoid Taking Large Distributions In One-Year
Because distributions from traditional retirement accounts are subject to tax at the time of distribution, it is wise to avoid taking too much in one year as a large distribution can push your distribution income and your other income into a higher tax bracket. For example, if you have employment and or rental/investment income of $50,000 annually then you are in a joint income tax bracket of 15% on additional income. However, if you take $100,000 as a lump-sum that year this will push your annual income to $150K and you will be in a 28% income tax bracket. If you could instead break up that $100K over two tax years then you could stay in 15% to 25% tax bracket and could reduce your overall tax liability. In short, only pull out what you need when you need it to lesson the immediate year’s tax liability.
4. Distribution Withholding
Most distributions from an employer 401(k) or pension plan (including solo K), before the age of 59 1/2, will be subject to a 20% withholding that will be sent to the IRS in anticipation of tax and penalty that will be owed. In the case of an early distribution from an IRA, a 10% withholding for the penalty amount can be made but you can also elect out of this automatic withholding provided you make an estimated tax payment or that you will otherwise be current on your tax liability.
5. If You Have Tax Losses, Consider Converting to a Roth IRA or Roth 401(k)
When you have tax losses on your tax return you may want to consider using those losses to offset income that would arise when you convert a traditional IRA or 401(k) to a Roth account. Whenever you convert a traditional account to a Roth account, you must pay tax on the amount of the conversion. In the end though, you’ll have a Roth account that grows entirely tax-free and that you don’t pay taxes on when you distribute the money. Using the losses when they are available is a good way to get your Traditional retirement funds over to Roth.
The final 5 rules are for Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s
6. Roth IRAs Are Exempt from RMD
hile traditional IRA owners must take required minimum distributions (“RMD”) when the account owner reaches age 70 1/2, Roth IRAs are exempt from RMD rules. That’s a great perk and allows you to keep your money invested as long as possible.
7. Roth 401(k)s Must Take RMD
Roth 401(k) designated accounts are subject to RMD. This is a confusing rule since Roth IRAs are NOT subject to RMD. Such is the tax code. How can you avoid this? Simply roll your Roth 401(k) funds over to a Roth IRA when you reach 70 1/2.
8. Distributions of Contributions Are Always Tax-Free
Distributions of contributions to a Roth IRA are always tax-free. Regardless of age, you can always take a distribution of your Roth IRA contributions without penalty or tax.
9. Distributions of Roth IRA Earnings
In order to take a tax-free distribution from a Roth IRA, you must be age 59 1/2 or older and you must have had a Roth IRA for five years or longer. As long as those two criteria are met, all amounts (contributions and earnings) may be distributed from a Roth IRA tax free. If your funds in the Roth IRA are from a conversion, then you must have converted the funds at least 5 years ago and must be 59 1/2 or older in order to take a tax-free distribution.
10. Delay Roth Distributions
Roth retirement accounts are the most tax efficient way to earn income in the U.S. As a result, it is best to distribute and use other funds and assets that are at your disposal before using the funds built up in your Roth account as those funds aren’t as tax efficient while invested.
by Mat Sorensen | Oct 24, 2017 | News
The IRS announced new contribution amounts for retirement accounts in 2018, and there are some winners and losers in the bunch.
The biggest win goes to 401(k) owners, including Solo K owners, who saw employee contribution amounts go from $18,000 to $18,500. Health savings account (HSA) owners won a small victory with individual contribution maximums increasing $50 to $3,450 and family contribution amounts increasing by $150 to $6,900.
However, IRA owners lost with no increase in the maximum contribution amount for Traditional or Roth IRAs. The IRA maximum contribution amount remains at $5,500 and hasn’t increased since 2013.
Breakdown
Here’s a quick breakdown on the changes:
- 401(k) contributions also increased for employees and employers: Employee contribution limitations increased from $18,000 to $18,500 for 2018. The additional catch-up contribution for those 50 and older stays the same at $6,000. The annual maximum 401(k) (defined contribution) total contribution amount increased from $54,000 to $55,000 ($61,000 for those 50 and older).
- HSA contribution limits increased from $3,400 for individuals and $6,750 for families to $3,450 for individuals and $6,900 for families.
- IRA contribution limitations (Roth and Traditional) stayed at $5,500, as did the $1,000 catch-up amount for those 50 and older.
There were additional modest increases to defined benefit plans and to certain income phase-out rules. Please refer to the IRS announcement for more details here.
These accounts provide tax advantageous ways for an individual to either save for retirement or to pay for their medical expenses. If you’re looking for tax deductions, you should determine which of these accounts is best for you. Keep in mind there are qualifications and phase out rules that apply, so make sure you’re getting competent advice about which accounts should be set up in your specific situation.
Have you taken a loan from your employer 401(k) plan and plan on leaving? Unfortunately, most company plans will require you to repay the loan within 60 days, or they will distribute the amount outstanding on the loan from your 401(k) account. Its one of the ways they try to keep their employees from leaving. “Don’t leave or we’ll distribute your 401(k) loan that you took from your money in your 401(k) account.”
