Myth 3: You'll pay taxes twice. However, that statement greatly exaggerates the tax costs of taking a 401(k) loan; the only money "taxed twice" in the transaction is the interest paid. Meanwhile, the 401(k) borrower is able to take the loan, consisting of money that has never been taxed, without tax consequences.
The answer is no, you do not pay any more taxes with a 401k loan than you would on any other type of loan.
But, no, you don't pay taxes twice on 401(k) withdrawals. With the 20% withholding on your distribution, you're essentially paying part of your taxes upfront. Depending on your tax situation, the amount withheld might not be enough to cover your full tax liability.
Any money borrowed from a 401(k) account is tax-exempt, as long as you pay back the loan on time. And you're paying the interest to yourself, not to a bank. You do not have to claim a 401(k) loan on your tax return.
You'll pay a modest interest rate and this money goes straight into your retirement account. No taxes or fees (if you pay it back). With a loan, you won't have to pay taxes or penalty fees like you will if you withdraw the money.
The easiest way to borrow from your 401(k) without owing any taxes is to roll over the funds into a new retirement account. You may do this when, for instance, you leave a job and are moving funds from your former employer's 401(k) plan into one sponsored by your new employer.
Loans are not taxable distributions unless they fail to satisfy the plan loan rules of the regulations with respect to amount, duration and repayment terms, as described above. In addition, a loan that is not paid back according to the repayment terms is treated as a distribution from the plan and is taxable as such.
Borrowing from your 401(k) isn't ideal, but it does have some advantages, especially when compared to an early withdrawal. Avoid taxes or penalties. A loan allows you to avoid paying the taxes and penalties that come with taking an early withdrawal.
401(k) Loan Pros:
You may be able to qualify for a lower interest rate than you could with a credit card or personal loan. You're paying interest back to yourself, rather than to a bank or lender. There's no credit check required and a 401(k) loan won't show up on your credit report.
Although 401(k) loan defaults don't impact your credit score or carry long-term consequences, the short-term costs can be daunting. Employees don't often consider this worst-case scenario when taking out a 401(k) loan.
Most commonly, double taxation happens when a company earns a profit in the form of dividends. The company pays the taxes on its annual profits first. Then, after the company pays its dividends to shareholders, shareholders pay a second tax.
Double taxation refers to the imposition of taxes on the same income, assets or financial transaction at two different points of time. Double taxation can be economic, which refers to the taxing of shareholder dividends after taxation as corporate earnings.
Once you reach 59½, you can take distributions from your 401(k) plan without being subject to the 10% penalty. However, that doesn't mean there are no consequences. All withdrawals from your 401(k), even those taken after age 59½, are subject to ordinary income taxes.
If you have a high-interest debt, such as from a credit card with a big balance, you may get a much lower interest rate on a 401(k) loan. If you have upcoming debt payments and no other alternatives for paying them, borrowing from your 401(k) can reduce fees and penalties.
If you don't repay the loan, including interest, according to the loan's terms, any unpaid amounts become a plan distribution to you. Your plan may even require you to repay the loan in full if you leave your job.
If you have a 401(k) plan loan and are making timely payments on the loan, you will not receive a 1099-R from Ascensus. However, if payments are not made on time or you left your employer and the loan had not been repaid in full when you separated your employment, the loan will default.
Risks of taking out a 401(k) loan
“If you leave your job, or are no longer employed with that company, you will be forced to pay the full balance of the loan back, and if you can't do that, whatever you can't pay back, you'll be subject to the taxes because it will count as an early distribution plus a 10% penalty.”
However, there may come a time when you need money and have no choice but to pull funds from your 401(k). Two viable options include 401(k) loans and hardship withdrawals. A 401(k) loan is generally more attainable than a hardship withdrawal, but the latter can come in handy during times of financial strife.
However, you may request only one loan within any three-month period. You must wait at least 15 calendar days after the final payment of a loan balance before you may request a new loan.
Pros. Lower interest rate: The interest rate on a 401(k) loan is lower compared to other retail lending options. Typically, it's the prime rate plus 1% to 2%. As of November 2023, the prime rate is 8.50%, which makes a 401(k) loan about 9.50% to 10.50% APR, depending on your plan's administrator.
Rules of taking out a 401(k) loan are as follows:
There is a 12 month "look back" period, which means you can borrow up to 50% of your total vested balance of all accounts you owned for the last 12 months, reduced by the highest outstanding balance over this look back period.
While it's beneficial to pay off your loan early, doing so might strain your cash flow. Make sure that paying off your 401(k) loan won't leave you short of cash for other important expenses or emergency savings.
Here's why. To pay interest on a plan loan, you first need to earn money and pay income tax on those earnings. With what's left over after taxes, you pay the interest on your loan. That interest is treated as taxable earnings in your 401(k) plan account.
You can do a 401(k) withdrawal while you're still employed at the company that sponsors your 401(k), but you can only cash out your 401(k) from previous employers.
States That Don't Tax Retirement Income
Those eight – Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming – don't tax wages, salaries, dividends, interest or any sort of income.