How Much Can You Borrow In 401 Loans
Every loan no matter the type or where you get it from will come with a limited amount you can borrow. What makes your 401 different is that you are borrowing from your own account. This means that you cannot borrow more than your account value. At the same time, your employer will not allow you to take out everything you have in the account as a loan.
So, how much can you borrow from your 401?
According to Fidelity Investments, you can borrow up to 50% of your total account savings per year. Also, the maximum amount you can borrow cannot go over $50,000. In addition, you must pay off all your 401 loans within 5 years. Some companies will require consent from your spouse or family members. Finally, there might be a limited number of outstanding loans you can have on your account.
These rules will differ from one employer to another. Some employers do even allow 401 loans.
Loans To Purchase A Home
Regulations require 401 plan loans to be repaid on an amortizing basis over not more than five years unless the loan is used to purchase a primary residence. Longer payback periods are allowed for these particular loans. The IRS doesn’t specify how long, though, so it’s something to work out with your plan administrator. And ask whether you get an extra year because of the CARES bill.
Also, remember that CARES extended the amount participants can borrow from their plans to $100,000. Previously, the maximum amount that participants may borrow from their plan is 50% of the vested account balance or $50,000, whichever is less. If the vested account balance is less than $10,000, you can still borrow up to $10,000.
Borrowing from a 401 to completely finance a residential purchase may not be as attractive as taking out a mortgage loan. Plan loans do not offer tax deductions for interest payments, as do most types of mortgages. And, while withdrawing and repaying within five years is fine in the usual scheme of 401 things, the impact on your retirement progress for a loan that has to be paid back over many years can be significant.
If you do need a sizable sum to purchase a house and want to use 401 funds, you might consider a hardship withdrawal instead of, or in addition to, the loan. But you will owe income tax on the withdrawal and, if the amount is more than $10,000, a 10% penalty as well.
Topping Off A Down Payment
If you’re buying a house and you need a little extra cash to hit your down payment, a 401k loan could push you over the top. Yes, 401k withdrawals used for a home down payment are already penalty-free. But you’ll still need to pay taxes on the amount that you withdraw.
With a 401k loan, you can avoid this tax hit. So as long as you can repay it in five years or less, a 401k loan could help you get into your dream home sooner.
Recommended Reading: Is It Better To Rollover Your 401k
What 401 Interest Rate Do You Pay On A 401 Loan
401 loan interest is based on the prime rate. This is the rate that commercial lenders use to provide credit to their most creditworthy creditors. When determining the 401 loan interest rate, 401 plans add one or two points higher than the prime rate.
For example, if the prime rate sits at 4.5%, the 401 plan will set the 401 loan interest rate at between 5.5% and 6.5%. The interest rate will be the same for every participant who borrows a 401 loan, regardless of their credit rating.
The prime rate also forms the basis of other interest rates such as interest rates for mortgages and personal loans. However, the interest rate charged on a 401 loan may be lower than the rate you could get with a personal loan.
Caveats To Borrowing From Your 401
Some 401 plans allow a withdrawal in the form of a loan, but some do not. You must check with your 401 plan administrator or investment company to find out whether your plan allows you to borrow against your account balance. You can usually find their contact information on your statement.
Some companies allow for multiple loans.
Recommended Reading: Can You Get A Loan Using Your 401k As Collateral
What Happens If You Leave Your Job And You Have A 401k Loan
Per the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was passed in 2017, if you leave or are exited from your job, you owe back your entire loan amount to your 401k by your tax return date . Thats not much time to pay back tens of thousands of dollars!!
If you default on your 401k loan, you will be taxed on the withdrawal , and if youre younger than 59.5 years old, youll be charged a 10% penalty for the early withdrawal.
Seems like the 401k loan is a fairly risky option However, if you dont have any other option for paying back debt and cant get a personal loan or debt consolidation, a 401k loan is a lower-cost option vs. drowning in credit card debt. While we dont recommend it, sometimes you have to do what you have to do.
Does Your Credit Score Affect Your 401 Interest Rate
Your credit score does not determine the interest rate you pay on a 401 loan. Typically, your credit score does not affect your chances of getting approved for a loan, and you may be allowed to borrow from your 401 even with bad credit. Once the plan administrator sets the interest rate for 401 loans, this rate remains the same for all participants regardless of their credit scores.
Read Also: Does 401k Count As Income
How Much Can Be Borrowed From A 401 Loan
It depends on how much you have in your account. You can borrow up to 50% of your vested account balance, but you cant borrow more than $50,000. Even if you have a balance of $200,000, the IRS wont let you touch more than $50,000 of it.
The only time you can borrow more than 50% is when you have a balance of less than $20,000. In that case, you can borrow up to $10,000, even if you only have $10,000 stashed away.
Loan Vs Personal Loan
Disclaimer: In order to make Wealthtender free for our readers, we earn money from advertisers including financial professionals and firms that pay to be featured on our platform. This creates a natural conflict of interest when we favor promotion of our clients over other professionals and firms not featured on Wealthtender. Learn how we operate with integrity to earn your trust.
Individuals often need cash to pay for items like a down payment on a new home, unexpected medical bills, or just simply to consolidate debt. Two common options to shore up money are tapping your 401 plans assets or taking out a personal loan. While neither choice is indicative of an ideal financial situation, there are advantages and disadvantages with both options that you should consider.
Financial advisors should be well-versed in assisting clients who need money to pay for unexpected bills or large one-off items. Cash flow planning is becoming a bigger piece of good financial planning. Helping an individual or couple analyze whether a 401 loan or a personal loan is a better choice can go a long way in building better relationships.
Recommended Reading: Which Fidelity 401k Fund Is The Best
You End Up Paying Taxes On Your Loan Repaymentstwice
Normally, contributing to your 401 comes with some great tax benefits. If you have a traditional 401, for example, your contributions are tax-deferredwhich means youll pay less in taxes now . A Roth 401 is the opposite: You pay taxes on the money you put in now so you can enjoy tax-free growth and withdrawals later.
Your 401 loan repayments, on the other hand, get no special tax treatment. In fact, youll be taxed not once, but twice on those payments. First, the loan repayments are made with after-tax dollars . And then youll pay taxes on that money again when you make withdrawals in retirement.
Whats worse than getting taxed by Uncle Sam? Getting taxed twice by Uncle Sam.
How Do 401 Loans Work
When individuals are in a tight spot financially, they often turn to 401 loans. The interest rate for the 401 loans is usually a point or two higher than the prime rate, but they can vary. By law, individuals are allowed to borrow the lesser of $50,000 or 50% of the total amount of the 401.
Read Also: Can You Convert A Roth 401k To A Roth Ira
Talk With A Financial Advisor
Still have questions about your 401 and what a 401 loan would mean for your financial future? The best thing you can do is talk to a qualified financial advisor you can trust.
Our SmartVestor program can connect you with a financial advisor you can turn to for sound advice. That way, you dont have to make these huge financial decisions on your own.
About the author
Ramsey Solutions
Ramsey Solutions has been committed to helping people regain control of their money, build wealth, grow their leadership skills, and enhance their lives through personal development since 1992. Millions of people have used our financial advice through 22 books published by Ramsey Press, as well as two syndicated radio shows and 10 podcasts, which have over 17 million weekly listeners.Learn More.
Retirement Savings Can Benefit
As you make loan repayments to your 401 account, they usually are allocated back into your portfolio’s investments. You will repay the account a bit more than you borrowed from it, and the difference is called “interest.” The loan produces no impact on your retirement if any lost investment earnings match the “interest” paid ini.e., earnings opportunities are offset dollar-for-dollar by interest payments.
If the interest paid exceeds any lost investment earnings, taking a 401 loan can actually increase your retirement savings progress. Keep in mind, however, that this will proportionally reduce your personal savings.
You May Like: Can You Roll Over 401k From One Company To Another
Early Withdrawals Less Attractive Than Loan
One alternative to a 401 loan is a hardship distribution as part of an early withdrawal, but that comes with all kinds of taxes and penalties. If you withdraw the funds before retirement age youll typically be hit with income taxes on any gains and may be assessed a 10 percent bonus penalty, depending on the nature of the hardship.
You can also claim a hardship distribution with an early withdrawal.
The IRS defines a hardship distribution as an immediate and heavy financial need of the employee, adding that the amount must be necessary to satisfy the financial need. This type of early withdrawal doesnt require you to pay it back, nor does it come with any penalties.
A hardship distribution through an early withdrawal covers a few different circumstances, including:
- Certain medical expenses
- Some costs for buying a principal home
- Tuition, fees and education expenses
- Costs to prevent getting evicted or foreclosed
- Funeral or burial expenses
- Emergency home repairs for uninsured casualty losses
Hardships can be relative, and yours may not qualify you for an early withdrawal.
This type of withdrawal doesnt require you to pay it back. But its a good idea to avoid an early withdrawal, if at all possible, because of the serious negative effects on your retirement funds. Here are a few ways to sidestep those hefty levies and keep your retirement on track.
What Happens If You Leave Your Job
When you take out a loan from a 401, you may have no intention of leaving your current employer. But if you receive a better job offer, or are laid off or otherwise leave, you could be required to pay the loan back in full or face some serious tax consequences.
Employees who leave their jobs with an outstanding 401 loan have until the tax-return-filing due date for that tax year, including any extensions, to repay the outstanding balance of the loan, or to roll it over into another eligible retirement account. If you cant repay it, the amount of money you still owe will be considered a deemed distribution and could be taxed as it would be if you were to default on the loan.
That means if you left your job in January 2021, you would have until April 18, 2022 when your 2021 federal tax return is due to roll over or repay the loan amount. Prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the deadline was 60 days.
If you cant repay the loan, your employer will treat the remaining unpaid balance as a distribution and issue Form 1099-R to the IRS. That amount is typically considered taxable income and may be subject to a 10% penalty on the amount of the distribution for early withdrawal if youre younger than 59½ or dont otherwise qualify for an exemption.
Don’t Miss: How To Protect Your 401k In A Divorce
Loans From Your Supplemental 401 Plan
You are eligible to borrow money from your 401 account if your balance is greater than $2,000.
Important! Only pre-tax contributions are available to borrow. Roth post-tax contributions are not available.
What you should know
- A loan takes approximately 3-4 weeks to process.
- You are allowed a maximum of one loan at a time.
- You must pay interest on the loan.
- You must make your loan payments directly to Fidelity Investments. Loan payments cannot be automatically deducted from your MIT paycheck.
Contact Fidelity Investments for details by calling MIT-SAVE or 648-7283 or visit Fidelity NetBenefits.
What you can borrow
Tax laws limit the amount you can borrow from your 401 account. Typically, you can borrow up to 50% of your account balance up to a maximum loan of $50,000. The minimum amount you can borrow is $1,000.
Additional stipulations
- If you borrowed from your 401 account within the last 12 months, the maximum you can borrow may be less than $50,000.
- The money you borrow comes directly from your 401 account and is taken proportionally from all eligible investment funds in your account.
- You cannot have more than one loan at a time from your 401 account, so you must repay any existing loan on the account before you borrow from it again.
- Your 401 loan cannot be refinanced or re-amortized.
How much it will cost to borrow
The interest on your 401 loan:
Failure to repay
If you do not repay your loan on time:
How you receive your loan
K Loan Repayment After Leaving A Job
The biggest fear that surrounds borrowing from a 401k is what will happen if you leave the job either voluntarily or involuntarily. Before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, loan repayments must have been met within 60 days.
Nowadays you have until your tax returns due date for the year you left your job.
For example, if you left your job in 2020, youd have until April 15, 2021, to repay your loan .
Any outstanding loan balance not repaid on time will be seen as an early withdrawal and subject to an early withdrawal penalty.
This understandably freaks people out. Ideally, you wont borrow against your 401k if you feel that you are in danger of losing your job or you plan to leave shortly. If your job is stable, this fear is mostly unfounded.
Of course, all of us are expendable. What if you do lose your job and have to pay the money back?
Well, we dont have debtors prisoners anymore , so its not like youll be locked up. What will happen is that the IRS will classify the remaining balance as an early withdrawal, hit you with a 10% penalty on that amount, and require you pay taxes on the distribution.
Don’t Miss: How Much Can A Business Owner Contribute To A 401k
How To Get 401 Loans
The process of obtaining a 401 loan will vary depending on your plan provider. But since theres typically no credit check required, you can request information about the rates and fees associated with a 401 loan without hurting your credit score. Heres how to initiate the process.
Etfs Vs Mutual Funds: What Makes Them Different
If youre looking to invest in the stock market, you might be thinking about investing in a mutual fund. But exchange-traded funds have become a popular alternative in recent years. They have many of the same benefits as mutual funds but are usually less expensive than mutual funds. Both options come with their fair share of pros and cons. If youre not sure which is right for you, use this guide to get started.
Recommended Reading: How Much Should I Put In My 401k Per Paycheck
