Stuck With a 401K Loan and Leaving Your Job

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 great time than was previously allowed. Traditionally, you had 30 or 60 days at most to try 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.