Educational Expenses: 529 Plans and ESAs
Any money you take out of a 529 plan or Educational Savings Account (ESA) must be used for qualified educational expenses in order to be tax-free. Makes sense. But a lot of schools went remote or cancelled classes this year—which means your college might have refunded some or all of your 529 or ESA money. If that’s the case, you have 60 days to put the money back in the account or use it to cover other educational expenses. If you didn’t, you might have to pay income taxes and a withdrawal penalty.
There are also a couple of new ways you can use 529 plans in 2020 without having to pay any taxes. First, you can now USE 529 PLANS to pay for the costs of certain apprenticeship programs—including fees, books and supplies. And second, you can also use money from a 529 plan to pay off up to $10,000 in student loan debt (that’s $10,000 total—not annually) without having to pay any penalties or taxes.
Retirement Plans: 401(k)s, IRAs and More
There were a lot of changes to retirement plans in 2020—and some of those changes could impact your tax bill this year. Let’s tackle each of those major changes:
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The CARES Act allows folks under age 59 1/2 to take up to $100,000 out of their 401(k)s and IRAs up until the end of 2020 without having to pay an early withdrawal penalty.But first, taking money out of your retirement accounts before retirement is a terrible idea—penalty or not. Second, the money you take out of tax-deferred retirement accounts like a traditional 401(k) or IRA will be taxed as ordinary income, so get ready to pay taxes on any withdrawals you make.
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If you own a traditional IRA, you have to take money out of your account once you reach a certain age. Those withdrawals are called required minimum distributions (RMDs). The good news is the SECURE Act pushed back the age for RMDs from traditional IRAs from 70 1/2 to 72 (if your 70th birthday was July 1, 2019 or later).On top of that, the CARES Act allows seniors to skip RMDs altogether in 2020 without penalty. That’s huge, because it could lead to significant tax savings for retirees with those accounts since the money that’s taken out of a traditional IRA counts as taxable income.
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The SECURE Act also allows owners of traditional IRAs to keep putting money in their accounts past age 70 1/2 starting in 2020. Since the money you put into a traditional IRA is tax deductible, you could lower how much of your income is taxed this year. Just remember: You will have to pay taxes on that money whenever you take it out.
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FYI: If you withdrew from your 401(k) or traditional IRA and facing a huge tax bill, don’t panic! You have three years to put those funds back and get a refund on any taxes you paid on that money. Most importantly, it will allow you to get your retirement savings back on track.