10 Little-Known Ways to Reduce Your 401(k) Taxes

If you have a traditional 401(k), you will have to pay taxes when you take distributions. Unfortunately, that 401(k) is subject to the worst kind of taxes – ordinary income taxes. The amount you pay is based on your tax bracket, and if you’re younger than 59½, add 10% (for early distribution) in most cases. That could put your tax rate at 37% – ouch!

You could look at a Roth 401(k) or a Roth IRA in order to pay taxes now rather than later, but we wanted to know how the pros help their clients minimize their tax burden. We asked, and here’s what they said.

If you have company stock in your 401(k), you may be eligible for net unrealized appreciation treatment, says Trace Tisler, CFP®, owner of Epic Financial, LLC, if the company stock portion of your 401(k) is distributed to a taxable account – for example, a taxable brokerage account. When you do this, you still have to pay income tax on the original purchase price of the stock, but the capital gains tax on the appreciation of the stock will be lower. 

So, instead of keeping the money in your 401(k) or moving it to a traditional IRA, consider moving your funds to a taxable account instead. (You should also consider thinking twice about rolling over company stock.) This strategy can be rather complex so it might be best to enlist the help of a pro.

Most people know that they are subject to required minimum distributions (RMDs) at age 70½, even on a Roth 401(k). But if you’re still working when you reach that age, these RMDs don’t apply to your 401(k) with your current employer. However, “there are issues with this strategy if you are an owner of a company,” warns Christopher Cannon, CFP® of RetireRight Pittsburgh. If you own more than 5% of the company that sponsors the plan, you’re not eligible for this exemption. Keep in mind that the IRS has not clearly defined what amounts to "still working," and that the individual would need to be deemed working throughout the entire calendar year. Also consider that the 5% ownership rule is actually over 5%, includes any stake owned by a spouse, children and grandchildren and parents and may raise to over 5% after age 70½ and you can see how complicated this strategy can get.

Another strategy, called tax-loss harvesting, involves selling underperforming securities in your regular investment account. The losses on the securities offset the taxes on your 401(k) distribution. “Exercised correctly, tax-loss harvesting will offset some, or all, of an investor’s tax burden generated from a 401(k) distribution,” says Kevin Pollack, co-founder and managing partner at Chamberlain Warden, LLC. (There are limitations to this strategy that involve reducing investment losses.)

When you take 401(k) distributions, the service provider is required to withhold 20% for federal income tax. If you will only owe 15% at tax time, this means you'll have to wait until you file your taxes to get that 5% back. Instead, “roll over the 401(k) balance to an IRA account and take your cash out of the IRA,” suggests Peter Messina, investment advisor representative at ABG Consultants. “There is no mandatory 20% federal income tax withholding on the IRA, and you can choose to pay your taxes when you file rather than upon distribution.” 

Some plans let you take out a loan from your 401(k) balance. If so, you may be able to borrow from your account, invest the funds and create a consistent income stream that persists beyond your repayment of the loan.

“The IRS generally allows you to borrow up to 50% of your vested loan balance (up to $50,000) with a payback period of up to five years,” explains Ravi Ramnarain, CPA. “In this case, you don’t pay any taxes on this distribution, let alone a 10% penalty. Instead, you simply have to pay back this amount in at least quarterly payments over the life of the loan.

“Given these parameters,” Ramnarain continues, “consider this scenario: You take out a $50,000 loan over five years. With interest, let’s say your monthly payment over this 60-month period is $900. Now imagine taking that $50,000 principal amount and purchasing a small rental house, apartment or duplex in the relatively inexpensive South. Given that you would be purchasing this property without a mortgage, let's say that your net rent each month comes out to $1,100 (after taxes and management fees).

“What you have effectively done," says Ramnarain, "is to set up an investment vehicle that puts $200 in your pocket each month ($1,100 - $900 = $200) for five years. And after five years, you will have fully paid back your $50,000 401(k) loan, but you'll continue to pocket your $1,100 net rent for life! You might also have the opportunity to sell that house/apartment/duplex later on at an appreciated amount, in excess of inflation.”

Of course, a strategy like this comes with investment risk. You should always talk to your financial adviser before taking on this kind of risk.

Since all (or, one hopes, only a portion) of your 401(k) distribution is based on your tax bracket at the time of a distribution, only take distributions to the upper limit of your tax bracket. 

“One of the best ways to keep taxes to a minimum is to do detailed tax planning each year to keep your taxable income [income after deductions] to a minimum,” says Neil Dinndorf, CFP®, a wealth adviser at EnRich Financial Partners. “For example, say you file ‘married filing jointly.’ For 2018, you can stay in the 12% tax bracket by keeping taxable income under $77,400 (as per the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in late 2017). 

By planning carefully, you can limit your 401(k) withdrawals so they don't push you into a higher bracket (the next one up is 22%) and then take the remainder from after-tax investments, cash savings or Roth savings, says Dinndorf. The same goes for big-ticket expenses in retirement, such as car purchases or big vacations: Try to limit the amount you take from your 401(k) by perhaps taking a combination of 401(k) and Roth/after-tax withdrawals. 

Try to only take withdrawals from your 401(k) up to the earned income amount that will allow your long-term capital gains to be taxed at 0%. In 2018, singles with taxable income up to $38,700 and married filing jointly tax filers with taxable income up to $77,400 can stay in the 0% capital gains threshold. Nathan Garcia, CFP®​​, says retirees can subtract their pension from their annual spending amount, then calculate the taxable portion of their Social Security benefits and subtract this from the balance from the previous equation. Then, if they are over 70, subtract their required minimum distribution. The remainder, if any, is what should come from the retirees' 401(k), up to the $38,700 or $77,400 limit. Any income needed above this amount should be withdrawn from positions with long-term capital gains in a brokerage account or Roth IRA.

Remember, you don’t have to take distributions on your 401(k) funds at your current employer if you’re still working. However, “if you have 401(k)s with previous employers or traditional IRAs, you would be required to take RMDs from those accounts,” says Mindy S. Hirt, CFP®, a wealth advisor with Argent Financial Co. 

To avoid the requirement, “roll your old 401(k)s and traditional IRAs into your current 401(k) before the year you turn 70½. There are some exceptions to this rule but if you can take advantage of this technique, you can further defer taxable income until retirement, at which point the distributions might be at a lower tax bracket (if you no longer have earned income)."

To keep your taxable income lower and also possibly stay in a lower tax bracket, consider putting off your Social Security benefits until later. Frank St. Onge, CFP® at Total Financial Planning, LLC, advises some of his clients to delay Social Security payments as part of a tax-saving strategy that includes converting some funds to a Roth IRA. “I recommend that [some clients] wait until age 70 to start their Social Security benefits,” says Onge,

Other than limiting taxable income and managing their tax bracket, if retirees can afford to delay collecting Social Security benefits they also can raise their payment by almost a third just by waiting four more years to claim. For example, if you were born in 1943-1954 your full retirement age is 66 at which point you will get 100% of your benefit. But if you delay to age 67 you'll get 108% of your age 66 benefit, and at age 70 you'll get 132% of your age 66 benefit for delaying 48 months (the IRS provides this handy calculator). This strategy stops yielding any benefit at age 70, however, and no matter what you should still file for Medicare at age 65.

Previously, couples had the option of the "file and suspend" strategy that allowed one spouse to file and immediately suspend Social Security benefits. That move served to trigger a spousal benefit payment equal to half the filer's full benefit. In effect, the couple (or divorced spouse) gets the benefit of a (lower) payment while also collecting delayed retirement credits. It was a great loophole that the government closed in 2016.

“For people living in areas prone to hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes or other forms of natural disasters,” Ramnarain says, “the IRS periodically grants relief with regard to 401(k) distributions – in effect, waiving the 10% penalty within a certain window of time. An example might be during certain severe Florida hurricane seasons.”

If you live in one of these areas and need to take an early distribution, see if you can wait for one of these times.

Keep in mind that these are advanced strategies used by the pros to reduce their clients’ tax burdens at the time of distribution. Don’t try to implement them on your own unless you have a high degree of financial and tax knowledge. Instead, ask your financial planner if any of them are right for you. As with anything having to do with taxes, there are rules and conditions with each, and one wrong move could trigger penalties.