Robert Bloink and William H. Byrnes
The year-end COVID-19 stimulus bill extended some of the relief created under the CARES Act earlier in 2020. However, it's also generated much confusion over which retirement-related relief provisions were extended. In fact, much of the retirement relief related to COVID-19 was not carried over into 2021. Rather, the law provided new forms of relief for different situations — some of which are entirely unrelated to the pandemic.
It's important to pay close attention to the fine print to make sure clients understand what types of new penalty relief might be available in 2021 — and the details will be key to preventing unpleasant tax surprises for clients in the future.
CAA Retirement Distribution Relief Provisions
Some key COVID-19 relief provisions were allowed to expire at the end of 2020, including the rules that allowed penalty-free coronavirus-related distributions (CRDs) from retirement plans. The CARES Act relief for qualified plan loans was also allowed to expire if the reason for extending the repayment period was COVID-19.
Despite this, the year-end Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 (the CAA) provides the same type of tax relief for non-COVID-19 disasters, such as wildfires and hurricanes. Taxpayers impacted by any type of federally declared disaster that is not related to COVID-19 are permitted to withdraw up to $100,000 from a qualified plan or IRA within 180 days of the CAA's passage (i.e., by June 25, 2021).
As usual, these disaster-related distributions are exempt from the 10% early withdrawal penalty that would typically apply — but are subject to ordinary income tax treatment. However, taxpayers who take qualified disaster distributions are also permitted to spread the tax liability over three years (and repay the distribution over a three-year period without tax implications).
The CARES Act relief provided for qualified plan loans was also extended for victims of non-COVID-19 disasters. Taxpayers affected by a hurricane, wildfire or other natural disaster are entitled to borrow up to $100,000 (double the typical $50,000 limit) or 100% of their vested account balance.
