Are 401k Losses Tax Deductible?

• Tax loss harvesting is a strategy employed by investors to reduce their tax liability by selling losing investments to offset gains. Investors should sell losing investments at a gain, and then use the losses to offset gains. When doing tax loss harvesting, investors should pay close attention to wash sales, which occur when investors sell a stock at a loss, and then repurchase that same stock within 30 days.
• A 401(k) is a retirement plan offered by most employers that allows employees to save and invest a portion of their pay.
• For employees who participate in 401(k) plans, any losses they experience within those accounts can be deducted as a tax loss on their personal tax returns.

A 401(k) is a retirement plan offered by most employers that allows employees to save and invest a portion of their pay.
For employees who participate in 401(k) plans, any losses they experience within those accounts can be deducted as a tax loss on their personal tax returns. However, tax losses are generally limited to $3,000 per year, and any losses that exceed that amount are carried over to future tax years.

What Types of 401k Losses Are Tax Deductible?

401k plan losses are allowed as tax deductions if they are incurred in a taxable account, but not if they are incurred in a tax-deferred account. This is true regardless of the age or employment status of the investor. Thus, if you save for retirement through a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, 401k, 403b, SEP IRA, or SIMPLE IRA, you can only deduct losses from taxable accounts.

401k Contributed

There are no tax implications from contributing to your 401k. However, there are tax consequences if you are taking withdrawals.
If you were to cash out your 401k while they were still active, you would be treated as if you received a lump sum distribution.
If you make withdrawals, you will be taxed as if you received a distribution. The tax on your withdrawal will be a pro rata amount of your contributions, earnings, and any taxable distributions.

401k Non-Contributed

If you did not contribute any funds to your 401k plan, any losses you incur are nondeductible. The IRS considers losses incurred by an inactive participant not to be "for investment purposes" and, therefore, nondeductible.
For example, if you did not contribute any funds to your 401k plan and did not actively monitor your investment activity, your 401k plan will have losses that are nondeductible.
However, if you contribute some funds to your 401k plan, your losses are deductible.

401k Rollover to Another Plan

All 401k rollovers to a traditional IRA are tax-free, including rollovers to Roth IRAs.
Rollovers to 401k from company stock or bonds are also tax-free. A rollover from a 401k into a Roth IRA is tax-free.
401k Withdrawals and Loans
However, a withdrawal-even if it is tax-free-from a 401k plan may be subject to a 10% penalty if you are under age 591⁄2.
Loan repayments are also subject to these 10% penalties.
401k Withdrawals and Taxes
If you withdraw money from your 401k plan before age 591⁄2, you may be subject to taxes, and the taxes may be deducted on your tax return.
Distributions from your 401k plan are taxed as ordinary income, so you must report the amount as taxable income on your Form 1040. The distribution may be reported on a Form 1099-R if you choose to receive a paper copy.

401k Withdrawals

When you withdraw from your traditional (pre-tax) 401k, you are taxed at the ordinary income tax rate.
The "taxable amount" includes the account's original contribution, earnings, and any payouts from the plan. So, if you withdraw $100,000 from your 401k, your taxable income is increased by $100,000. However, that $100,000 is taxed at a lower rate than it was taxed at originally, so your actual tax bill will be lower.

Say your original 401k contributions were taxed at 28%, but you were in the 24% marginal tax bracket when you withdrew the money. Your tax bill on the withdrawal is $28,000, which is reduced by your 401k tax deduction of $24,000, for a tax savings of $4,000.

However, if you withdraw money from a Roth 401k, that withdrawal is not taxed at all.
Investments in a 401k, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and annuities, are subject to the 10% early withdrawal penalty if you withdraw before the age of 59 1/2.

401k Losses
Investments in a 401k are not protected from losses. If you lose money in your 401k, the amount you can deduct is limited by the amount you have invested.

For example, if you invest $100,000 in a 401k that loses 10% of its value, you can deduct $10,000 of the loss on your taxes that year.