Ask Liz Weston

Get smart with your money

Liz Weston

Q&A: Loans, taxes and home sales

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Dear Liz: You recently answered a question about determining home sale profits for a widow. My question is how you calculate taxes when there’s a loan in the mix. For instance, when I bought my home, I took out a mortgage. Subsequently, I took out a second mortgage to pay for a pool and landscaping. I also refinanced several times, but never took a mortgage with cash out. Please advise me how to calculate my cost basis given these loans. Of course, you can broaden your response to include other loan scenarios and how they play into cost basis.

Answer: This will be a short answer, because they don’t. What you owe the mortgage lender(s) is typically irrelevant for calculating your capital gain.

Q&A: Facing retirement with parent student loans? Transfer them to the kids

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Dear Liz: I’m 60. Should I take a $50,000 distribution from my 401(k) to pay down my $146,000 parent Plus college loan and then try to refinance the balance with a private lender at a lower interest rate? I have $364,000 in my 401(k). I’m paying 8% interest on the parent Plus loan and planning to retire at age 66 years and 10 months, my full retirement age for Social Security.

Answer: Are you sure you can afford to retire?

You would still have a massive amount of education debt even after paying it down, plus a smaller nest egg. Unless you have a substantial amount of savings outside your 401(k) or another source of income besides Social Security, you could run a substantial risk of running short of money even if you can persuade a private lender to refinance your debt.

That may not be the best option, in any case. Federal loans have more consumer protections, including deferral and forbearance options and income-contingent repayment plans that could lower your payments.

Refinancing with a private lender might make the most sense if you can transfer this debt to the child or children who benefited from the education. Several private lenders offer this option if the kids have good credit and decent incomes.

In any case, you’d be smart to consult a fee-only financial planner who can review the specifics of your finances and offer advice.

Friday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: Why you should ask your parents about their financial plans. Also in the news: Why you no longer need a chip-and-PIN card overseas, earning and burning your airline rewards to maximize free flights, and 1 in 4 millennials raiding 401(k)s early to pay down debt.

Yes, You Should Ask Your Parents About Their Financial Plans
Life moves fast.

Do You Need a Chip-and-PIN Card? Probably Not Anymore
“Chip-and-signature” becoming widely accepted overseas.

‘Earn and Burn’ Your Airline Rewards to Maximize Free Flights
Use your miles as soon as possible.

Yikes: 1 in 4 millennials raiding 401(k)s early to pay down debt
Risking retirement.

Thursday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: 5 travel rewards myths that could cost you. Also in the news: 5 things to know about the Hilton Honors AmEx business card, what to know about SIMPLE IRAs, and how to manage household finances after your spouse dies.

5 Travel Rewards Myths That Could Cost You
How to make the most of your rewards.

5 Things to Know About the Hilton Honors AmEx Business Card
Solid benefits.

What Is a SIMPLE IRA and How Do I Open One?
The small company version of a 401(k).

How to Manage Household Finances After Your Spouse Dies
Navigating new financial waters.

5 travel rewards myths that could cost you

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Twenty-four years ago, I knew so little about travel rewards that I took an around-the-world trip without signing up for a single frequent traveler program. Those lost points and miles still haunt me.

Fast forward to last summer, when our family stayed two nights at a luxury hotel in Venice, Italy. Our room would have cost an eye-popping €1,500, or about $1,700, per night. Thanks to the points I’d accumulated using a travel rewards credit card, this over-the-top stay was free.

There’s definitely a learning curve involved when it comes to travel rewards, but delaying your education can be costly if you love to travel. In my latest for the Associated Press, 5 travel reward myths to avoid.