Q&A

Q&A: Refinancing reverse mortgage

June 15, 2020 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I am a senior citizen who fell for the hype about reverse mortgages during a really hard time in my life. To this date I regret profoundly having sold my home to the devil! I never imagined that my debt would grow such as it has. My home is currently valued at $120,000 and my debt is $189,000. I was paid just $40,000 when I initiated the loan. Plus, the loan was sold to a company I don’t like. They charge fees for everything, which just adds to the debt, and I am totally unable to do anything about what they charge. Can I refinance this loan with another company?

Answer: A reverse mortgage technically can be refinanced, but you would need to have substantial equity in your home. Since that’s not the case, you’re stuck.

Many people don’t understand how a reverse mortgage balance can grow over time. Although reverse mortgages allow people 62 and older to convert home equity to cash, without requiring payments, any amount borrowed grows at the interest rate specified in the loan contract. People who tap their home equity early in retirement may find they don’t have any equity left later.

Although your debt exceeds your home’s value, neither you nor your heirs will be on the hook for the difference. The lender will have to accept the proceeds of the home’s sale when you die, sell or move out as payment in full.

Q&A: Roth IRA penalties

June 15, 2020 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I read your column in which you talked about the Roth IRA and how withdrawals can be penalized if you’re younger than 59½ or the account is not 5 years old. But are there any exceptions? Can we withdraw from our Roth IRA and not pay any tax or penalty if we use the money to pay for our children’s college?

Answer: You can avoid the early withdrawal penalty, but you’ll owe taxes on any earnings you withdraw from a Roth IRA when you use the money for qualified higher education expenses.

To recap, you can always withdraw an amount equal to your total contributions to a Roth IRA without owing any taxes or penalties. You don’t even have to wait five years.

When you withdraw earnings, however, you can avoid taxes and penalties only if the account is at least 5 years old and you’re 59½ or older, or you’re taking the distribution because you’re totally and permanently disabled, you inherited the Roth IRA from the account owner or you’re using as much as $10,000 for a first-time home purchase.

If you don’t meet those qualifications, there are still ways to avoid the penalty if not the taxes.

Withdrawing money to pay qualified education expenses is one of those exceptions, as is paying medical expenses that exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income, withdrawing as much as $5,000 after the birth or adoption of a child, paying an IRS levy, taking a qualified reservist distribution if you’re a military reservist called to active duty or taking a series of substantially equal periodic payments.

Let’s say you’ve contributed $20,000 to a Roth that’s now worth $30,000. The first $20,000 you withdraw is tax- and penalty-free. The final $10,000 you withdraw would be taxable, but it would not face the 10% early withdrawal penalty if you used it for your children’s college tuition, fees, books, supplies or other qualified expenses.

“Where’s My Refund?”

June 9, 2020 By Liz Weston

If you’ve been waiting months for your tax refund, you’re not alone.

Many people who filed paper tax returns — and even some who filed electronically, but whose returns were flagged because of problems — have yet to see their money. Some are growing desperate, since they rely on refunds to pay bills or cover medical care.

Few can get through to anyone who can help. The IRS closed its processing centers, local offices and taxpayer help lines because of COVID-19 lockdowns, prioritizing the stimulus payments authorized by the CARES Act.

As I wrote in a previous post, taxpayers are reaping what their lawmakers have sowed:

“Over the last decade, Congress has cut the IRS’ budget by more than 20% after factoring in inflation, even as the population grew and tax law got ever more complicated. The agency was limping along with ancient technology and too few people to help the public even before the pandemic sent most of its workers home, without the ability to telecommute.

The agency has been trying to recall its workforce as quickly as it can, but there is a truly massive backlog of paper returns that has yet to be processed. Sending out stimulus relief checks has taken priority, and that Herculean effort is still in process.”

Processing centers in Kentucky, Texas and Utah opened this week. Re-openings are planned for June 15 in Georgia, Missouri, Michigan and Tennessee. Processing centers are scheduled to open June 29 in Indiana, Ohio, California, Puerto Rico and Oregon.

It’s unclear how long it will take employees to clear the massive backlog they’re facing. NerdWallet has some suggestions for workarounds, including contacting the Taxpayer Advocate Service, although that service is overwhelmed as well.

Please don’t re-file your tax return, as that won’t help and makes the backlog worse. If you’re still working, consider adjusting your withholding to increase your paycheck. (It’s far better to keep your own money than to make an interest-free loan to the government, which has no obligation to pay you back in a timely manner.) If you’re struggling, you may be able to find food banks, and other resources to help you at 211.org.

Q&A: Picking your estate’s executor

June 8, 2020 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: One issue in a recent column was about a sibling who did not follow the will. As executor, the sibling took two thirds of the estate instead of the will’s specification of half.

This is why, when my wife and I had our estate plan created, we told the attorney that none of the beneficiaries should be the executor of our wills and none should be a trustee of our trusts. Indeed, our trusts — which own almost our entire estate — cannot have the spouse, child, parent or in-law of a beneficiary as a trustee.

Answer: Yours is certainly one solution, if you can find the appropriate people to serve. But naming an heir as executor or trustee doesn’t have to be a disaster, as long as you name the right person — someone who is honest, dependable and able to serve with integrity.

How filing taxes could generate your coronavirus stimulus check

June 8, 2020 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: My adjusted gross income in 2019 was too high for me to get a stimulus relief payment. However, my income this year will be much lower and I would qualify. Will I automatically get the stimulus payment when I file my 2020 return or is there something I must do to get the money?

Answer: Just file your 2020 taxes and you’ll get the money.

The recent relief checks of up to $1,200 per adult were created using a refundable credit that will apply to 2020 taxes. (Refundable credits reduce your tax bill dollar for dollar, with any excess refunded to the taxpayer.)

The structure of this refundable credit has created some confusion. Many people thought the payments would reduce the refund they would normally get, but that’s not the case. Rather, the relief checks are an advance on a credit that has been added to their 2020 taxes. When people file their 2020 tax returns, they’ll deduct their relief payments from that new credit. (And although the credits are refundable, the money doesn’t have to be paid back if you got a payment but your 2020 income turns out to be too high.)

If you didn’t get a payment but you qualify based on your 2020 income, you’ll get the credit when you file.