SECURE Act and credit card based loans

[t.haley]

Plain language of SECURE Act prohibits loans from a 401k plan using credit or debit cards, effective for loans made on or after 12/20/19.  Despite this, plan sponsor issued loans to multiple participants after this date using credit card method (but has since ceased doing this).  Any other remedy other than issuing 1099-MISC to these participants who got loans via credit card after 12/20/19?

[Belgarath]

There will have to be some relief issued for such situations. It is simply not possible for plan sponsors to modify all their programs, administrative procedures, etc., for a piece of legislation passed with little warning like this. The plan sponsor obviously reasonably complied as soon as possible based upon what you say. I would be very inclined to ignore reporting it as a taxable distribution, but I'll be interested to see what others think. And tax/legal counsel should be used before a decision to ignore is made.

[Peter Gulia]

Also, the plan’s administrator might want its lawyer’s advice about exactly which person—administrator, trustee, custodian, recordkeeper, third-party administrator, or another service provider—has responsibility for this tax-reporting decision.

 

And if the reporter wants to finish its work on 2019 1099-R reports within the next eight business days, one imagines the reporter might not wait for further Treasury or IRS guidance.