<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html lang='en' xml:lang='en' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<head>
<title>
IR-2017-138:  Retirement Plans Can Make Loans, Hardship Distributions to Victims of Hurricane Harvey

</title>
<link rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon" href="https://content.govdelivery.com/assets/favicon-5157a809024b7dd3d618037af637e21a7603480a4a045b7714038e6fe99c5698.ico" />
<script type='text/javascript'>
  //<![CDATA[
    var addthis_config = {
      username: 'govdprod',
      ui_email_note: "Thought you would enjoy this.\nShared via GovDelivery.",
      data_track_clickback: true,
      data_use_cookies: false,
      data_use_flash: false,
      ui_hover_direction: -1
    }
    var addthis_share = {
      templates: {twitter: "{{title}} {{url}} via @Granicus"}
    }
  //]]>
</script>
<script src='https://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js#pubid=govdprod' type='text/javascript'></script>

<link href='https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USIRS/bulletins/1b419c7' rel='canonical' />
<meta content='text/html; charset=UTF-8' http-equiv='Content-Type' />
<meta content='IR-2017-138:  Retirement Plans Can Make Loans, Hardship Distributions to Victims of Hurricane Harvey' property='og:title' />
<meta content='article' property='og:type' />
<meta content='https://public.govdelivery.com/assets/transparent-88f14d8977847e3c87b58124930101861b80940fdfef5ef3e42f63fef9b3cb22.gif' property='og:image' />
<meta content='Internal Revenue Service (IRS)' property='og:site_name' />
<meta content='210315575371' property='fb:app_id' />

<link rel="stylesheet" media="screen" href="/assets/subscriber-d967c6258a7d3eaf583759c7c21430ca3f5cbd7314d2eca5e3c15d177ef8929c.css" />
<link rel="stylesheet" media="screen" href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USIRS/style.css?v=1422389332" />
<script src="/assets/Public-e2cb6746aba49511b0c61f2b186c580989e0569da84a5a3d251d74506f793de3.js"></script>
<script src="/assets/controller_manifests/AccountBulletins-99c26ad7605c8aeaeff29b8feaf48aa57b21e42d00f307921f23cd7bb7553606.js"></script>

</head>
<body id='shared_bulletin'>
<div id='sticky_nav'>
<div class='menu_content'>
<!-- AddThis Button BEGIN -->
<div class="addthis_toolbox addthis_default_style addthis_32x32_style" addthis:url="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USIRS/bulletins/1b419c7">
<a class="addthis_button_facebook"></a>
<a class="addthis_button_twitter"></a>
<a class="addthis_button_google_plusone_share"g:plusone:size="large" g:plusone:count="false"></a>
<a class="addthis_button_email"></a>
<a class="addthis_button_compact"></a>
<a class="addthis_counter addthis_bubble_style"></a>

<span class="subscribe">
  <form id="sub_form" action="https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USIRS/subscriber/qualify" accept-charset="UTF-8" method="get"><input name="utf8" type="hidden" value="&#x2713;" /><input type="hidden" name="authenticity_token" value="enP0JYVPWspT7oqLPFH3xgPUjiiCaPaH1uSn5c+1+9RabOnEyp4sEHRY4l73o/wwbefHnOHRu6BvE0aEC8KIxw==" />
<label for="email">Receive Updates</label>
<input type="text" name="email" id="email" placeholder="Enter Email Address" />
<input type="submit" name="commit" value="Go" class="sr-button" />
</form>

<img src="https://content.govdelivery.com/assets/logos/govd-envelope-dark-20px-f7cb83de41ee11fe68a33125cd9e51d9c13a20f59dbe25f05f9c3b44e4f8d65d.png" alt="Govd envelope dark 20px" />

</span>

</div>
<!-- AddThis Button END -->

</div>
</div>

<div class='wide' id='page_margins'>
<div id='page'>
<div class='account_banner'>
<div class='qs_banner'>
<a href='https://www.irs.gov/' target='_blank'>
<img alt='IRS Banner 2' src='/system/images/34026/original/irs_banner_2.jpeg?1364393014' />
</a>
</div>

</div>
<div class='bulletin_display' id='bulletin_content'>
<h1 class='bulletin_subject'>IR-2017-138:  Retirement Plans Can Make Loans, Hardship Distributions to Victims of Hurricane Harvey</h1>
<span class='dateline rs_skip'>Internal Revenue Service (IRS) sent this bulletin at 08/30/2017 02:41 PM EDT</span>
<div class='bulletin_header rs_skip' id='bulletin_header'><p style="text-align: right;"><a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USIRS/bulletins/1b419c7?reqfrom=share" target="_blank"><img width="83" height="16" alt="Bookmark and Share" style="border:0" src="https://public.govdelivery.com/assets/share_this-795413ad3d604760a450815a10e46c8ea06b7315facb759ffdacbc7b7830f87b.gif"></a></p></div>
<div class='bulletin_body' id='bulletin_body'><table style="width: 675px; font-size: 12pt;" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="background-color: #dddddd; padding: 0px;" colspan="2"><img src="https://public.govdelivery.com/system/images/41005/original/irs_banner_671.jpeg" alt="IRS.gov Banner" width="672" height="96" name="logo"></td>
</tr>
<tr align="left" valign="top">
<td colspan="2" bgcolor="#999999">
<table style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 100%; color: #ffffff;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: left;">IRS Newswire</td>
<td style="text-align: right;">August 30, 2017</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table style="width: 675px;" border="1" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="3">
<tbody>
<tr align="left" valign="top">
<td style="background-color: #ccccff; padding-left: 10px; width: 30%; color: #000000; font-size: 10pt; vertical-align: top;">
<h3 style="color: #001e5a;">News Essentials</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/What's-Hot">What's Hot</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/news-releases-for-current-month">News Releases</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-The-Basics">IRS - The Basics</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Guidance">IRS Guidance</a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Media-Relations-Offices-Contact-Numbers">Media Contacts</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Facts-&amp;-Figures">Facts &amp; Figures</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Around-the-Nation--%7C--Alrededor-de-la-Naci%C3%B3n">Around The Nation</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/e-News-Subscriptions-2">e-News Subscriptions</a></p>
<hr>
<h3 style="color: #001e5a;">The Newsroom Topics</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Multimedia-Center">Multimedia Center</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/Spanish/Noticias-en-Espa%C3%B1ol">Noticias en Español</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Radio-PSAs">Radio PSAs</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Scams-Consumer-Alerts">Tax Scams</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/The-Tax-Gap">The Tax Gap</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Newsroom/Current-Fact-Sheets">Fact Sheets</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-Tax-Tips">IRS Tax Tips</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Tax-Information-for-Members-of-the-U.S.-Armed-Forces">Armed Forces</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Latest-News">Latest News Home</a></p>
<hr>
<h3 style="color: #001e5a;">IRS Resources</h3>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Compliance-&amp;-Enforcement">Compliance &amp; Enforcement</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Contact-Your-Local-IRS-Office-1">Contact My Local Office</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/Filing/Filing-Options">Filing Options</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/Forms-&amp;-Pubs">Forms &amp; Pubs</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/Help-&amp;-Resources/Tools-&amp;-FAQs/FAQs-for-Individuals/Frequently-Asked-Tax-Questions-&amp;-Answers">Frequently Asked Questions</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/News-&amp;-Events">News</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Taxpayer-Advocate-Service-6">Taxpayer Advocate</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Where-to-File-Paper-Tax-Returns-With-or-Without-a-Payment">Where to File</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/IRS-New-Media-1" title="IRS Social Media">IRS Social Media</a></p>
<hr>
</td>
<td style="vertical-align: top;">
<h3 style="color: #001e5a;">Issue Number:    IR-2017-138</h3>
<h3 style="color: #001e5a;">
<a name="Fifteenth"></a>Inside This Issue</h3>
<hr>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><strong>Retirement Plans Can Make Loans, Hardship Distributions to Victims of Hurricane Harvey</strong></span></p>
<p>WASHINGTON —The Internal Revenue Service today announced that 401(k)s and similar employer-sponsored retirement plans can make loans and hardship distributions to victims of Hurricane Harvey and members of their families. This is similar to relief provided last year to <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/retirement-plans-can-make-loans-and-hardship-distributions-to-louisiana-flood-victims">Louisiana</a> flood victims and victims of <a href="https://www.irs.gov/uac/newsroom/retirement-plans-can-make-loans-hardship-distributions-to-victims-of-hurricane-matthew">Hurricane Matthew</a>.</p>
<p>Participants in 401(k) plans, employees of public schools and tax-exempt organizations with 403(b) tax-sheltered annuities, as well as state and local government employees with 457(b) deferred-compensation plans may be eligible to take advantage of these streamlined loan procedures and liberalized hardship distribution rules. Though IRA participants are barred from taking out loans, they may be eligible to receive distributions under liberalized procedures.</p>
<p>Retirement plans can provide this relief to employees and certain members of their families who live or work in disaster area localities affected by Hurricane Harvey and designated for individual assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Currently, parts of Texas qualify for individual assistance. For a complete list of eligible counties, visit <a href="https://www.fema.gov/disasters">https://www.fema.gov/disasters</a>. To qualify for this relief, hardship withdrawals must be made by Jan. 31, 2018.</p>
<p>The IRS is also relaxing procedural and administrative rules that normally apply to retirement plan loans and hardship distributions. As a result, eligible retirement plan participants will be able to access their money more quickly with a minimum of red tape. In addition, the six-month ban on 401(k) and 403(b) contributions that normally affects employees who take hardship distributions will not apply.</p>
<p>This broad-based relief means that a retirement plan can allow a victim of Hurricane Harvey to take a hardship distribution or borrow up to the specified statutory limits from the victim’s retirement plan. It also means that a person who lives outside the disaster area can take out a retirement plan loan or hardship distribution and use it to assist a son, daughter, parent, grandparent or other dependent who lived or worked in the disaster area.</p>
<p>Plans will be allowed to make loans or hardship distributions before the plan is formally amended to provide for such features. In addition, the plan can ignore the reasons that normally apply to hardship distributions, thus allowing them, for example, to be used for food and shelter. If a plan requires certain documentation before a distribution is made, the plan can relax this requirement as described in Announcement 2017-11.</p>
<p>The IRS emphasized that the tax treatment of loans and distributions remains unchanged. Ordinarily, retirement plan loan proceeds are tax-free if they are repaid over a period of five years or less.  Under current law, hardship distributions are generally taxable and subject to a 10-percent early-withdrawal tax.</p>
<p>Further details are in Announcement 2017-11, posted today on IRS.gov. More information about other tax relief related to Hurricane Harvey can be found on the IRS <a href="https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/tax-relief-in-disaster-situations">disaster relief </a>page. For information on government-wide relief efforts, visit <a href="http://www.USA.gov/hurricane-harvey">www.USA.gov/hurricane-harvey</a>.</p>
<p style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="#Fifteenth">Back to Top</a></p>
<hr>
<div style="font-size: 10pt;">
<p>Thank you for subscribing to the IRS Newswire, an IRS e-mail service.</p>
<p>If you know someone who might want to subscribe to this mailing list, please forward this message to them so they can <a href="http://www.irs.gov/uac/Subscribe-to-IRS-Newswire">subscribe</a>.</p>
<p>This message was distributed automatically from the mailing list IRS Newswire. <strong>Please Do Not Reply To This Message.</strong></p>
</div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table></div>
<div class='bulletin_footer rs_skip' id='bulletin_footer'><hr>
<p style="margin-bottom: 1em;">Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your <a href="https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/USIRS/subscriber/new?preferences=true">Subscriber Preferences Page</a>. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please contact <a href="https://subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com/">subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com</a>.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 1em;">This service is provided to you at no charge by the <a href="https://www.irs.gov/">Internal Revenue Service (IRS)</a>.</p></div>
</div>
<script type='text/javascript'>
new GD.view.AccountBulletinsShow().init();
</script>

</div>
<div class='powered-by' id='footer'>
Powered by
<br />
<a href='http://www.govdelivery.com/'>
<img alt="Powered By GovDelivery" src="https://content.govdelivery.com/assets/logos/govd-logo-dark-191d8c132e92636d2d67f33aa6576c8f1f8245552c047acb81d0e5c7094def56.png" />
</a>
</div>
</div>
<script type='text/javascript'>
  //<![CDATA[
    var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");
    document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));
  //]]>
</script>
<script type='text/javascript'>
  //<![CDATA[
    try{
    var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-17133996-1");
    pageTracker._setCustomVar(1, "accountCode", "USIRS", 3);
    pageTracker._setCustomVar(2,  "bulletinId", "28580295", 3);
    pageTracker._setCustomVar(3,    "pageType", "Landing", 3);
    pageTracker._setVisitorCookieTimeout(0);
    pageTracker._setSessionCookieTimeout(0);
    pageTracker._setCampaignCookieTimeout(0);
    pageTracker._trackPageview();
    } catch(err) {}
  //]]>
</script>

</body>
</html>
