You are here: Insurance» Life Insurance» Life Insurance FAQ» Is the cash
value of a life insurance policy taxable?
Not exact matches
From a strategic standpoint, the popularity
of cash
value life insurance stems from its ability to both provide
insurance protection and grow funds on a tax - deferred basis — interest and earnings in
policies of this type are not
taxable unless a triggering event occurs, such as surrendering the
policy.
In some cases, if you transfer the ownership
of your
life insurance policy to another party before your death for monetary
value or other consideration, the proceeds paid to the beneficiary at your death could be considered
taxable income to that beneficiary.
Even taking a loan from an annuity, unlike a loan from a cash
value life insurance policy, is a
taxable event because it considered either an early withdrawal
of cash OR an additional withdrawal over the regular monthly payment.
There are threshold assets
values that would need to be met before this is a concern, but once you factor in home
values and
life insurance policies, it is very likely that a person
of even modest means could have a
taxable estate on the state level.
Fox Business reported that an individual's
taxable estate includes all money in a bank and retirement account, the
value of assets such as a home or car, and a
life insurance policy.
Withdrawal
of cash
value from a
life insurance policy is generally not
taxable as long as the amount withdrawn does not exceed the
policy premiums which have been paid, commonly referred to as the «basis».
The
taxable value (economic benefit)
of the
insurance received is determined by using the lower
of the IRS Table 2001 cost or the
life insurance company's cost for an individual, standard rated one - year term
policy.
If the cash
value in a contract exceeds the specified percentage
of death benefit, the
policy no longer qualifies as
life insurance at all and all investment earnings become immediately
taxable in the year the specified percentage is exceeded.
However, as illustrated in the recent case
of Mallory v. Commissioner, the Tax Courts have long recognized that the gain on a
life insurance policy is
taxable, even if all the cash
value itself is used to repay an existing
policy loan!
From a strategic standpoint, the popularity
of cash
value life insurance stems from its ability to both provide
insurance protection and grow funds on a tax - deferred basis — interest and earnings in
policies of this type are not
taxable unless a triggering event occurs, such as surrendering the
policy.
As a result, if a permanent
insurance policy is held until death, the taxation
of any gains are ultimately avoided altogether; they're not
taxable under IRC Section 7702 (g) during
life, and neither the cash
value growth nor the additional increase in the
value of the
policy due to death itself are
taxable at death under IRC Section 101 (a).
As noted earlier, when a
life insurance policy is surrendered in full, the gains on the
policy are
taxable (as ordinary income) to the extent that the cash
value exceeds the net premiums (i.e., the cost basis)
of the
policy.
To further encourage the use
of life insurance, Congress has also provided under IRC Section 7702 (g) that any growth / gains on the cash
value within a
life insurance policy are not
taxable each year (as long as the
policy is a proper
life insurance policy in the first place).
This «tax bomb» occurs because in the end, even if all
of a
policy's cash
value is used to repay a
life insurance loan, it doesn't change the fact that if the
policy had a
taxable gain, the taxes are still due on the gain itself!
If Charlie does a 1035 like - kind exchange from his current
life insurance policy to a new, smaller
policy for «just» the $ 50,000
of net cash
value, he's actually treated as having exchanged $ 50,000
of cash
value plus receiving another $ 150,000
of cash to boot, which was used to repay the loan... and that $ 150,000
of «boot» is
taxable as a partial surrender
of the
policy.
When a
life insurance policy is surrendered or otherwise lapses, though, the remaining cash
value is again used to repay the loan... even though the
taxable gain is calculated ignoring the presence
of the loan.
The transfer - for -
value rule refers to a legal ruling declaring the death benefit
of a
life insurance policy transferred for some sort
of material consideration as partially or fully
taxable.
(1) While
life insurance policy is enforce, the cash
value of the
policy and its growth are not considered
taxable.