Paying for a remodeling job? Tapping home equity line may not be the best option

Dear Liz: I am doing a small remodeling job to my home that will cost $80,000. I have enough in my investments to withdraw the $80,000. Is it better, tax wise, to get a home equity loan to pay for it?

Answer: Like so many tax questions, the answer depends on your circumstances. How your investments would be taxed depends in part on what account they’re in. Withdrawals from most retirement accounts are taxed as income, and can incur penalties if you take the money out too early.

Withdrawals from regular brokerage accounts also can be taxed as income if you’ve held the investments less than one year. If the investments have been held for more than one year, you can qualify for more beneficial capital gains tax rates. The amount of tax you would pay depends on how much the investments appreciated in value since you bought them as well as your income tax bracket. Most people pay a federal capital gains rate of 15%, although lower income taxpayers can qualify for a 0% rate while higher earners pay 20%.

You may have the opportunity to engage in what’s known as “tax loss harvesting.” That means selling investments that have lost value since you bought them, and using that loss to offset the gains on other investments you’ve sold.

Interest on home equity borrowing, meanwhile, may be deductible if the proceeds are used to improve your home and the combined total of your mortgage debt doesn’t exceed $750,000 for a married couple filing jointly or $375,000 for singles.

To deduct the interest, though, you must itemize your deductions. The vast majority of taxpayers now take the standard deduction of $31,500 for married couples or $15,750 for singles. People 65 and older can take an additional $1,600 per qualifying spouse or $2,000 if single. In addition, people 65 and over can take an additional $6,000 bonus deduction if their income is under certain limits. The bonus begins to phase out for single filers with modified adjusted gross income over $75,000, and for joint filers over $150,000.

That’s the long answer. The shorter answer is that the taxes you’ll pay cashing in your investments are likely to be less, and perhaps significantly less, than the interest you’d pay on the loan. But you’ll need to do your own math, or ask a tax pro for help.

Dear Liz: I was recently and unexpectedly laid off. Money will be tight on Social Security alone. If I take the lump sum of my pension, the amount would be almost enough to pay off my home. Should I do that?

Answer: Pension payments typically continue for life and you can’t lose the money to fraud, bad investments or stock market downturns. If you had plenty of other assets and the pension was small, you might be fine cashing it out. Under the circumstances, though, consider hanging on to this valuable asset.

In general, you should be extremely wary about tying up a large sum in any one investment. That includes paying off a mortgage. You won’t have monthly loan payments anymore but you may have trouble accessing that cash again in an emergency.

Also be cautious about taking Social Security too early. Your benefits will be permanently reduced, which can have a huge effect on your future quality of life. While finding another full-time job can be extremely tough late in life, even a part-time job might be enough to help you delay filing.

You could benefit enormously from individualized financial advice. Consider reaching out to free or low-cost services, such as Advisers Give Back.

Liz Weston, Certified Financial Planner®, is a personal finance columnist. Questions may be sent to her at 3940 Laurel Canyon, No. 238, Studio City, CA 91604, or by using the “Contact” form at asklizweston.com.