You can have more than one outstanding loan from the plan at a time. However, the total outstanding amount of all loans taken cannot be more than $50,000 or 50% of the Solo 401k account balance, whichever is less. The Nabers Solo 401k allows for a maximum of 5 outstanding loans per plan to be taken at any time.
Note: If you participate in another 401(k), you need to consider any participant loans you have within that 401(k) plan as well. Loan limits are spread across all 401(k) plans.
The maximum amount of any loan is the lesser of $50,000 or 50% of the vested interest of the participant in the Plan; reduced by the participant's highest outstanding loan balance in the previous twelve months and the existing loan balance; even if all or a portion of this amount has been repaid.
Example 1: A participant takes out $50,000 in a participant loan on February 1, 2021 and pays it all back one day later. That participant won't be able to take out another participant loan (even from another 401k plan) for another 12 months. The soonest that participant could take another loan of any amount would be February 2, 2022 (one year after the payoff).
Example 2: A participant takes out $10,000 in a participant loan on February 1st 2021. That participant then pays back $1,000 on the first of the month starting in March for each month thereafter.
- At this point, that participant could take out another participant loan at any point for $40,000, presuming there is at least $100,000 in the Solo 401k.
Example 3: A participant takes out $10,000 in a participant loan on February 1st 2021. That participant and pays back $1,000 on the first of the month starting in March for each month thereafter.
On July 15th, 2021, the participant has paid back $5,000 ($1,000/month) towards the original participant loan. If they want to take out a second participant loan on July 15th, the maximum they can take is still $40,000. This is because the highest outstanding loan balance in the previous 12 months is $10,000.
For information regarding participant loans, please see: https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/retirement-plans-faqs-regarding-loans#3