Family loan agreement (2024)

FAQs

How to write a loan agreement between family members? ›

Like any loan contract, you're legally on the hook for the debt. If you fail to abide by the terms of the agreement, your lender — in this case, your loved one — can take legal action against you.

You don't have to worry about family loans being subject to tax consequences if: You lend a child $10,000 or less, and the child does not use the money for investments, such as stocks or bonds. You lend a child $100,000 or less, and the child's net investment income is not more than $1,000 for the year.

The $100,000 Loophole.

To qualify for this loophole, all outstanding loans between you and the borrower must aggregate to $100,000 or less. Under this loophole, if the borrower's net investment income for the year is no more than $1,000, your taxable imputed interest income is zero.

What to include in the family loan agreement. The family loan agreement should include details such as a time frame for when the sum is expected to be paid back by, any interest (if applicable) and any consequences for missed payments – you may choose to set a fixed penalty or an interest charge for example.

However, the do-it-yourself approach is perfectly acceptable and just as legally enforceable. Once you have both agreed on the terms, you may want to have the personal loan contract notarized or ask a third party to act as a witness during the signing.

If you lend the money at no interest, the IRS can consider the loan a gift, making you liable for gift taxes. The repayment schedule that the borrower must follow. State whether you'll require periodic payments, a balloon payment or some combination.

Loaning friends and family money is a hotly-debated topic, but one thing that is always a given — the threshold after which the IRS gets involved. According to the U.S. Code, that figure is $10,000. It's referred to as the “de minimis exception” — referring to small loans from the tax agency's perspective.

Family Loans Can Be Taxable Gifts

If the IRS considers this transaction a qualifying loan, then it will typically have few (if any) tax implications. It doesn't count as income for the borrower, because they will pay this money back, nor does the loan count as a gift for the lender for the same reasons.

How to prove it was a gift not a loan? ›

A gift letter is a formal document proving that money you have received is a gift, not a loan, and that the donor has no expectations for you to pay the money back. A gift can be broadly defined to include a sale, exchange, or other transfer of property from one person (the donor) to another (the recipient).

If you are the borrower, you don't issue ANY tax forms to the lender. You have no standing to issue a 1098 because that form it only issued by the lender, and you don't issue a 1099-INT unless you are a financial institution in the business of paying interest income to depositors.

Family, especially parents and grandparents, will often help with home purchases. As a practical matter, the gift must come from a close family member. The lender involved in the rest of the deal won't trust that gifts from distant family members or friends are not secret loans.

6 Let's say you were giving a loan to a family member for $10,000 to be paid back in one year. You would need to charge the borrower a minimum interest rate of 4.30% for the loan. In other words, you should receive $430 in interest from the loan. In our example above, any rate below 4.30% could trigger a taxable event.

DON'T EXPLAIN OR MAKE EXCUSES.

Doing so only opens the door to a discussion and prompts your friend or family member to try to overcome your objections. Say, “I'm sorry, but I can't give you a loan.” When the person asks, “Why not?” just repeat your statement. Eventually, your friend or family member will stop asking.

Include key terms of the loan, such as the lender and borrower's contact information, the reason for the loan, what is being loaned, the interest rate, the repayment plan, what would happen if the borrower can't make the payments, and more. The amount of the loan, also known as the principal amount.

For a bad debt, you must show that at the time of the transaction you intended to make a loan and not a gift. If you lend money to a relative or friend with the understanding the relative or friend may not repay it, you must consider it as a gift and not as a loan, and you may not deduct it as a bad debt.