But now the Internal Revenue Service is cracking down on people who use IRAs as cash machines and miss that 60-day deadline. The agency had been letting many people miss deadlines because of errors like mail delays. But recently it denied the same grace to one jobless filer who lived on his IRA when he was unemployed and tried to pay it back, months later, after finding a job. He could end up paying taxes on the whole distribution as well as a 10 percent penalty. “The IRS will not bail you out,” warns Ed Slott, a CPA. If you give yourself a loan, at least keep one eye on the calendar.
