Articles
2015 Tax Reporting for Your Self-Directed IRA
Self-Directed IRA investors should be aware of the following IRA tax reporting responsibilities. Some of these items are completed by your custodian and some of them are the IRA owner’s sole responsibility. Here’s a quick summary of what should be reported to the IRS...
What Not To Do With Your IRA/LLC or Checkbook Control IRA: Niemann v. Commissioner
The recent case of Niemann v. Commissioner involves a successful real estate investor who unknowingly used his self-directed IRA owned LLC (aka, checkbook control IRA) in a way that caused a prohibited transaction under IRC § 4975. While the Tax Court's holding and...
Self-Directed IRAs, Real Estate Crowdfunding, and UBIT Tax Explained
The most common asset class for self-directed IRA accounts is real estate. Real estate investments for self-directed IRAs come in various forms from simple single-family rentals owned 100% by the IRA to LLC or LP investment partnerships with multiple investors in...
Correcting Your IRA’s RMD Failures and Avoiding the Penalty
If you failed to take required minimum distributions (RMD's) from your IRA, then you are subject to a 50% penalty. The penalty is 50% on the amount you should have distributed from your IRA to yourself. It's a steep penalty for simply failing to pay yourself from your...
2015 Solo 401(k) Contribution Deadlines and Mechanics
As 2015 comes to an end, it is critical that Solo 401(k) owners make year-end retirement plans. There are three important deadlines you must know if you have a solo 401(k) or if you plan to set one up still in 2015. A solo 401(k) is a retirement plan for small...
Fact and Fiction for IRA RMDs
If you are age 70 1/2 or older and if you have a traditional IRA (or SEP or SIMPLE IRA or 401k), you must take your 2015 required minimum distributions (“RMD”) by December 31, 2015. In short, the RMD rules require you to distribute a portion of funds from your...
Avoiding the 20% Withholding Tax on 401(k) Distributions
Distributions from a 401(k) to its owner are subject to a 20% withholding tax whereas distributions from an IRA are not subject to a withholding tax. As a result, any amounts distributed from a 401(k) to its owner will be reduced by 20% and that 20% will be sent to...
Maximizing 2015 401(k) Contributions with Your S-Corp
It's time to start thinking about year-end tax planning and as every savvy business owner knows, effective 2015 tax planning happens before December 31, 2015. One of the most commonly used strategies for our clients is an s-corporation and a 401(k). A properly...
Who are Self Directed IRA Investors? An Essay
I was recently interviewed and asked, “what has caused so many investors to self-direct their retirement plan?” As many people know, self-directed retirement plan investors use their self-directed IRA and 401(k)s to invest into real estate, private companies, precious...
SEP IRA Versus Solo 401(k): Which is Best For You?
Self-employed persons have two options when it comes to establishing a retirement account. If you are self-employed and you want to save for retirement, two of your primary options will be a SEP IRA or a Solo 401K. The SEP IRA is a super-charged IRA account that runs...
