Articles
How to Submit Your SBA PPP Loan Application and Calculate the Loan Amount
From my article on Entrepreneur. Many small-business owners are completing their Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications and are running into common questions and roadblocks. The immediate question right now revolves around two issues: First, how do I work...
How to Obtain an SBA Coronavirus PPP Loan and Have It Forgiven
From my article on Entrepreneur The number-one pressure on small-business owners right now is payroll. Whether you’re a sole proprietor one-person-show or a company with 500 employees, you’ve certainly felt the pressure. Maybe you’ve already stopped paying yourself,...
New Stimulus Bill Unlocks IRA and 401(k) Dollars for Financially Affected
From my article on Entrepreneur. The coronavirus stimulus bill signed into law on March 27 creates new exceptions that allow 401(k) and IRA owners affected by the pandemic to tap into their retirement accounts early. The new law increases the dollar amount you can...
2019 Tax Reporting for Your Self-Directed IRA
Self-Directed IRA investors must be aware of their self-directed IRA tax reporting responsibilities. Some of these items are completed by your IRA custodian and others are the IRA owner’s sole responsibility. Here’s a quick summary of what should be reported to the...
Biggest New Retirement Law in Decades Changes IRA Rules
The SECURE Act was signed into law by President Trump at the end of 2019, and makes sweeping changes to the laws affecting retirement plans, including IRAs. The law, known as the SECURE Act, is a mixed bag of good, bad, and ugly. This article breaks down the details...
New Solo 401(k) Contribution Deadlines: Rules, Steps, and Strategies
As 2019 comes to an end, it is critical that Solo 401(k) owners understand when and how to make their 2019 contributions. 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 2019. A Solo 401(k) is a...
Inherited IRAs: Requirements and Tips
If you've inherited an IRA from a parent or another loved one, it is likely that you have an Inherited IRA (aka, Beneficiary IRA). These can be powerful accounts, but you need to understand the Required Minimum Distribution ("RMD") rules for your Inherited IRA to...
New 2019 U.S. GAO Report on IRA Prohibited Transaction Exemptions
The Government Accountability Office ("GAO") issued their most recent report on self-directed IRAs and concluded that the IRS and DOL should do more to collaborate on prohibited transactions in IRAs. The report and the GAO's work was an excellent analysis of some of...
Properly Completing IRS Form W-9 for Your IRA/LLC or Checkbook Control IRA
Many self-directed IRA investors use an IRA/LLC (aka "checkbook-controlled IRA") to hold their self-directed IRA investments. For an overview, see my video here. When using the IRA/LLC structure, the name of the LLC is on title to the assets, and the LLC’s bank...
Three Unique Benefits of Health Savings Accounts You Never Knew
HSAs (“Health Savings Accounts”) are growing in popularity as Americans are discovering significant tax savings with these accounts. Why are they popular? There are many reasons why; some well known and others not so well known. Let's start with the primary benefits...
