IRA/LLCs – IRA Ownership of LLCs

My article on IRA/LLCs for self-directed IRA investors was published by the California Lawyers Association, Section on Business Law, eBulletin. In the article I outline the benefits of an IRA/LLC, how to properly set-up an IRA/LLC, how the documents need to be restrictive over and above a standard LLC set-up, and discuss the cases where self-directed IRA owners have improperly operated the IRA/LLC.

An IRA/LLC is an investment structure whereby an IRA invests capital into a newly created limited liability company (“LLC”). The IRA owns the LLC units just like your IRA can own Coca-Cola corporation stock. This IRA/LLC structure has been popular amongst real estate investors and other investors who regularly invest in alternative assets with their retirement account. A common IRA/LLC structure is one where the IRA invests a designated amount of cash into the LLC in exchange for 100% of the membership units of the LLC. The LLC then in turn acquires the intended investment asset. For example, a rental property. An IRA/LLC can also be formed with numerous IRAs owning the LLC with the ownership allocated between the different IRAs based on the dollars invested.

Read the rest of the article on the California Lawyers Association website, here.

What is a Foreign LLC or Corporation, and When Do I Need to Register My Company in Another State?

Business owners and investors doing business in multiple states often ask the question of whether their company, that is set up in one state needs to be registered into the other state(s) where they are doing business. This registration from your state of incorporation/organization into another state where you also do business is called a foreign registration. For example, let’s say I’m a real estate investor in Arizona and end up buying a rental property in Florida. Do I need to register my Arizona LLC that I use to hold my real estate investments into Florida to take ownership of this property? The answer is generally yes, but after reviewing a few states laws on the subject I decided to outline the details of when you need to register your LLC or Corporation into another state where you are not incorporated/organized. (Please note that the issue of whether state taxes are owed outside of your home state when doing business in multiple states is a different analysis).

In analyzing whether you need to register your out of state company into a state where you do business or own property it is helpful to understand two things: First, what does the state I’m looking to do business in require of out of state companies; and Second, what is the penalty for failure to comply.

When Do I Need to Register Foreign?

First, a survey of a few state statutes on foreign registration of out of state companies shows that the typical requirement for when an out of state company must register foreign into another state is when the out of state company is deemed to be “transacting business” into the other state. So, the next question is what constitutes “transacting business”? The state laws vary on this but here are some examples of what constitutes “transacting business” for purposes of foreign registration filings.

  1. Employees or storefront located in the foreign registration state.
  2. Ownership of real property that is leased in the foreign registration state. Note that some states (e.g. Florida) state that ownership of property by an out of state LLC does not by itself require a foreign registration (e.g. a second home or maybe land) but if that property was rented then foreign registration is required.

Here is an example of what does not typically constitute “transacting business” for foreign registration requirements.

  1. Maintaining a bank account in the state in question.
  2. Holding a meeting of the owners or management in the state in question.

So, in summary, the general rule is that transacting business for foreign registration requirements occurs when you make a physical presence in the state that results in commerce. Ask, do I have employees or real property in the state in question that generates income for my company? If so, you probably need to register. If not, you probably don’t need to register foreign. Note that there are some nuances between states and I’ve tried to generalize what constitutes transacting business so check with your attorney or particular state laws when in question.

What is the Penalty if I Don’t Register Foreign?

Second, what is the penalty and consequence for failing to file a foreign registration when one was required? This issue had a few common characteristics among the states surveyed. Many company owners fear that they could lose the liability protection of the LLC or corporation for failing to file a foreign registration when they should have but most states have a provision in their laws that states something like the following, “A member [owner] of a foreign limited liability company is not liable for the debts and obligations of the foreign limited liability company solely by reason of its having transacted business in this state without registration.” A similar provision to this language was found in Arizona, California and Florida, but this provision is not found in all states that I surveyed. This language is good for business owners since it keeps the principal asset protection benefits of the company in tact in the event that you fail to register foreign.  On the other hand, many states have some other negative consequences to companies that fail to register foreign. Here is a summary of some of those consequences.

  1. The out of state company won’t be recognized in courts to sue or bring legal action in the state where the business should be registered as a foreign company.
  2. Penalty of $20 per day that the company was “transacting business” in the state when it should have been registered foreign into the state but wasn’t. This penalty maxes out at $10,000 in California. Florida’s penalty is a minimum of $500 and a maximum of $1,000 per year of violation. Some states such as Arizona and Texas do not charge a penalty fee for failure to file.
  3. The State where you should have registered as a foreign company becomes the registered agent for your company and receives legal notices on behalf of your company. This is really problematic because it means you don’t get notice to legal actions or proceedings affecting your company and it allows Plaintiff’s to sue your company and to send notice to the state without being required to send notice to your company. Now, presumably, the state will try to get notice to your company but what steps the states actually takes and how much time that takes is something I couldn’t find. With twenty to thirty day deadlines to respond in most legal actions I wouldn’t put much trust in a state government agency to get me legal notice in a timely manner nor am I even certain that they would even try.
  4. In addition to the statutory issues written into law there are some practical issues you will face if your out of state company is not registered into a state where you transact business. For example, some county recorders in certain states won’t allow title to transfer into your out of state company unless the LLC or corporation is registered foreign into the state where the property is located. It is also common to run into insurance and banking issues for your company until you register foreign into the state where the income generating property, employee, or storefront is located.

In summary, you should register your company as a foreign company in every state where you are “transacting business”. Generally speaking, transacting business occurs when you have a storefront in the foreign state, employees in the foreign state, or property that produces income in the foreign state. Failure to file varies among the states but can result in penalties from $1,000 to $10,000 a year and failure to receive legal notices and/or be recognized in court proceedings. Bottom line, if you are transacting business outside of your state of incorporation/organization you should register as a foreign entity in the other state(s) to ensure proper legal protections in court and to avoid costly penalties for non-compliance.

Radio Ad Warning: Self-Directed IRA Investors Should Go For The Gold With Caution

Gold-Bar-IRA

I hear a radio ad every week that says, “there is a loophole that allows you to use your IRA to buy physical gold “tax-free” and that you can EVEN store this gold in your home.” If these radio ads were on T.V., there’d probably be an image of Scrooge McDuck swimming in gold at his McMansion. These ads cause much concern as they give some misleading information. The good news is that you really can use your IRA to invest in gold. In fact, I have many clients who like to buy actual physical gold with their IRAs. And we’re not talking about gold funds or gold ETFs, but actual solid gold. You can also own silver, platinum, and palladium with your IRA so long as those metals meet certain legal requirements. Here’s the catch though and what the radio ads are missing, you can only own precious metals that meet certain legal requirements and you cannot personally store the metals. Don’t count on someone who sells precious metals to be an expert on IRA rules. They make money when you buy precious metals and they have no training or license to properly advise you, so get your legal and tax advice from a competent lawyer or tax adviser.

LEGAL RULES FOR IRA OWNED PRECIOUS METALS

Precious metals have been a popular investment for retirement plans since the financial market collapse in 2008. Most standard IRAs with financial institution custodians will typically only offer precious metals through funds or other complex structures whereby the IRA does not directly own the precious metals. A self-directed IRA can hold actual precious metals as long as those metals are not considered collectibles under law and as long as they are properly stored.

Only precious metals which meet the requirements of IRC § 408(m)(3) may be owned by an IRA. All other metals or coins are considered collectible items and cannot be held by an IRA. IRC § 408(m)(2)(C), and (D).

There are two categories of approved precious metals. The first category are specifically approved coins, such as American Gold or Silver eagles. The second category is bullion (e.g bars, or coin form bullion) that is gold, silver, platinum, or palladium, AND that meets certain purity requirements. The purity requirements are outlined below.

  • Gold, meeting minimum fineness requirements of 99.5%.
  • Silver, meeting minimum fineness requirements of 99.9%.
  • Platinum, meeting minimum fineness requirements of 99.95%.
  • Palladium, meeting minimum fineness requirements of 99.95%

Precious metals must be stored with a “bank” (eg. bank, credit union, or trust company). Personal storage of precious metals owned by an IRA is not allowed. A broker-dealer, third-party administrator, or any company not licensed as a bank, credit union, or trust company may not store precious metals owned by an IRA. IRS Private Letter Ruling 200217059.

There has been much confusion about owning precious metals with an IRA and there is confusion over some “loophole” that allows you to store them in your home. Our advice is against home storage, for tax code reasons and for security reasons. We’ve outlined the tax reasons more fully in a prior blog article you can check out here. In general though, our advice is that if your self-directed account owns metals directly through your custodian account then those metals will be stored with the custodian or with a “bank” whom the custodian uses for customers. If the metals are bought with an IRA owned LLC, then the metals of the LLC are subject to the storage rules and this can be satisfied by the LLC opening up a safe deposit box with a bank and by physically storing the metals there.

If an IRA purchases precious metals that do not meet the specific requirements of IRC § 408(m)(3), then the precious metals are deemed collectible items. As a result, they are considered distributed from the IRA at the time of purchase. IRC § 408(m)(1). Similarly, if the storage requirement is violated, then the precious metals are also deemed distributed as of the date of the storage violation. IRS Private Letter Ruling 20021705. The consequence of distribution is that the value of the amount involved is deemed distributed and is subject to the applicable taxes and penalty.

Go for the gold, or silver, or the other approved metals with your IRA. But make sure the metals meet the code requirements and that they are properly stored.

This article is an excerpt from Chapter 12: Precious Metals of The Self Directed IRA Handbook by Mat Sorensen

What Not To Do With Your IRA/LLC or Checkbook Control IRA: Niemann v. Commissioner

niemann-v-commissioner-what-not-to-doThe 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 decision focused on other tax matters, the Court did outline the history of the case and the prohibited transactions that occurred and that disqualified Niemann’s IRA. Here are the pertinent facts regarding Niemann’s self directed IRA investments.

CASE FACTS

  • Neimann formed Real Estate Rabbit, LLC with his IRA as the sole member and himself as manager.
  • Neimann used Real Estate Rabbit, LLC for numerous real estate investments including buying homes at auction and slipping them for a profit. Real Estate Rabbit, LLC also bought mineral rights investments and held notes.
  • Neimann personally engaged in real estate investments in his own name and in the name of an LLC he personally owned called Magic, LLC. Neimann intended for Magic, LLC to be a multi-member LLC to be owned by himself, his personal LLC, and his IRA/LLC. This LLC was not properly established nor was it properly operated. He learned about it from a seminar and engaged a non-lawyer (“vendor”) to set up the LLC.
  • Neimann transferred properties from his Real Estate Rabbit, LLC (his IRA/LLC) to himself personally and to his personally owned LLC. These transfers caused a prohibited transaction and resulted in the entire distribution of Neimann’s self directed IRA.

It is quite clear from the case and from the Court’s analysis that Neimann was not intending to unfairly avoid tax nor was he attempting to improperly engage in a prohibited transactions. In fact, his real estate transactions were very successful. And if you were a successful real estate investor looking to illegally avoid taxes, you wouldn’t transfer properties from your IRA owned LLC (that pays no taxes on gains) to yourself personally (where you do pay taxes on the gains). If you were a tax cheat, you’d do the opposite and would transfer properties with gains from yourself personally to your IRA. It is quite clear instead, that Neimann was unaware of the rules and as a result he moved his real estate investments around between his LLCs and his personal name as he would with any property he owned. These transfers were made without regard to IRA rules which require IRA investments to be held separately from personal assets and which restrict transactions between the IRA (and IRA/LLC) and the IRA owner personally.

Neimann conceded with the Court and the IRS that he engaged in a prohibited transaction when his IRA owned LLC (Real Estate Rabbit, LLC) transferred property to himself personally and to his personally owned LLC.

LEARN THE RULES AND SEEK OUT QUALIFIED LICENSED PROFESSIONALS 

This case illustrates a critical point that self-directed IRA investors must first become acquainted with the self-directed IRA rules before they enter into real estate, LLC, or other transactions with their IRA. Neimann was a successful investor and a former engineer but he either received poor advice or he sought no professional legal or tax advice in the process.

Learning how to self-direct your IRA is like learning a new board game. At first, it takes some time to learn what you can and cannot do but once you understand the rules for the investments you intend to make it becomes second nature and you can proceed without having to consult the “rulebook” or a lawyer, or CPA, or other licensed advisor. So, if you’re new to self directing your IRA, make sure you’ve received competent advice from licensed professionals. Don’t rely on something you’ve heard at a seminar or by someone trying to sell you an investment. Instead, seek a specific consult with a licensed attorney or CPA who is competent in the rules effecting your self-directed IRA.