The RISE Act proposed by Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon would significantly impact self-directed IRAs. I previously wrote about the bill here and provided a detailed analysis. In summary, the bill would require that all self-directed IRA investment purchases be valued by a third-party appraiser and reported on the IRA owner’s personal tax return. In addition, the Act would change the disqualified person rule for companies from 50% to 10%. The Act also greatly effects Roth IRAs and would eliminate Roth conversions and would cap Roth IRA accounts at $5M.

Here are few quick updates that are very important to the bill.

1. Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah (R) has introduced the Retirement Enhancement and Savings Act of 2016. This bill is farther long in the process and addresses retirement account issues but is entirely un-related to Senator Wyden’s proposed RISE Act the impacts self-directed IRAs. I’ve had a few clients worried as they’ve ran across this bill as it is currently working its way through the Senate.
2. Senator Wyden’s RISE Act is in proposed form and is out for comment until December 7, 2016. You can reply with comments to [email protected]. I will post my Comment in a subsequent blog article.
3. While the bill is sponsored by Democrat Senator in a Republican controlled Senate, it is still vitally important that the Senate Finance Committee understand the roadblocks and burdens that the bills IRA provisions will cause to hundreds of thousands of Americans who are investing for retirement with their self-directed IRA.
4. If your Senator is a member of the Senate Finance Committee, I would highly recommend sending focused and professional comments to your Senator regarding provisions that will hinder your ability to save and invest for retirement. The current members of the Senate Finance Committee can be found here.

Additionally, if you have comments or feedback relative to the proposed bill, please feel free to that to me at [email protected].