Though putting your IRA assets to a self directed IRA is a good idea, you should also understand that it doesn’t work for everyone. Therefore, it is really important to analyze the situation first before you invest.

With taxes going up for most people, it is best to take advantage to reduce taxes like IRA. You might also invest in real estate, to make the most out of cash flow and property appreciation. Therefore, converting your IRA to a self directed IRA will reduce your taxes and help you earn money from real estate. It allows you to passively invest in real estate and redeem rental income streams and equity appreciation that is tax free for your IRA.

To avoid confusion, here are the things to consider according to Forbes Magazine.

Type of Properties

The real estate you buy must be a business property, not a personal residence, second home or occasional rental.

If you wanted to buy a rental property, you would open an IRA custodial account, transfer cash from an existing IRA account — or possibly 401(k) — into the custodial account and then purchase real estate under the IRA account name.

You can also buy and sell real estate in a self-directed IRA if you are in the flipping business, but there are limits on how many you can do per year. The profits on any transaction would be tax-deferred or tax-free and allow your IRA to continue to grow with those tax advantages.

IRA Investing

You can’t get a traditional mortgage loan in an IRA, so you really need to have enough money in your IRA to purchase properties for cash if you plan on having the property as a long-term rental. There are also costs to administering the IRA, so factor those into your calculations when penciling out any real estate investment. And you cannot write off losses or depreciation from any investment property in an IRA, so there won’t be the traditional tax savings you’d get on rental properties. Lastly, if you fail to comply with any of the rules, it may kill your IRA and cause you many tax penalties.

Financial Considerations

Don’t put all of your IRA eggs into one basket. It would be smart to talk to a financial adviser on how to allocate all your investment savings into different assets, based on your age and risk tolerance.

If you want to use your IRA to buy real estate, you need to understand what you can and can’t do.

Before investing your Self-Directed IRA to Real Estate, you should follow a few simple guidelines:

·         Learn more about the IRS Publication 590

·         Make sure that your custodian is a licensed non-bank custodian

·         Check the length of time the custodian has been in business

·         Check the custodian’s license to do business in the state where you want to invest your IRA

·         Ask for your custodian’s past financial statement

·         Confirm with the state’s Attorney General where your custodian is listed to see if there has been complaints filed against your custodian

Do your own research and do not blindly assume that everything you are told by a custodian is true. It is the wisest thing to do before you put your hard earned IRA to an investment.

IRA LLC

Considering an IRA LLC will almost give you a complete control over your retirement investments. It is important to understand how this type of LLC works so you will be able to know how to fit into the equation, without falling in any prohibited transaction trap.

Basically, an IRA LLC is a special type of LLC that handles all kinds of retirement plans including IRA and self directed IRA.

An IRA LLC will help reduce your fees, processing delays, title issues, and general paperwork. An LLC is respected as a corporation. However, it has limited liability purposes. LLC doesn’t pay income taxes, the members of the LLC pay for their taxes instead.

When it comes to self-directed  IRA, there would be no federal income tax applied to any income generated by the IRA LLC. With that being said, the LLC is the most common type of entity used in making retirement investments.

ABC Capital, LLC is not marketing or selling securities, nor providing legal/ financial advice. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be a solicitation for the sale of securities under PA law or otherwise.

Most American residents have an IRA or Investment Retirement Account. They use their IRA to invest in mutual funds or stock for their retirement. What most of them don’t really know is that it is possible to convert their IRAs to self-directed IRA, which can allow them to invest in other assets like real estate. This article will help you understand what a self-directed IRA is and how you can use it to invest in real estate.

What is a Self Directed IRA?

According to Wikipedia, “A self-directed Individual Retirement Arrangement is an IRA that allows the account owner to direct the account trustee to make a broader range of investments than other types of IRAs.”

The Internal Revenue Service requires that a custodian or a qualified trustee should hold the IRA assets on behalf of the owner of the IRA. The IRA assets holder will maintain all the transactions, assets, and other records, issue client statements, file IRS reports, work on the other administrative duties for the self-directed IRA owner, and to make sure that the owner understands the self-directed IRA rules and regulations.

The custodian of a self-directed IRA may provide more details about the other standard asset types options that an IRA owner can choose to invest in. This can be bonds, mutual funds, stocks, loans, real estate, and other types of investments. The range of allowable investments is wide, but still regulated by the IRS.

Prohibited Assets

The IRS regulations does not allow IRA investments in life insurance and collectibles like antiques, rugs artworks, stamps, gems, metal (some types of bullion are exempted), coins (except for coins minted by the US treasury), and other types of personal properties.

Permitted Assets

The IRS doesn’t clearly describe what you can invest in with self-direct IRA. It only described the assets you can’t invest in. With that being said, real estate is considered as one of the permitted investment options.

This may include commercial and residential properties (both US and International), house flipping, raw land, new construction, farmland, property renovation, passive rental income, and development.

With a mortgage placed against a property, the total money invested in real estate using a self directed IRA is usually lower. However, both the IRA owner and IRA account holder cannot have personal liability on the mortgage. This mortgage is called NonRecourse Loan. (Using a nonrecourse loan on a real estate purchase can trigger a tax, because the income will be considered UBTI or Unrelated Business Taxable Income.)

A self-directed IRA can also be used in stocks, mortgages, franchises, partnerships, precious metals, private equity and tax liens.

ABC Capital, LLC is not marketing or selling securities, nor providing legal/ financial advice. Nothing herein shall be deemed to be a solicitation for the sale of securities under PA law or otherwise.