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IRA for Children: Help Your Children Start Their Own IRAs

Posted on by questadmin
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

One of the first things you probably learned about individual retirement accounts (and perhaps investing in general) is the value of time. The longer you give your investments to grow, the greater your account value will be. This is particularly true in the case of tax advantaged accounts such as IRAs.

IRA for children: the problem. Unfortunately, many individuals wait longer than necessary before they set up their first IRA. When someone waits until they’re age 25 or 30 (or even later) they’re missing out on a decade (or more) of growth opportunity. The good news is that there is no minimum age requirement for opening an IRA. The only requirement is that the account owner have at least as much earned income as they seek to contribute in any tax year, so we can help our children start their own IRAs if they have earned income.

IRA for Children tip #1: The Lasting Importance of a Summer Job. A teenager’s first summer job can be extremely important to developing their character and strengthening their work ethic. And, of course, having the ability to earn their own spending money – and make the connection between working hard and being able to enjoy the fruits of that labor – is an invaluable lesson.

But take a minute to think about the benefits of starting an IRA with some of that money. A 15 year old who opens a new IRA with just $1,000 of their summer earnings can expect for that single, relatively small contribution to grow to nearly $50,000 by the time they’re ready to retire (assuming an 8% annual rate of return).

IRA for Children tip #2: Which Dollars to Contribute to the IRA. Keep in mind that an individual only needs to have earned income during the same tax year that they want to contribute. The dollars they earned don’t need to be the exact same dollars that go into the account. So, for example, if your teenager earns $1,500 next summer then they’re eligible to open a new account (or contribute to an existing account if they previously set one up) and contribute $1,500. Their contribution can actually consist of their own money, plus money that you provide, so long as the total is not more than their earned income for the year).

IRA for Children tip #3: Consider the Roth IRA. Because your child is likely not to have a significant tax bill based on their summer earnings, the immediate tax deductible nature of a traditional IRA is going to be largely (or entirely) inapplicable. In general, a Roth IRA will be the preferred structure for a teenager opening an account.

IRA for Children tip #4: Explaining Options. If the concept of an IRA or the long term timeframe is a bit too difficult to explain to your child, you can explain how they could take penalty free distributions from their accounts for various reasons, including paying college expenses or for up to $10,000 for a down payment on a first home.

You can’t simply set up an individual retirement account on behalf your children – the rules governing IRAs very clearly prohibit this. They need to be the account holder, and meet the earned income requirements themselves. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help them get their own accounts started. They may not understand exactly why it’s so important to do so, but they’ll certainly thank you when they’re older.

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Quest Trust Company helps change people’s lives and financial future through self-directed IRA investment education. Quest Trust Company helps people invest in what they know best and build their financial future on their own terms.

How to make your money grow: Five ideas for your self-directed IRA

Posted on by questadmin
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Many individuals end up accumulating more money in their Individual Retirement Accounts than in any other retirement savings vehicle (and sometimes even more than in any other non-retirement investment accounts) they have. How can you make your money grow like that?

Because of the increased number of investment opportunities within a self-directed IRA, particularly a Roth IRA with a custodian such as Quest Trust Company, self-directed accounts can be a great way to make your money grow. Here are five ideas on how to make your money grow in your self-directed Roth IRA.

Buy Tax Liens. One of the primary sources of revenue for local governments is residential and commercial property taxes. Unfortunately, many property owners are unable or unwilling to pay their taxes on time. In order to make sure that local government operations are not hampered by these delinquencies, liens are issued against the properties for these debts, and the liens are sold to investors. In this way, the government can get their money right away, while the investor collects the taxes plus an interest rate that accrues up to the time of payment. It’s unlikely that a property owner would be so late in their tax payments that an investor could eventually foreclose and take authorship of the property, but it is a possibility for even larger returns. This is a creative way to help make your money grow.

Invest in Farmland. While real estate is a popular investment option for self-directed Roth IRAs, many investors focus only on residential and commercial properties. Even investors who look towards undeveloped properties are likely to focus on purely speculative investments. But there is another option – farmland. High-quality farmland (and any other land put to an agricultural or grazing use) has the potential to make your money grow for current income as well as for the possibility for long-term capital growth.

Invest in Foreclosed Properties. Another popular real estate option for self-directed IRA investments is foreclosed real estate. Depending on what’s happened over the past decade in your local real estate market, and what you believe is likely to happen in the future, foreclosed properties could provide you with an opportunity to make your money grow for long-term capital gains,  as well as for a current income stream. Keep in mind that investing in foreclosures can involve commercial properties as well as residential real estate.

Make Loans. Making loans to third parties is another investment opportunity that’s permitted by the IRS regulations, but which traditional IRA custodians don’t allow their clients to do. These loans may be secured by real estate (i.e., mortgage loans) or by business or personal assets of the borrower.

Buy a Franchise. Franchising can be a good way to build long term value in your IRA. One of the big reasons that franchises are not as popular as other investments is that they can sometimes require significant up-front capital investments. If your self-directed Roth IRA balance is large enough, this might be a good way to achieve a measure of diversification in your overall portfolio.

Regardless of how you invest within your self-directed IRA, make sure you understand all of the legal and long-term tax consequences that may apply.

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Quest Trust Company helps change people’s lives and financial future through self-directed IRA investment education. Quest Trust Company helps people invest in what they know best and build their financial future on their own terms.

Retirement Income Streams, Choosing the best for Your IRA

Posted on by questadmin
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

What’s the best way to generate retirement income streams within your IRA? Not surprisingly, “best” is a relative term, and as is the case in lots of other contexts, whether something is the “best” or not depends on what your needs are. Here are some tips for choosing the most appropriate retirement income streams for your particular situation.

Retirement Income Streams tip #1: Balance Income Against Risk. There’s a reason that the safest income investments such as bank certificates of deposit generally pay among the lowest interest rates. By the same token, investments that pay a significantly higher than average interest rate generally come with significant risks of default.

That’s important to remember throughout all of your investment making decisions; virtually every investment comes with some risk of default. Don’t ever assume that your investment principal is 100% safe (although it’s probably still reasonable to make that assumption when it comes to U.S. Treasury investments).

Of course, this income/risk comparison isn’t a perfectly linear or predictable one, and reasonable investors may disagree on just how much risk is associated with a particular investment, and what level of risk is appropriate.

Retirement Income Streams tip #2: What Are You Using That Income For? One way to determine the best retirement income streams for your IRA is to focus on what you’re going to use that income for. For example, if you’re looking to build up assets that you’ll use to cover your living expenses, then you’re likely to seek out investments that are going to present the most dependable income streams, and for which your risk of capital loss is lowest. Blue chip stocks that have raised their dividend payouts every year for the past few decades, and real estate with a history of reliable tenants, should be near the top of your list of options to consider.

On the other hand, if you’re merely looking for retirement income streams to provide you with a measure of diversification within your portfolio, then investments that provide a more erratic or less reliable source of income may be more appropriate if they provide you with a greater level of overall return.

Retirement Income Streams tip #3: Be Careful of UBTI. UBTI is an unwieldy acronym that stands for “unrelated business taxable income.” In the context of self-directed IRAs, UBTI generally includes income that’s generated by a trade or business, or some other trade or business activity that’s not substantially related to the tax exempt status of the IRA. Fortunately, the UBTI rules exclude most income that comes from passive investments, such as stock dividends, annuity income, interest payments, royalty payments, and most types of real estate rental income.

The upshot is that some types of investment income will be a better fit for your needs than other options. By understanding exactly what the needs of your portfolio are, you’ll increase the likelihood that you’ll make the best long term decisions for your retirement.


Quest Trust Company helps change people’s lives and financial future through self-directed IRA investment education. Quest Trust Company helps people invest in what they know best and build their financial future on their own terms.

Roth or Traditional: Strategies for Converting Your Traditional Self-Directed IRA into a Roth Account

Posted on by questadmin
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Regardless of whether you currently have a Roth or traditional self-directed IRA, you’re benefitting from one of the most valuable retirement savings tools. The combination of long term growth that’s free from yearly taxation, the potential for tax deductible contributions to the account, and the investment freedom that a self-directed IRA custodian such as Quest Trust Company can provide you.

But for many individuals debating Roth or Traditional, the Roth self-directed IRA is a preferable structure. Arguably the only advantage that a Traditional IRA has over a Roth IRA is that contributions to the traditional IRA can sometimes be deductible in the year they’re made. In contrast, with a Roth IRA your investment earnings will grow on a tax free basis (rather than a tax deferred basis as with a traditional IRA), you won’t be subject to the rules on required minimum distributions, and you’ll have greater options for using your account to achieve your estate planning goals.

Fortunately, it’s not necessary for all of the funds in your Roth self-directed IRA to come from direct contributions. The IRS permits you to convert any funds you have in a traditional IRA account to a Roth IRA, provided that you pay taxes on the fair market value of the traditional IRAs being converted.

Roth or Traditional: Timing Your Conversion. The biggest downside of an IRA conversion is the current year tax bill that you’ll be faced with. If possible, you’ll want to time your conversion so that your tax burden is as light as possible. For example, if your adjusted gross income varies significantly from year to year (as is the case with sales professionals), then you could benefit from timing your conversions so that they occur during years when your tax rate is comparatively low. However, you must also consider that the longer you wait to make the conversion, the larger the balance in your Traditional IRA can grow – and thus the bigger tax bill you’ll face.

Roth or Traditional: Paying Your Tax Bill. Because a conversion will cause you to owe additional taxes on the amount of the conversion, you’ll need to have a source of funds to pay that bill. Avoid taking an early withdrawal of money from your account in order to pay the tax bill, as this amount will incur a 10% penalty and taxes on that amount itself, as well as reduce the amount in your account. The best strategy is to plan ahead for the tax bill and to save money to cover the additional financial obligation.

Roth or Traditional: Selective Conversion. One of the potential downsides in converting a self-directed IRA to a Roth IRA is the possibility of paying taxes on the fair market value of your account assets at the time of conversion, but having them decline in value. Recharacterization (basically returning your Roth account back to a traditional IRA) can solve this, but the recharacterization can only be done with respect to what you converted in the first place, so if you convert your entire account then you’d need to recharacterize the entire account to undo the conversion. A better strategy may be to convert different asset classes or type from your Traditional IRA to separate Roth IRAs, so that you can selectively recharacterize your conversions later if you need to.

Even though the conversion process is relatively straightforward, it’s important not to inadvertently make the process more expensive for yourself than it needs to be.

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Quest Trust Company helps change people’s lives and financial future through self-directed IRA investment education. Quest Trust Company helps people invest in what they know best and build their financial future on their own terms.

Investment expenses – how to manage them in your self-directed IRA

Posted on by questadmin
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Investment expenses are oftentimes forgotten or overlooked with an IRA. Generally speaking, IRAs have a less expensive fee structure to other retirement accounts and savings products such as 401(k)s and annuities. Even self-directed IRAs, which often have a higher fee structure than an IRA held with a traditional custodian because of the significantly larger range of investment options you have available, are often more favorable than other types of accounts.

But that doesn’t mean you should get complacent when it comes to your retirement account investment expenses and fees. In order to maximize your overall investment returns, it’s important to keep those investment fees and expenses as low as possible. Here are tips for doing so in your self-directed IRA.

Don’t churn. Rapid movements in and out of investments will cause your transaction fees and investment expenses to rise rapidly. And not only will this incur more transaction fees within your account, it’s also likely to put your retirement savings at too much risk. Trying to time the market and “day trade” generally ends up being a losing proposition for most individual investors.

Choose the right account type. Certain custodians, including Quest Trust Company, offer different types of self-directed IRAs. In addition to the Traditional and Roth IRAs, for example, Quest Trust Company also offers 5 other types of accounts that can all be self-directed.

Look for tiered pricing and pricing options. Lower your investment expenses by looking for a self-directed IRA custodian that offers tiered pricing and multiple pricing options. The needs of a $100,000 account are likely to be different from a $1 million account, so the applicable pricing should reflect this. Furthermore if you have multiple accounts, or multiple individuals within your family have accounts, you may wish to consider a custodian that offers a flat fee option or family type pricing.

Don’t forget about customer service. The old adage that “you get what you pay for” applies to self-directed IRA custodial services. Don’t assume that finding the absolute lowest price custodian and the lowest investment expenses is going to be the best decision. You need to be confident that your custodian is responsive to your needs, executes your transaction requests promptly and efficiently, and is always available to answer your questions.

Unfortunately, it’s far too common for investors to ignore the effect that investment expenses have on the long term values of their retirement accounts. In order to make sure you save as much as possible for retirement, pay attention to those fees and investment expenses and try to keep them as low as possible, consistent with your trading and investing goals.

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Quest Trust Company helps change people’s lives and financial future through self-directed IRA investment education. Quest Trust Company helps people invest in what they know best and build their financial future on their own terms.

IRA investment advice: Five Signs That it’s Time to Sell an Investment in Your Self-Directed IRA

Posted on by questadmin
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

It’s generally thought that the decision of when to sell a particular asset can be just as important as the decision of when to buy that asset. Sell too soon and you may miss out on future gains, but sell too late and you may incur a loss or miss out on better investment opportunities elsewhere. Knowing when it’s time to exit from a particular investment applies to assets held within your self-directed IRA, so here is some IRA investment advice to know when it’s appropriate to do so.

IRA investment advice #1: There is a significant change in market conditions. A good piece of IRA investment advice is to be aware of a noticeable shift in overall market conditions, such as a sharp drop (or increase) in interest rates or overall corporate earnings, then you may decide that the reasons you had for initially buying a particular investment in your self-directed IRA are no longer true.

IRA investment advice #2: There is a significant change in market economics. By this we’re not referring to the overall economy or stock market, but the local and specific market relating to a particular investment. So, for example, if you own a piece of investment real estate in your self directed IRA, but notice that the surrounding neighborhood may be beginning to deteriorate, or that rents are starting to go flat or even drop, you may decide that it no longer makes sense for you to know that particular property.

IRA investment advice #3: You need to diversify. Investment diversification is still a cornerstone of most individual investors being successful. What’s sometimes overlooked, however, is that diversification should be considered not so much in the context of a particular account, but within your overall investment portfolio. This means you should consider diversification not just within your self directed IRA, but within all of your investments, including other retirement accounts and your non-retirement investment accounts. If you need to diversify, you may decide that the most appropriate course of action is to sell a particular investment that you hold within your self directed IRA.

IRA investment advice #4: Your risk tolerance has changed. Depending on your individual circumstances, you may decide that it’s time to sell a particular investment when your risk tolerance changes. For example, if a significant career change requires you to guard more against loss of capital, then you may want to sell your risky investment assets and transition to a safer investment type.

IRA investment advice #5: Your income needs have changed. People hold different investment types for different reasons. In the broadest terms, there are two common ways that people hope to profit from a particular investment: an increase in the underlying value of the asset, or current income that it generates. Of course, some investments may also have elements of both these factors. The further you are from retirement, the more willing you may be to hold investments in your account that don’t produce any current income. After all, during this stage of your life, the purpose of your account is to build the largest possible account. But once you enter retirement, you may decide that it’s appropriate to shift your assets into investments that generate current income.

Be sure to give as much time to your analysis on when to sell your investments as you do on when to buy them.

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Quest Trust Company helps change people’s lives and financial future through self-directed IRA investment education. Quest Trust Company helps people invest in what they know best and build their financial future on their own terms.

“Savers Credit” basics for contributions to a self-directed IRA

Posted on by questadmin
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

In addition to all the other benefits of a self-directed IRA, did you know that you may also be eligible to receive a further tax benefit for contributions to that you make to your account? The Retirement Savings Contribution Credit (sometimes also known as the “Savers Credit”) can reduce an individual’s tax bill by up to $1,000 if their income is below certain thresholds (or up to $2,000 for taxpayers filing joint tax returns). The Savers Credit was created as a way to provide a direct financial incentive for lower income workers to save for retirement.

Below is the key information that you’ll need to be able to determine whether or not you’re eligible to apply the Savers Credit to your tax return for contributions you make to your self-directed IRA.

Income Threshold. In order to be eligible to claim any portion of the Savers Credit, a single person must have an adjusted gross income of less than $28,750 for 2012. An individual filing as a head of household must have an adjusted gross income of less than $43,125. Finally, a person with a tax filing status of married filing jointly must have an adjusted gross income of less than $57,500.

For the 2013 tax year, these amounts will rise to $29,500 for those with a single filer tax status, $44,250 for a head of household, and $59,000 for those with a tax filing status of married filing jointly.

Amount of Credit. For those who are eligible, the amount of the Savers Credit will be 10%, 20% or 50% of the amount of the contribution that an eligible makes to their self-directed IRA (or to any eligible employer-sponsored retirement plan). The exact amount of the credit will depend on the tax filer’s adjusted gross income. IRS Form 8880 contains a chart to help you make the calculation.

Personal Status. Furthermore, in order to claim the Savers Credit, an individual must be at least age 18, not a student on a full-time basis, and not be claimed as a dependent on any other person’s tax return.

Nature of the Credit. The Savers Credit will lower an individual’s overall tax bill on a dollar for dollar basis, but any unused portions of the Saver’s Credit will not increase an individual’s refund.

Contributions Net of Distributions. When you evaluate how much your eligible retirement contributions were for the year, you must first subtract whatever distributions you received from your account within the two-year period before the year that you’re claiming the credit and including the filing year. There are certain types of distributions that are exempted from this general rule.

Setting up and making regular contributions to a self-directed IRA can be a great way to build wealth for your retirement years. Depending on your income you may be able to save yourself even more money by claiming the Savers Credit on your tax return.

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Quest Trust Company helps change people’s lives and financial future through self-directed IRA investment education. Quest Trust Company helps people invest in what they know best and build their financial future on their own terms.

Traditional or Roth – Which type of self-directed IRA is for you

Posted on by questadmin
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Traditional or Roth – this is a question every investor asks at least once in his life. Most investors ask this question several times over the course of the lifetime – traditional or Roth -which type of investment is the best? Figuring out whether a traditional or Roth IRA structure is best suited to your goals and needs is fundamental to your retirement. Here are some tips for how to decide whether a traditional or Roth IRA is best for you.

Tax Rates – Current vs. Future. A significant factor in your decision between a traditional or Roth IRA will certainly be your current income tax rate, in relation to what you expect that rate to be during your retirement. Contributions to a traditional IRA are sometimes tax deductible in the year you make them (more on that later), while contributions to a Roth IRA are never tax-deductible. Conversely, withdrawals from a Roth IRA are tax-free, while withdrawals from a traditional IRA are subject to current year income tax. In general, the more your current income tax rate exceeds your expected rate during retirement, the more advantageous it may be to choose a traditional IRA

When making this determination, it’s important to note that if you are also covered by a retirement plan (such as a 401(k)) at work, and your income exceeds a certain level, then you will not be eligible to take the above mentioned current year deduction for a traditional IRA – and in such case a Roth IRA will likely be preferable.

Other Retirement Savings and Assets. Another deciding factor between traditional or Roth IRAs is determining the aggregate retirement savings you have in other non-IRA accounts. The longer you can wait before withdrawing money from your IRA, the longer it will have to grow, and a longer time frame generally favors the Roth IRA structure.

Required Minimum Distributions. In addition, Roth IRAs are not subject to the rules on required minimum distributions (RMDs). With a traditional IRA, once you reach age 72, you need to begin withdrawing a specified percentage of your account value each and every year. Individuals with Roth IRAs and who have other retirement assets to draw upon can allow their IRAs to grow significantly larger because they don’t have to take RMDs.

Estate Planning. Estate planning can play a huge role in your decision of choosing a traditional or Roth IRA. It’s important to note that the rules on RMDs can flow down to certain heirs of your IRA after you pass away. If you anticipate your IRA being a significant portion of your estate, then you may wish to investigate whether the additional flexibility that comes with a Roth IRA can better help you meet your estate planning goals.

Conversion. If you decide that a Roth IRA is a better fit for your situation, but your account is currently set up as a traditional IRA, don’t worry. You are permitted to convert your account from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, provided that you pay taxes on the amount of the conversion. Even if that tax bill is sizable, conversion could still be the best financial decision for you.

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Quest Trust Company helps change people’s lives and financial future through self-directed IRA investment education. Quest Trust Company helps people invest in what they know best and build their financial future on their own terms.

Want to buy a foreclosed home with your self-directed IRA? Learn more

Posted on by questadmin
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Do you want to buy a foreclosed home with your self-directed IRA? While many local real estate markets have improved significantly over the past several years, there are still many opportunities for investors who want to buy a foreclosed home or bank-owned property. As you might expect, the process for buying foreclosed properties is slightly different than that for buying properties from the open market. In addition, the process for buying any type of property with your self-directed IRA is also different. Here’s an overview of what you can expect if you’ve answered yes to the question: should I buy a foreclosed home with my self-directed IRA.

1. Set Up a Self-Directed IRA and Fund Your Account. The first step to buy a foreclosed home with your self-directed IRA is, of course, to set up and fund a self-directed IRA. Choose a custodian such as Quest Trust Company, which can provide comprehensive custodial services for a self-directed account, and for which you fully understand the fee structure.

2. Identify Your Real Estate Investment Goals. In order to buy a foreclosed home with your self-directed IRA, you need to identify the types of foreclosed home investments you are interested in. What are your goals when you decide to buy a foreclosed home? Are you investing in real estate in order to gain an income stream, in order to achieve long term capital gains, or both? Are you looking to take a distribution of the property once you retire, and live in it yourself? Determining your goals can help you narrow down your potential list, making it easier for you to buy a foreclosed home that meets your investment goals.

3. Identify Your Budget. How much do you currently have in your IRA, and how much do you plan to invest when you buy a foreclosed home? As you identify your budget, keep in mind that a foreclosed home will likely come with operating expenses that your self-directed IRA will be responsible for. These expenses must be met with assets from within your account, which can be either income generated from the foreclosed home itself (or from other assets within your account), liquidated assets from the account, or your annual account contributions. If you decide to buy a foreclosed home that has operating expenses, you cannot pay these expenses with your own personal funds outside of the IRA.

4. Secure Financing (if necessary). If your account balance is not large enough that you can’t pay cash when you buy a foreclosed home, your account will need to obtain financing for the purchase. Note that some banks that sell foreclosed homes may prefer (or perhaps require) a cash sale over one that’s financed. In addition, obtaining financing of this type could have adverse tax implications for your account. In general, an all-cash purchase is often the better choice when you buy a foreclosed home with your self-directed IRA.

5. Conduct Your Property Search. Only after the prior steps have been completed should you begin your quest to buy a foreclosed home. During this process, realize that foreclosed homes are often subject to a higher level of damage or disrepair due to the circumstances that brought the property back onto the market. It’s often helpful to obtain professional assistance in evaluating properties.

When you buy a foreclosed home with your self-directed IRA, you’ll often discover a very rewarding undertaking. Follow the guidelines above to put yourself in the best position to succeed.

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Quest Trust Company helps change people’s lives and financial future through self-directed IRA investment education. Quest Trust Company helps people invest in what they know best and build their financial future on their own terms.

Should I convert to Roth in 2021? Roth conversion 2021 facts to help you make a decision

Posted on by questadmin
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

When you first set up an individual retirement account, you’ll be faced with a number of different choices to make, long before you ever have to be concerned with whether you should convert to Roth. First you’ll need to decide whether to open your new account with a traditional IRA custodian, or a self-directed IRA custodian such as Quest Trust Company. Choosing a self-directed IRA will give you the greatest investment flexibility.

You’ll also need to decide on the type of account – a traditional IRA form or a Roth IRA. While many of the basics features for each account are similar, there are some important differences between the two. Traditional IRAs have the advantage that contributions are sometimes tax deductible in the year they’re made. On the other hand, withdrawals from Roth IRAs are completely tax free (unlike traditional IRAs), and Roth accounts are not subject to the rules on required minimum distributions. For many retirement savers, a Roth IRA is a better long term solution to their needs.

Unfortunately, some people only come to this conclusion after they’ve already opened and grown one or more traditional IRAs. Fortunately, it’s possible to convert to Roth from a traditional IRA. The process is very straightforward, although the account owner will be responsible for paying a current year tax (based on their income tax rate) on the amount of the conversion.

Here are some Roth conversion 2021 tips for deciding whether or not this is the year you convert your to Roth from your traditional IRA.

How do your current tax rates compare to your expected future rates? Generally speaking, if you anticipate that your tax rates during retirement will be higher than your current tax rates, then a Roth account is preferable, and perhaps you should convert to Roth. Paying taxes now at a lower rate to avoid paying taxes later at a higher rate (and, in fact, to avoid paying taxes at all on withdrawals from a Roth IRA) can save you significant amounts of money.

Are the rules on required minimum distributions likely to affect you? Be sure to take into account the effect that required minimum distributions (“RMDs”) may have on your overall retirement plan. The IRS rules on RMDs state that an owner of a traditional IRA must begin taking certain minimum withdrawals from their account once they reach age 72. If you have other sources of retirement income besides your IRA, and would prefer to let the money in your IRA continue to grow on a tax-preferred basis, then you may want to convert to Roth.

What’s Your Expected Rate of Return? Finally, your investment returns on your IRA may influence your decision. If your expected rate of return is high, then the value of having a Roth IRA and never having to pay taxes on investment earnings can be significant.

Deciding whether it’s appropriate to convert to Roth from your traditional IRA should be done every year. For example, if your income varies significantly from year to year, then you may want to target a relatively low-income year as one in which a conversion may be appropriate.

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Quest Trust Company helps change people’s lives and financial future through self-directed IRA investment education. Quest Trust Company helps people invest in what they know best and build their financial future on their own terms.