real estate Archives - Quest Trust Company

Should You Consider a Non-Deductible Self-Directed IRA?

Posted on August 14, 2015August 14, 2019 by questadmin

For many individuals, their tax planning strategy — to the extent they have one at all — revolves around trying to maximize the deductions they can take each year on their returns. The personal exemption, deductions for dependents, and the home mortgage interest deduction are all extremely popular deductions to personal income.

Many individuals also try to take advantage of the deduction that’s available for contributions to a traditional IRA in certain circumstances. (A similar economic outcome occurs for contributions to a 401(k), because those contributions are generally made with pre-tax earnings via payroll deductions.)

But while the value of a deductible contribution to a self-directed IRA can be significant, it shouldn’t be your only consideration when deciding whether or not to make a contribution to your retirement account, and what type of account to choose to receive those contributions.

Remember that self-directed IRAs come in two basic types. There are traditional self-directed IRAs, to which contributions are sometimes deductible, and Roth self-directed IRAs, to which contributions are never tax deductible.

For example, let’s say that you are covered by a retirement plan at work (such as a 401(k)), and that your modified adjusted gross income exceeds the IRS limits ($71,000 for the 2015 tax year). You’re eligible to contribute to a traditional self-directed IRA, but your contributions won’t be deductible. If your modified adjusted gross income is less than $116,000, then you’ll also be eligible to contribute to a Roth self-directed IRA, but again, your contributions won’t be deductible.

All other factors being equal, your best bet is likely to be making the contributions to a Roth account. The primary advantage that a Roth self-directed IRA has over a traditional self-directed IRA is that all distributions from the account will be tax-free during retirement. This can be a significant source of additional funds for your living expenses during retirement. There are numerous other benefits to a Roth account, including not being subject to the rules on required minimum distributions.

But even making non-deductible contributions to a traditional account can provide you with significant benefits. Investments within a traditional IRA grow on a tax-deferred basis, and no tax will be due until you take a distribution from your account. This means that your non-deductible contributions still have the opportunity to grow for years or even decades without you having to pay tax on the gains or the income from those investments.

Note that it’s not at all uncommon, and entirely permissible under the IRS regulations, to maintain multiple IRAs. If you choose, this means that you can set up a traditional self-directed IRA to which you can make deductible contributions in the years that you’re eligible to do so, and also have a Roth self-directed IRA that you can contribute to when you’re not eligible to make those deductible contributions.

Will This Be The First Year You’re Subject To Required Minimum Distributions On Your Self-Directed IRA?

Posted on June 15, 2015December 6, 2018 by questadmin

While the U.S. government wants to encourage individuals to save for retirement by providing tax incentives for using the IRA structure, they don’t want to forego the tax revenue entirely. For example, you’ll potentially be able to take a tax deduction for contributions you make to a traditional self-directed IRA, and won’t have to pay taxes on any investment growth or gains that occur and remain within your account, but you will have to pay taxes when you make withdrawals from your account.

One important way that the IRS rules manage the balance between allowing tax breaks for retirement savings, but requiring that the account holder pays taxes at some point, is the set of rules on required minimum distributions (“RMDs”).

RMD Basics. Once a traditional IRA account owner reaches age 70½, they must begin taking distributions from their account, and those distributions must meet certain minimum amounts that are calculated based on the account balance and the account holder’s age. The account holder must withdraw the calculated minimum amount from their account every year.

It’s important to note that because the required minimum distribution amounts are only minimums, the account holder is always free to take larger or more frequent distributions from their account.

It’s perhaps even more important to understand that the RMD amount will almost certainly change from year to year. Because the calculation is made on the basis of the value of your account at the end of the year, your investment performance over the year will change the amount upon which the amortization calculation operates.

Special Considerations for Some Investments. Your RMD obligations do not take into account the composition of your traditional self-directed IRA. If you happen to have an account that is comprised of illiquid investments, you’ll still need to take an appropriate distribution, even if you don’t have the free cash available to do so. You can do this by taking a distribution of illiquid investments that have a fair market value that’s at least as much as your RMD amount, or you can distribute the asset itself. This might be desirable if the asset is a vacation property or some other asset you’d like to make personal use of during retirement.

But taking a large distribution in one year won’t get you a credit against any future RMDs in future years.

Roth Self-Directed IRAs are Not Subject to RMD Rules. Note that we’ve only been talking about traditional self-directed IRAs with respect to the rules on required minimum distributions. That’s because the Roth account is not subject to these rules, and account holders are never required to take any distributions, regardless of their age or account balance.

Given the value that this feature has to many individuals, one common way to maximize retirement flexibility is to convert a traditional account to a Roth account. This triggers a tax bill in the year of conversion, but many account holders find the change to be worth the cost.

First Time Using Your Self-Directed IRA to Invest in Private Stock?

Posted on September 23, 2014October 31, 2018 by questadmin

As you look to use your self-directed IRA to broaden your investment holdings, you may come across opportunities to invest in private stock. Among many individuals, this type of investment is among the least familiar, and potentially most confusing. Let’s take a look at some of the basics about using your self-directed IRA to invest in private stock.

Let’s first make sure we understand what we’re talking about when we use the term “private stock.” In the broadest possible terms, shares of “stock” in a company represent ownership interests in that company. Depending on the type of stock the company chooses to issue, this ownership interest may include the right to receive dividends (should the company choose to pay them), to vote on certain matters relating to the company’s governance, and to receive money back in the event of a company liquidation (if there are funds available after repaying company debts and other obligations).

Most individuals who are saving for retirement are familiar with stocks in the context of “publicly traded” securities. Publicly traded stocks on those in which buyers and sellers conduct their transactions on a public stock exchange, subject to the rules and requirements of the exchange. In the United States, publicly traded stocks are also subject to a number of disclosure and informational requirements promulgated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The purpose of the SEC disclosure requirements is to make sure that the general public has enough information to make informed and reasoned decisions about whether or not to invest in a particular company’s stock.

But while most of the largest and well-known U.S. companies are publicly traded, other companies choose to forego access to public securities exchanges in order to avoid these disclosure obligations. In doing so, U.S. law provides that these private companies can only accept funds from investors if those investors are considered to be advanced and experienced enough that they do not need the protections afforded by the SEC disclosure rules.

The SEC uses the term “accredited investors” to refer to individuals who can invest in private company stock. Under current law, an accredited investor is an individual who either (i) has an income in excess of $200,000 for each of the last two years (and reasonably expects to have a similar income this year), or (ii) as a net worth in excess of $1 million, not including their primary residence.

If you meet the requirements for being an accredited investor, and wish to use your self directed IRA to invest in private companies stock, it’s absolutely essential that you do your research before committing any funds. This level of due diligence will be far in excess of anything you’ve done previously before making an investment in publicly traded securities.

You may also wish to consult with a self-directed IRA custodian such as Quest Trust Company in order to be sure you are following the proper steps for such a private company stock investment.

Best Practices for Maximizing Your Tax Benefits With a Self-Directed IRA

Posted on August 28, 2014 by questadmin

Self-directed IRAs are a powerful tool to help individuals build the largest possible retirement nest eggs. Obviously there is great value to being able to choose from the widest possible range of investment options. But the greatest upside of having a self-directed IRA and making regular contributions to it is the fact that it provides you with long term tax-deferred (or, in the case of a Roth IRA, tax-free) growth.

Here are some of the best practices for maximizing all the available tax benefits you have with a self-directed IRA.

Current Year Tax Deductions for Contributions

If your self-directed IRA is structured as a traditional account, then you may be able to take a current year tax deduction for the value of your annual contributions, depending on your income and whether you are covered by a retirement plan at work. While you’ll be subject to taxation on withdrawals from your traditional self-directed IRA once you reach retirement (which wouldn’t be the case for withdrawals from a Roth account), you may decide that the current year tax advantage is worth it to you.

Hold Tax-Advantaged Investments in Your Taxable Accounts

Because all investment income and capital growth that happens within a self-directed IRA is tax-advantaged, holding investments that have built in tax-advantages is redundant and wasteful in terms of tax benefits. Therefore, if you invest in tax-free government bonds then those assets would be better held in a taxable account, and not your self-directed IRA.

Avoid UBTI

Also in the same category of avoiding mistakes is making sure used to your clear of unrelated business taxable income (UBTI). In the context of self-directed IRAs, UBTI most often becomes an issue when an account holder borrows money to make an investment – commonly by taking out a mortgage in order to buy real estate. Borrowing money to invest is outside of the statutory authorizations of any IRA, so it’s important to avoid any transactions that would lessen the tax benefits of your account.

Maximize Tax Free Growth

In order to maximize the benefits of tax-deferred or tax-free growth within your self-directed IRA, it’s important to let your account grow for as long as possible. One implication is that you should try to avoid taking any early withdrawals from your account. Even if you fall within one of the penalty-free exemptions for doing so, by reducing the amount you have invested you reduce the amount of tax benefit you’ll achieve in the years leading up to retirement.

Consider a Conversion to a Self-Directed Roth IRA

Finally, if you truly want to maximize your tax benefits, consider converting a traditional self-directed IRA into a self-directed Roth account. You’ll need to pay taxes on the conversion amount, but if you can afford that current year tax hit, and you have a number of years before retirement, it may be the best long-term decision.

Of course, tax laws evolve and change over time, so it’s also very important that you stay up-to-date on all the rules and regulations regarding self-directed IRAs.

Three Common IRA Myths to Guard Against

Posted on August 26, 2014 by questadmin

There is a lot of good information out there about individual retirement accounts. Quest Trust Company, for example, has published a great deal of valuable information and guidance about the pros and cons of the various account types, including the self-directed IRA, how to get started, and pitfalls to avoid.

But there’s also no shortage of misunderstandings that people have, as well some common IRA myths have been around for decades, it seems. The biggest problem with this misinformation is that it can lead people to make sub-optimal decisions regarding their accounts, or perhaps even to not open an account in the first place.

Here are three of the most common myths that you need to guard against.

It’s Not Worth Making Non-Deductible Contributions to an IRA.

Many retirement savers are initially drawn to IRAs because their contributions may be tax-deductible in the year they are made. This can be an extremely strong incentive to contribute, as it effectively gives the account holder and immediate “rebate” or return on their investment equal to the amount of their deduction.

The downside of this valuable benefit is that it can sometimes lead people to focus too much on the possibility of a deduction and not enough on the long-term benefits of the IRA itself. For example, Roth IRAs don’t allow deductibility of contributions, but all investment earnings and income within the account can be withdrawn tax-free during retirement. (With a traditional IRA, those withdrawals during retirement would be taxable.)

Even if you are not eligible to make contributions to a Roth account, making nondeductible contributions to a traditional IRA still provide a significant tax savings because of the tax deferred nature of investment earnings. Just keep in mind that you may want to set up a separate account for those nondeductible contributions, just to ease your administrative burden.

You Can’t Make Contributions to an IRA and 401(k) in the Same Year.

Another common misconception is that an individual cannot contribute to both a 401(k) and an IRA in the same tax year. This is simply not the case.

Both IRAs and 401(k)s have annual contribution limits, and your decision to participate in an employer-sponsored 401(k) may impact the type of IRA contribution you can make (deductible versus nondeductible) but you certainly can – and should – seek to maximize your IRA contributions each year.

Self-Directed IRAs Have No Investment Limitations

This myth is really only applicable to self-directed IRAs, but it’s an important one to understand. Self-directed IRAs provide individual investors with far more options than the IRAs that are available from traditional custodians. But there are IRS restrictions that apply to all IRAs (even self-directed IRAs), including prohibitions on self-dealing. For example, you can’t use your self-directed IRA to invest in a business that you draw a salary from, or to purchase art or collectible coins (even if your intention is to make those purchases for investment purposes).

The best way to make sure you understand all the important factors surrounding IRAs is to do your research.

Do Mutual Funds Have a Place in Your Self-Directed IRA?

Posted on August 15, 2014October 31, 2018 by questadmin

You’ll have a wide array of investment choices with your self-directed IRA. You’ll be able to invest in real estate, make private equity investments, issue private origins, and even invest in precious metals. Having all these investment options is certainly an advantage, but sometimes account holders will focus only on these more advanced investment options, to the exclusion of some of the more basic investment types.

For example, even more traditional investments such as stocks and mutual funds may have a place in your self-directed IRA. Let’s examine some of the pros and cons of using your account to invest in mutual funds.

Pro: Potentially Low Fees.

Mutual funds can, depending on the specific choices you make, have a very affordable fee structure. You’ll pay management and administrative fees to compensate the mutual fund managers for the investment activities they undertake, but those fees are simply deducted from your share price – you don’t need to make additional contributions were payments in order to cover those costs.

In general, the more actively managed a particular mutual fund is, the higher the fees will be. Funds that are passively managed, or which seek to duplicate objective measures such as a stock index, will likely be very inexpensive.

In addition, many leading mutual funds allow you to buy their shares with no sales or redemption charges whatsoever.

Con: Less Control Over Your Investment Decisions.

When you purchase shares up a mutual fund you’ll only be able to select a fund based on their general investment profile. But apart from passively managed funds (such as stock index mutual funds) there’s no way to control how your money is put to work beyond that.

Pro: Instant Diversification

One challenge that many investors have is maintaining appropriate diversification within their portfolios. But because mutual funds generally invest in a number of different underlying securities, will be able to achieve a measure of diversification simply by purchasing the fund shares.

Con: Under-Utilizing the Advantages of a Self-Directed IRA

Of course, while you may decide that mutual funds are an investment that you’d like to have in your portfolio, you need to ask yourself whether your self-directed IRA is the best vehicle for holding it. After all, chances are that if you have a self-directed IRA you also have various other investment and retirement accounts – it’s simply not common for someone to have a self-directed IRA as their only investment vehicle.

If you want to invest in mutual funds, why not use a taxable investment account or a 401(k) at work in order to hold the mutual fund shares? That way you can take full advantage of all the investment flexibility that your self-directed IRA has to offer.

Ultimately the flexibility and potential you have for your self-directed IRA must take into account your individual financial situation and investment profile. Mutual funds may have a place within your account, but perhaps they shouldn’t come at the expense of not making other types of investments.

Smart Tips for Using Your Self-Directed IRA for Estate Planning

Posted on July 29, 2014 by questadmin

Estate planning is one of those things that virtually no one enjoys, but that just about everyone could be spending a little more time on. The term “estate planning” usually brings to mind a person’s last will and testament, and perhaps a power of attorney and one or more trusts that they may have created.

But consider for a moment when you fill out paperwork for practically any type of financial account, including investment accounts, IRAs, a 401(k) you may have at work, bank CDs and even checking accounts. Every one of these is going to ask you to name a beneficiary to your account. And naming beneficiaries on your financial accounts, including your self-directed IRA, is a form of estate planning.

The Differences Between Traditional and Roth Accounts

Let’s first briefly cover how a Roth self-directed IRA is generally regarded as being much more powerful for estate planning purposes than a traditional self-directed IRA.

One of the biggest differences between Roth and traditional accounts is that Roth accounts are not subject to the rules on required minimum distributions. For traditional accounts, these rules state that once the account holder reaches age 70½, they must begin taking certain minimum distributions from their account each and every year. The minimum amount is based on their age and life expectancy, as well as their account balance.

Many individuals have multiple retirement accounts and other sources of retirement income. Because they can continue letting the funds in a Roth self-directed IRA continue to grow, even after they reach age 70½, they’ll have more money to pass down to their heirs after death.

Spousal Heirs. A spouse that is named as the beneficiary of an IRA is in a much better position than a non-spousal beneficiary. This is because the spouse beneficiary can roll over the assets from the decedent’s IRA to their own IRA. This means that they can elect to be subject to whatever rules apply to their own account.

For example, if the deceased spouse had reached the age where they needed to begin taking required minimum distributions from their traditional self-directed IRA, but the surviving spouse is still age 60, that surviving spouse would no longer need to take those distributions. In fact, they’d only need to take the required minimum distributions once they themselves reach age 70½.

The rules for non-spouse heirs are not quite as flexible or generous, so an individual who wants to maximize the value of their estate can choose to leave their IRAs to their spouse, and leave non-IRA assets to their non-spouse heirs.

As you work through these issues, remember that you want to be sure to have other key documentation relating to your estate planning as well. Everyone should have a will, and most will also want to execute a power of attorney as well as a living will or health care proxy.

Can You Start Self-Directed IRAs for Your Children?

Posted on July 17, 2014 by questadmin

One question that often comes up when a new parent begins considering their child’s future finances is whether they can start an IRA on their behalf. Since the time value of money is perhaps the greatest power of a self-directed IRA, it’s easy to see why parents would try to make this happen. Unfortunately, IRAs can only be opened by individuals for themselves, with money they earn themselves. Let’s take a closer look.

The Earned Income Requirement. The biggest hurdle you’ll have to overcome when you work to help your child opened a self-directed IRA is the IRS requirement of earned income. In order to make any contribution to an IRA, the account holder must have earned income of at least that amount for the year of contribution.

So, for example, let’s consider an individual who has accumulated a significant amount of assets in their non-retirement accounts and now lives off of their investment earnings. Even if that individual earns $100,000 per year in investment income, they won’t be able to make contributions to an IRA unless they have earned income as well. Earned income is essentially what someone receives in exchange for their time or services. This might be salary or commissions from their job, or income they receive from freelancing or working as an independent contractor.

A Part-Time or Summer Job. If your child is old enough to get a part-time or summer job, then whatever they make will constitute earned income. They are now eligible to open a self-directed IRA in deposit this amount.

Hiring Your Child. Even if your child has an “income” from savings or taxable investment accounts you may have set up for them, they’re not able to use those funds to open or contribute to a self-directed IRA. But if you have a home-based business or consulting career on the side, consider whether there are tasks you may be able to hire your child to do. You can’t create a “sham” position for your four-year-old, but you may be able to hire your 10 or 11-year-old child to help you with very simple tasks such as basic filing, collating or envelope stuffing. Make sure the work they do is genuine, and don’t pay them an unreasonable amount – these could constitute red flags for the IRS.

Funding the Account. It’s worth noting that the IRS rules on earned income don’t require that the account holder deposit the exact dollars that they earn. So if your child is able to earn $500 or $1,000 over the course of the year by babysitting or mowing lawns, then they are eligible to deposit that same amount into an IRA – even if it’s not the same dollars. In other words, they might spend or save what they earn, and then you could gift them the same amount that they can use to open their own self-directed IRA.
It’s important to understand that the earlier you can help your child open their own self-directed IRA, the better chance they’ll have of reaching their own retirement goals (even if they haven’t formed those goals yet themselves).

Consider These Top Income Streams For Your Self-Directed IRA

Posted on July 10, 2014 by questadmin

It’s certainly natural to think of investing your self-directed IRA in long-term growth investments. After all, most retirement savers have medium to long term investment horizons, and knowing that these investments have decades to grow certainly makes that type of focus very attractive.

But income generating investments also have a place in your self-directed IRA. For example, when you move from the workplace to retirement, you may need to be able to live off the income that’s generated by your self-directed IRA. You may also want to include income generating investments in your self-directed IRA simply as a matter of diversification. And remember that income or dividends that are generated inside the account don’t incur any tax liability when they hit your account.

Here are some of the top income streams for you to consider within your self-directed IRA.

Real Estate. This is the classic income generating investment, and the ways to invest are varied. You can purchase real estate directly with your self-directed IRA, and this is one of the big advantages of a self-directed IRA over a retirement account with a traditional custodian. Your investment can be in a single family unit, a multi-family dwelling, commercial real estate, farmland, as all of these properties can potentially have a tenant or user who is willing to pay you for the right to use that property.

Real Estate Partnerships or Funds. If the prospect of managing and maintaining individual pieces of real estate within your self-directed IRA is too daunting, your account can also invest in real estate partnerships, investment trusts (“REITs”), or other collective investment funds that focus on real estate. These investments often pay out an income stream that far exceeds the return that is available from other income generating investments.

Dividend Paying Stocks. Just because your self-directed IRA allows you great investment flexibility doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t consider investing some of your account assets in more traditional investments such as dividend paying stocks. The key is not just to evaluate what a given stock is paying in dividends now, but what your original investment could eventually yield during retirement if you reinvest those dividends.

For example, let’s consider a hypothetical purchase of $100,000 worth of stock that pays a 3% dividend, and has historically increased its dividend 8% each year. Let’s further assume the stock is currently priced at $100 per share (which means you purchase 1,000 shares), and the price of the stock increases approximately 4% each year. Your first quarterly dividend payment will be $750.

But let’s consider what happens if you reinvest dividends you receive each month. At the end of 20 years, you will own nearly 1,800 shares of stock that will be worth nearly $390,000. And your quarterly dividend payment will have grown to over $2,700.

There are other income generating investments, of course, and they may also be a good fit for your self-directed IRA. The key is to evaluate not just what an income stream can do for you now, but how it can serve you in the future as well.

The Upsides of Taking Early Withdrawals from Your Self-Directed IRA to Help Your Grandchildren

Posted on June 12, 2014 by questadmin

You know that a self-directed IRA is an extremely powerful retirement savings vehicle. These accounts offer an attractive combination of tax-deferred (or in the case of a self-directed Roth IRA, tax-free) investment growth plus significant freedom investment choices.

While the account was setup to enable individuals to save for their own retirements, they can be used for other things as well. For example, if you’re in a position to make early withdrawals from your self-directed IRA without compromising your own financial future, you can take early withdrawals from your account to help your grandchildren. Most early withdrawals will incur a financial penalty, but there are two exceptions that are of particular interest.

To Help Them Purchase Their First Home.

One of the early withdrawal exceptions is to permit the account holder to take up to $10,000 out of their account to help them by their first home. You can also help your grandchild by using funds from your self-directed IRA to assist them with buying their own first home. The IRS regulations authorize a penalty-free withdrawal for up to $10,000 to help the account holder buy a new home (provided that they have not owned a home at any time in the past two years), but also for the account holder to help someone in their immediate family, or their grandchildren do the same.

A common problem facing young people is that even if a person can afford the monthly payment on a home mortgage, it can be extremely difficult for that person to come up with enough money to afford the down payment to be able to get that mortgage. If your grandchild is able to get $10,000 for a down payment from you, and additional amounts from their parents or other grandparents, they may be able to purchase a home that can help them build significant home equity to benefit them in the future.

To Help Them Pay College Expenses.

Another way that young people can find themselves in financial difficulties is graduating from college with an abundance of student loan debt. Despite efforts that parents are making to help children pay for college, many families are finding that the costs are simply rising too fast. This is where the help of a grandparent can be extra important.

The rules for self-directed IRAs (allow account holders to take penalty free early withdrawals from their accounts in order to pay for in order to meet the requirements of this exception, the money must be used for tuition, fees, books and other supplies, and in some cases room and board as well. As with the exception relating to a first-time home purchase, the withdrawal can be used to benefit the account holder, their children, or their grandchildren.

These costs and expenses must be incurred at an educational institution that qualifies for federal student financial aid. Just about any two or four year college is going to qualify, but many vocational programs will not. Be sure to check the status of your grandchild’s school before offering to help.

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