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3 Alternative Investments Your Self-directed IRA Can Fund

Posted on November 8, 2018February 5, 2020 by Juan Deshon

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

A self-directed IRA has some distinct differences from an IRA held at a traditional type of custodian. Generally, with traditional custodians, investments are limited to stocks, CDs, bonds, mutual funds, and other related types of investments. However, a self-directed IRA provides a broader range of choices, allowing account owners to diversify their holdings with a variety of investments.

1. Real Estate

You can use your self-directed IRA to invest in real estate, but there are stipulations to keep in mind. You can’t take up residence on the property, even part-time, and you cannot use personal money to pay for any portion of the investment. Taxes, insurance, repair costs, and everything else must be funded by your self-directed IRA account.

2. Promissory Notes

Promissory Notes are an agreement between lender or borrower. They can be secured or unsecured. Secured meaning there is some type of collateral should the borrower default. There are also other types of notes, for example, Convertible notes: where once the note matures the lender has the option to either take the earnings or convert it to shares of the company. Typically we see notes secured by real estate where the lender will lend X amount to a borrower and charge interest-only payments or an amortized schedule to pay off the principal plus interest. The notes are always completely drafted based on the lenders and borrowers terms.

3. Private Companies

Another possibility that should be considered is investing in a private company. You can use your self-directed IRA funds to invest in a commercial business, such as a gas station or retail store, but make sure to consult your financial planner throughout the process. Much like investing in real estate, this option requires that you obey the guidelines published by the IRS. One example is that you can’t earn profits in the present; any gains must go directly into your retirement account.

To learn more about any of these options, or to discover more of the investment opportunities your self-directed IRA provides, contact us to get in touch with an IRA specialist. With a Quest self-directed IRA, you may discover a more profitable way to diversify your investments and start building a better future.

Three Key Investments You Can Make in Your Self-Directed IRA, But Not in Your 401(k)

Posted on December 14, 2015April 13, 2021 by Ingrid Chavez

Estimated reading time: 2 minutesDespite the larger annual contribution limits that are available to participants of a 401(k) plan, there’s one essential aspect in which 401(k) plans fail to measure up to self-directed IRAs, and that’s in the area of investment options. Even if you consider participating in your employer’s plan in order to receive matching contributions from them, you’re likely to find yourself faced with a handful of investment options, likely in the form of mutual funds that come with above-market fees.

But even if you have the best 401(k) plan on the market, and have a wide range of options to choose from, you still aren’t likely to be able to invest in publicly traded stocks. Furthermore, there are going to be three key investment classes that certainly won’t be available in your employer’s plan.

Real Estate.

Real estate investments are one of the most popular types of investments for self-directed IRAs. These types of assets allow investors to purchase virtually any type of investment property, including single family homes, condominiums, multi-family units, commercial properties, farm land, industrial property, and even undeveloped properties.

With a self-directed IRA you have freedom in your investment goals and approach with real estate as well. You can rent the property in order to generate an income stream, invest for capital gains, invest for speculative purposes, or some combination of these considerations. Note that you cannot use any of these properties yourself, nor can any members of your family use the properties. Doing so could subject you to financial penalties and taxes.

There are additional financial burdens if you seek to borrow money with your self-directed IRA in order to purchase the property, so many investors choose to limit themselves to properties or property interests for which they can pay cash from their account.

Private Loans.

Finally, you can use your self-directed IRA to make private loans to third parties. These loans can take the form of mortgages to prospective homebuyers, or to businesses looking to expand their operations. The basic concept of making private loans is easy to grasp, but preparing the necessary documentation and making sure the transaction is properly structured is essential.

While you may only choose to devote a part of your overall retirement nest egg to these retirement classes, it can be a great advantage to have access through them through a self-directed IRA.

Why the Type of Self-Directed IRA You Have Can Impact Your Retirement Timeframe

Posted on September 2, 2015December 6, 2018 by Ingrid Chavez

Estimated reading time: 3 minutesThe type or types of retirement accounts you use can impact many different aspects of your overall retirement planning. Different accounts have different contributions, different features, different limitations, and different types of tax advantages. In fact, the type of self-directed IRA you choose can even impact your timeframe for retirement.

The two types of self-directed IRAs are traditional accounts and Roth accounts, and they differ in a few key respects. First, a traditional self-directed IRA is subject to the IRS rules on required minimum distributions. This means that once you reach age 70½, you’ll need to begin making withdrawals from your account.

The amount of the required minimum withdrawal each year is calculated based on the balance in your account and your age. The annual minimum withdrawal amount can change significantly from year to year, for example, if your account experiences particularly large investment gains or losses. Roth IRAs, on the other hand, are not subject to this set of rules.

Having to follow the rules on required minimum distributions could impact a person’s investment timeframe in that it forces a person to take taxable withdrawals from their traditional self-directed IRA regardless of their actual income needs, regardless of whether they desire to continue working, and irrespective of their other retirement assets.

The type of self-directed IRA you choose can also impact the income you’re able to draw from your account each year.

With a traditional self-directed IRA, you’ll be subject to income tax on the distributions you take from your account. This means that when you’re planning your strategy for when and how much you’ll withdraw from your account in order to fund your living expenses during retirement, you’ll need to do some additional calculations to account for your tax liability.

For example, let’s say your annual budget for all your expenses is $50,000 per year. If your self-directed IRA is set up as a traditional account, then taking a $50,000 distribution is likely to yield perhaps only $40,000 or less. So in order to wind up with $50,000 you might need to take a distribution of perhaps $60,000 or $65,000 or more, depending on your individual tax situation. Once you take these factors into account, you may determine that your traditional self-directed IRA won’t last you as long as you assumed it would just by looking at your account balance, particularly when your tax situation can change from year to year.

Distributions from a Roth self-directed IRA during retirement are not subject to income tax, so the amount you have in your account is the amount you can use for planning your distributions in whatever way you see fit.

It’s true that when you make contributions to a Roth self-directed IRA you can’t deduct those contributions for your income tax return. But choosing a Roth account over a traditional account can give you greater retirement planning flexibility going forward.

Techniques for Making the Maximum Contributions to Your Self-Directed IRA

Posted on August 17, 2015April 13, 2021 by questadmin

Estimated reading time: 3 minutesAppropriate and suitable investing is certainly one key to accumulating a large enough nest egg by the time you’re ready to retire. But at least as important as your investment approach is you making regular contributions to your account (as in, doing so every single year), and contributing as much as possible (that is, up to the permitted contribution limits for your retirement account).

Giving your account contributions the greatest amount of time to grow is something that you can’t make up in later years. Since your annual contributions to a self-directed IRA are capped, if you miss the opportunity to make a maximum contribution to your account in any given year, you’ll never be able to recapture that opportunity later.

For the 2021 tax year, the maximum annual contribution to a self-directed IRA is $6,000 (or $7,000 if you’re age 50 or over). Here are some techniques for making that maximum contribution to your account this year, as well as in all future years before retirement.

Use Your Tax Refund.

While the most financially prudent situation is to neither owe taxes nor be due a refund at the end of the year (since no refund means that you haven’t given the government an interest free loan of the excessive withholdings that were made from your paychecks), many people still like the “forced saving” element of getting a refund check after they file their returns.

Receiving a refund that may amount to several thousand dollars, or more, these taxpayers now have access to a lump sum of money that they perhaps wouldn’t have been able to accumulate otherwise. While many individual choose to use their refunds as an opportunity to splurge, or treat themselves to something nice, consider this: using your refund check to make some or all of your annual self-directed IRA contribution will free up your budget later and provide you with greater financial flexibility.

In fact, if you file early enough in the year, you may be able to receive back your refund check in plenty of time (that is, before tax filing deadline) in order to make some or all of your self-directed IRA contribution for that same tax year.

Incorporate Your Contributions into Your Monthly Budget.

Because the key to success in retirement saving is consistency, you can meet your annual contribution goal by taking steps toward that goal each and every month. Determine how much you need to contribute each month to make the maximum contribution, and work that amount into your budget.

Auto-Debit or Direct Deposit.

Even if you don’t have a formal budget set out for your family, you can still meet your monthly savings target by utilizing tools such as direct deposit (have an appropriate amount taken out of your paycheck each month and deposited directly into your self-directed IRA), or automating monthly transfers from your checking or savings account to your self-directed IRA.

Why Family Changes Can Affect Your Self-Directed IRA Investment Planning And Strategy

Posted on April 20, 2015December 6, 2018 by questadmin

Estimated reading time: 3 minutesIt should be apparent that any significant change to your financial situation – such as getting a new job with a significantly higher salary, getting hit with significant long-term expenses, or receiving a large inheritance – can impact your retirement investment planning and strategy.

But changes to your personal life, particularly your family status and composition, can have a significant impact on your self-directed IRA investment planning as well. Let’s take a look at a few of the most common situations.

Marriage. Getting married can change virtually every aspect of your life, and your retirement strategy is no exception. Doing your long-term retirement planning as a couple, you may decide upon a vastly different investment strategy than you had when you were single. For example, if your income is significantly higher than that of your spouse, or can make larger contributions to your self-directed IRA and other retirement accounts, then you’ll need to come up with an appropriate joint investing strategy to maximize your collective nest egg.

Divorce. On the other side of the coin, a divorce can also be a personal change that requires you to re-evaluate your retirement planning.Not only will a divorce likely cause you to name new beneficiaries for your account, depending on the nature of your divorce, you may need to go through the process of dividing up the assets within your account, and doing so in the most tax-advantaged manner.

A court-approved divorce settlement can divide one spouse’s IRA between the two individuals, but the tax consequences can be significant, depending on how the division is made.Under federal law, this type of transfer can be performed on a tax-free basis provided that (1) the division is formally included in the property settlement agreement or divorce decree, and (2) the funds are transferred directly from one spouse’s IRA directly to the other spouse’s account. Not meeting these two requirements could subject the original account holder to an immediate year tax liability.

Having Children. The birth of your first child is certain to be one of the most memorable days of your life. Among everything else that will change, you’ll need to plan for their financial security, and this might impact your investment allocation within your self-directed IRA, and you may even wish to name your children as beneficiaries of your account.

And when your children grow up and move away from home, either to go to college or to enter the workforce, you may be able to use your self-directed IRA to provide them with an extra measure of support. You can make penalty-free withdrawals from your account before reaching retirement age if you’re paying their qualified educational expenses, or contributing up to $10,000 to help them buy their first home.

As your family grows and changes over time, you’ll put yourself in the best position to reach your retirement goals if you understand how family changes can impact your investment and planning strategy.

Should You Set Up A Separate Self-Directed IRA For Your Real Estate Investments?

Posted on April 4, 2015December 6, 2018 by questadmin

Estimated reading time: 3 minutesReal estate is a popular investment choice for people who have a self-directed IRA, but it’s a much different asset class than investments like stocks or bonds. Real estate requires a much greater level of planning and monitoring throughout the holding period of the investment, and for this reason some individuals choose to create separate self-directed IRAs for each of their real estate investments. Here are some factors to take into account when you’re faced with that decision.

Carrying Costs. As you consider whether to set up a separate self-directed IRA for a particular piece of real estate, you will need to plan for how you’re going to cover the maintenance and upkeep of that piece of real estate. These expenses and fees will include annual property taxes, physical upkeep and repairs of the property, insurance premiums, plus any other expenses that you’ve agreed to bear on behalf of your tenant.

You can cover these costs with whatever income the property itself generates, or with your permitted annual contributions to an account, or some combination of both. But you are not allowed to use any outside or personal funds to pay any expenses or fees related to your real estate investment.

Distribution Matters. It’s also worth considering that, depending on whether your self-directed IRA is set up as a traditional account or not, you may be responsible for a significant tax liability upon taking a distribution of the property in retirement. If your self-directed IRA is set up as a traditional account, you’ll have to pay taxes on the full amount of the distribution – i.e., fair market value of the property. If your account is set up as a Roth self-directed IRA, then you’ll have no tax liability upon distribution once you reach retirement age.

Furthermore, a traditional IRA will be subject to the IRS rules on required minimum distributions, and this can be particularly difficult to comply with if the only asset in the account is a single piece of real estate.

Prohibitions on Self-Dealing. But even if you set up a separate self-directed IRA to hold a piece of real estate, you still need to be aware of and have respect for the IRS prohibitions on self-dealing. This means you cannot engage in any personal use of your investment property while it’s still in your account, nor can any of your family members or other related parties make use of the property. You can only use the property after you take a distribution of it from your account.

There is no minimum threshold for this rule, and even a single day of personal use can open you up to a risk that the IRS would consider you to have taken an early distribution of property.

Think about the entire time-frame of your real estate investment, from acquisition to holding, to eventual disposition. You don’t necessarily need to have a detailed or inflexible plan for this type of investment, but it’s important to consider the issues that you’re likely to face along the way.

Now Is The Time To Investigate Oil And Gas Investments With Your Self-Directed IRA

Posted on April 1, 2015December 5, 2018 by questadmin

Estimated reading time: 2 minutesFrom a consumer perspective, one of the biggest stories from the latter parts of 2014 and early parts of 2015 is the drop in gasoline prices. While this seems to suggest that making investments now in the oil or natural gas industries would be poorly timed, in fact the current state of the market might actually indicate that this is precisely the time to start investigating further.

Low Prices for Some Assets. The sharp decline in oil and gas prices has resulted in what may be a good buying opportunity for related investments. You may wish to consider not only stock in publicly traded oil and gas exploration companies, but also private investments as well.

Having a self-directed IRA with a company such as Quest Trust Company gives you the opportunity to use your retirement funds to make these types of investments. Because the laws relating to the exploration and development of natural resources are sometimes arcane and complicated, these investments can take many different forms – forms that may not be familiar to even relatively experienced investors.

Seek Professional Assistance. If you don’t have familiarity investing in oil and gas companies, particularly private investments, you may wish to seek professional assistance before committing any funds from your self-directed IRA. Certain types of investments in the industry may carry additional tax benefits – benefits that would be lost or redundant if done within a retirement account. You may wish to leave these investments to your taxable accounts, and use your self-directed IRA for those oil and gas investments that would otherwise generate a significant tax bill (and which you’d therefore avoid by having the investment in a tax-advantaged account).

Local Legislation and Politics. One way to come up with new investment opportunities in the oil and gas industry is to pay attention to your local legislative and political scene. Hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) has become a hot button issue in many jurisdictions, for example, so the direction that your city, county, or state takes with respect to allowing fracking – and under what circumstances or regulatory restrictions – could significantly change the investing landscape.

Volatile Markets Create Opportunities. The recent price volatility for oil and gasoline has demonstrated that even as consumer demand remains relatively steady, the underlying commodity markets themselves often move in unexpected and sometimes hard to explain ways. However, generally speaking, volatile markets create more investment opportunities. Remember that for practically every bullish investment opportunity there is someone on the other side of the coin willing to take a bearish position.

Your self-directed IRA can be a great opportunity for you to invest in assets and investment types that you’d never be able to make with your 401(k) at work or a traditional IRA. Now just might be a great time to take a closer look at oil and gas investments.

Kick Off Your 2021 Retirement Investment Planning With A Bang

Posted on March 27, 2015April 13, 2021 by questadmin

Estimated reading time: 2 minutesRetirement planning never really stops. From the moment you first begin to understand the importance of taking charge of your own financial future, you’re likely to be engaged in retirement planning to some extent.

Retirement planning continues even once you reach traditional retirement age and stop working full time. You need to continue investing to make sure you have enough in your account to last throughout your retirement years, and by the same token, you need to calculate how much to withdraw each year.

You’ll certainly employ a long-term strategy, but you’ll also make important retirement decisions on a year-to-year basis as well. Successful retirement investing, for example, is a mix of long-term focus and adjusting your holdings to reflect changing market conditions and your changing financial scenario. Here are some tips for considering how you can start your 2021 retirement investment planning off with a bang.

Make Your Investment Contributions Immediately. This may not be an option for everyone, but you can start your year off right by making your annual self-directed IRA contributions immediately. For whatever reason, far too many individuals wait until the end of the calendar year (or even into the next year, prior to when they file their tax return) to make their annual contributions. This means you’re missing out on top to a full year (or more) in which those contributions could be growing. And given how your account balance compounds over time, the ultimate price for losing out on this time could be significant.

Be creative with your current budget to find ways to make all, or at least part, of your self-directed IRA contribution right away. The sooner you can kick off this year’s investing, the better off you’ll be in the long run.

Open a Self-Directed IRA. If you don’t currently have a self-directed IRA, then consider making this the year you finally open one. Self-directed IRAs provide you with the broadest possible range of investment options, which means that you’ll have the best possible chance of getting exactly the right investment to suit your portfolio diversification and profile needs.

Consolidate Your IRAs. Once you have a self-directed IRA, you can consolidate your other IRAs into that account this year. With a larger account balance, you’ll have more investment opportunities available to you, including assets that you may not otherwise be able to afford investing in, such as multi-family residential housing developments, or investments in private companies.

A big part of successful investment planning is simply taking a more active role in your financial future. This doesn’t necessarily mean trading in and out of investments more frequently. Rather, it means keeping yourself better informed of your portfolio investments and your potential investments. And it means making contributions to your self-directed IRA at the beginning of the year, rather than waiting until the end.

Getting A Head Start On Your Annual Self-Directed IRA Contributions

Posted on March 12, 2015April 13, 2021 by questadmin

Estimated reading time: 2 minutesHow much do you plan to contribute to your self-directed IRA this year? The annual limit for IRA contributions for 2021 remains unchanged at $6,000, with an additional $1,000 contribution permissible for taxpayers aged 50 and older. Hopefully you plan to contribute the maximum allowable amount, and you’ve been making such maximum contributions every year for quite a while.

Now the trickier question; when do you plan to make those contributions? If you’re like most IRA account holders, you’ll wait until the end of the year to make your contributions. But when you think about it, there’s no reason to automatically consider your IRA contributions to be an end of the year financial matter.

By getting a head start on your annual contribution, and making the contribution to your account earlier in the year, you’ll give your money the most time and greatest opportunity to grow. Here are some tips for getting that jump on your future.

Use Your Tax Refund. If you’ve already planned for how you’re going to spend your next tax return, then you might want take another look at your plan. This might seem like a tough adjustment the first year you make the change, but if you can create a new habit for yourself it can really pay off for you in the long run.

Anticipate Future Deductibility and Make a Contribution Now. If you have a good idea of how much you’ll pay in taxes this year, and how much of a refund you expect to receive, then you may be able to find a way to bridge the gap until you receive the refund and make your deposit immediately. Again, given the significant value that can accrue from having money in your account longer, being able to shift each annual contribution up slightly earlier, even if it’s just a matter of an extra month or two each year can really boost the value of your nest egg by the time you reach retirement.

Maximize Your Prior Year Contributions First. Remember that you have until you file your prior year’s taxes. Still, if you haven’t been able to maximize your prior year’s contributions yet, you should first make those prior year contributions. Your annual contribution amounts are a “use it or lose it” proposition, so making sure not to lose any opportunity to make a contribution should be your primary consideration.

The specific methods you use to make your annual self-directed IRA contributions as early as possible each year will vary, depending on your other financial circumstances. But given how important this can be for your financial health during retirement, it’s worth your time and effort to do so.

Considerations For Naming Beneficiaries Of Your Self-Directed IRA

Posted on March 3, 2015August 12, 2019 by questadmin

Estimated reading time: 3 minutesFrom your savings and checking accounts to your 401(k) at work, to your taxable investment accounts, nearly every financial or savings vehicle you have is going to require you to name beneficiaries for the account. Here are some considerations for when you need to do so for your self-directed IRA.

Other Estate Planning Vehicles. The first thing to consider is what other estate planning techniques and accounts are you making use of. Consider not only things such as life insurance and trusts, but also beneficiary designations you may have on your investment accounts. If you own real estate, is it held individually, or as joint tenants with right of survivorship? Depending on your other financial assets, you may find that certain individuals or family members are adequately provided for, and that you can use your self-directed IRA beneficiary designations to benefit other individuals.

The Investments in Your IRA. Another consideration is the composition of investments in your self-directed IRA. For example, if your account includes a piece of real estate that you want to be passed to a particular individual, then you may need to set up a separate account for that asset. If your account contains no such assets, and you simply want your account to be divided by value to your beneficiaries, then a single account will suffice.

Spousal Heirs vs. Non-Spousal Heirs. In general, leaving a self-directed IRA to your spouse generally provides your spouse with much greater value than leaving the same account to a non-spousal heir. Spousal heirs can generally treat the self-directed IRA as their own, which allows them to continue the tax-advantaged status of the account. Non-spousal heirs must generally begin withdrawing from the account, and paying applicable taxes, within a relatively short time frame after your passing.

If you are earmarking accounts and investment assets to a range of heirs, consider designating all or a higher percentage of your self-directed IRA to your spouse, and using other estate planning tools for non-spousal heirs.

Don’t Forget Contingent Beneficiaries. While the issue of contingent beneficiaries is an issue for virtually all estate planning matters, it can be particularly important for self-directed IRAs. It’s important to review and update your beneficiary designations from time to time, and consider what you would want to happen if one of your named beneficiaries predeceases you.

In general, unless you need specific contingent beneficiaries, there are two ways in which your requests can be carried out in the event of an heir who predeceases you. A “per capita” designation means that the predeceased heir’s share is divided amongst the remaining heirs. For example, if you name three beneficiaries to equally share in your account, and one passes away before you, then the other two surviving heirs will share in the account unless you designate otherwise.

A “per stirpes” designation means that in the event of a beneficiary who predeceases you, that individual’s heirs will stand in their place and receive their bequest. This can sometimes be a better way to carry out your true estate planning intent. In the same example of three named beneficiaries, if one were to predecease you, then that individual’s heirs would receive their share instead of the two other beneficiaries you named.

In any case, the best way to avoid any uncertainty is to regularly review and update your account designations as appropriate.