Category: Checkbook Control Blog

Private Lending IRAs: The SDIRA Checkbook Retirement Account Advantage

Posted on by ReSure Financial

Private Lending IRAs and Checkbook Control

Private lending is the ideal investment for an IRA…and less than ideal outside of an IRA.

Understanding why that’s the case – and why a checkbook control IRA is crucial to maximizing private lending investment returns – requires an understanding of tax and investment concepts. In this post we’ll cover the income tax treatment of private lending inside and outside of retirement accounts (IRAs, Solo 401k plans) and why a Self-Directed IRA with Checkbook Control is the IRA you need for private lending. Additionally, if you’re a real estate investor, you’ll learn how to get funding for deals by leveraging the IRAs of private lenders. Continue reading “Private Lending IRAs: The SDIRA Checkbook Retirement Account Advantage” →

Mega Backdoor Roth ReSure Checkbook 401k vs. Checkbook IRA

Posted on by ReSure Financial
In this post you’ll learn how to use a QRP, 401k, or Solo 401k to get up to $120,000 into Roth retirement accounts (Mega Roth), annually. If you don’t already know the value and power of that – this is a must read. If you already know and appreciate the value of tax-sheltered & tax-free Roth retirement accounts, this post is a must-read. Continue reading “Mega Backdoor Roth ReSure Checkbook 401k vs. Checkbook IRA” →

Checkbook Solo 401k Plans For Real Estate Professionals

Posted on by 401K Checkbook

Why Is A Checkbook Solo 401k The Best Retirement Plan For Real Estate Professionals?

Checkbook Solo 401k retirement plans, a type of Checkbook QRP for businesses owners that don’t have full-time employees, are the ideal tax advantaged account for real estate professionals: real estate agents, mortgage brokers, real estate wholesalers, and real estate flippers.

Real estate professionals have self-employment income and KNOW REAL ESTATE, making the Checkbook 401k the perfect plan for them. In the post, we’ll present some of the benefits of a Checkbook Control 401k and some Checkbook 401K advanced tax & investing strategies.  Continue reading “Checkbook Solo 401k Plans For Real Estate Professionals” →

Solo 401K Eligibility: Are Parents and Children Related? Controlled Groups

Posted on by 401K Checkbook
I’ve got a pal who whose got a great gig going. It’s a “side-business” that nets him about $120K a year. Prime candidate for an Individual K. He’s got lots of discretionary income to invest and needs to reduce his current taxable income. At his job (read: W-2) he gets to invest his 401k in loaded mutual funds to which he’s been reducing his contributions as he increases his allocation to real-estate and other alternatives.

Sounds like a great candidate for a Checkbook Control Solo 401K! Between him and his spouse they could sock away tens of thousands of dollars in their Solo K and invest tax free in real estate (remember no UDFI on leveraged real-estate in a 401k!). BUT, NOT SO FAST. Here’s the catch, my buddy’s W-2 comes from his Dad’s company, which has several hundred people on payroll and the IRS has got a tool known as the Controlled Group Rules which result in ownership of businesses being attributed  to relatives for tax purposes. This could potentially make a child’s Qualified Retirement Plan – QRP – subject to anti-discrimination testing based on their  parent’s employees, making them ineligible for a Solo 401k – intended for an owner-only business, with no employees.

To resolve this matter, Congress provided a handy reference known as the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). The Internal Revenue Code defines  family relationships in several places…so we’ve got to interpret the conflicting definitions and determine which of those apply. (Hint: It depends…)

[If “con” is the opposite of “pro,” what is the opposite of “progress?”….answer at the end of the post:)] Continue reading “Solo 401K Eligibility: Are Parents and Children Related? Controlled Groups” →

Beyond Prohibited Transactions: The Step Transaction Doctrine

Posted on by 401K Checkbook

Mastery of the Prohibited Transaction Rules of IRC 4975 may lead the self-directed investor to contemplate some clever deal structures to work around those.

Suppose you own an income producing property that you’d like your Solo 401k or Checkbook IRA to purchase, but knowing that as a “disqualified person” you can’t transact with your IRA you initially conclude that it can’t be done. Suddenly, you experience an epiphany – you could transfer title to the property from your name (or your LLC’s name) to your brother’s name, and he would subsequently sell the property to the self-directed retirement account. Eureka!

That stroke of brilliance has been had by many others and the courts have developed some judicial doctrines to analyze and characterize such transactions. One such doctrine is known as the Step Transaction Rule. Continue reading “Beyond Prohibited Transactions: The Step Transaction Doctrine” →

Beyond Prohibited Transactions: The Plan Asset Rule

Posted on by 401K Checkbook
Checkbook QRP,  self-directed Solo 401k and checkbook-control IRA investors are aware (I hope that’s true) of the Prohibited Transaction Rules and Disqualified Persons discussed in IRC 4975. So, if you’re familiar with IRC 4975 are you covered? Or, do you need to know more than that to stay in compliance and protect your assets?

The Plan Asset Rule

There’s a lesser known extension of IRC 4975 in the Code of Federal Regulations that discusses something known as the Plan Asset Rule. In a nutshell, the Plan Asset Rule says that when retirement plans own a “significant” share of an entity, all of that entity’s assets are treated as assets of the retirement plans for purposes of the prohibited transaction rules.

The implications of this can be staggering; if retirement plans collectively own a significant portion of an entity, all the disqualified persons of all the retirement plan investors are disqualified persons to that entity. Continue reading “Beyond Prohibited Transactions: The Plan Asset Rule” →

Beyond Prohibited Transactions: The Exclusive Benefit Rule

Posted on by 401K Checkbook
Among the first concepts introduced to self-directed IRA and Solo 401(k) investors are “prohibited transactions” and “disqualified persons.” While those are certainly key concepts, there are several others to be aware of; among those is the “Exclusive Benefit Rule.” Continue reading “Beyond Prohibited Transactions: The Exclusive Benefit Rule” →

Beyond Prohibited Transactions: The DOL Interpretive Bulletin

Posted on by 401K Checkbook

Benefiting from tax-advantaged retirement funds before retirement age would be a beautiful thing, especially for those of that leverage the power of Solo 401(k)s and Checkbook IRAs. But, as that would defeat the intent of those accounts, the Prohibited Transaction Rules of IRC 4975 were created. Although written broadly, the innovative investor can contrive many ways to circumvent those rules.

However, beyond the letter of the law, the IRS has some additional tools at its disposal with which to counter creative strategies. Those include the Step Transaction Doctrine, the Exclusive Benefit Rule, and the Plan Asset Rule. For cases in which those rules may not apply, the IRS has the Department of Labor Interpretive Bulletin ERISA IB 75-2. Continue reading “Beyond Prohibited Transactions: The DOL Interpretive Bulletin” →