Moving IRA money to a Self-Directed for Investing

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Moving IRA money to a Self-Directed for Investing

Elaine Jordan
Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2016 · 17 posts · 5 votes

Write Hello BP community! I am a newbie. Joined BP last year and closed on my first rental half duplex this past November. The duplex is rented and is cash flowing almost $300 a month. But - after buying that rental with a conventional mortgage took most of my savings. I am thinking about doing my first flip to acquire capital. Since my savings is now very limited, I was thinking about taking some money from an IRA and moving it to a self-directed IRA for down payment and/or closing costs (about $40K). Since I won't have enough cash to purchase a property outright, I was hoping to use a private lender or hard money lender for the rest of the costs. Can I do this? I could use some advice from the BP community if you think using a self directed IRA is a good way to go if I also need to use a private or hard money lender. Is this a reasonable way for a newbie to do their first flip?

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  • Jeff Rabinowitz
    Investor/Landlord · Farmington Hills, MI · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    You must be very careful if you are doing a flip in a SD-IRA. You cannot do any of the work yourself or it could be considered self dealing if the IRS audits. The penalties for self dealing are severe--you would probably pay a penalty, have to disburse the SD IRA, and pay taxes on the disbursement. IMO flips are not great projects for SD IRAs.

    Your SD IRA can borrow funds. Any loan must be non-recourse. You cannot personally guarantee the loan or, again, you may have to pay the penalty for self-dealing.

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  • Mark Nolan
    Professional · Carlsbad, CA · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    @Elaine Jordan

    A non-recourse loan to the IRA is an option. The non-recourse loan would be paid back by the IRA. For a list of lenders CLICK HERE. 

    When an IRA that uses a non-recourse loan invests in real estate, it will trigger unrelated debt financed income; as a result, it may be best to perform such transaction under a solo 401k plan because a solo 401k generally is not subject to UDFI.

    Following are the similarities and differences between the solo 401k and the self-directed IRA.

    The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k Similarities

    • Both were created by congress for individuals to save for retirement;
    • Both may be invested in alternative investments such as real estate, precious metals tax liens, promissory notes, private company shares, and stocks and mutual funds, to name a few;
    • Both allow for Roth contributions;
    • Both are subject to prohibited transaction rules;
    • Both are subject to federal taxes at time of distribution;
    • Both allow for checkbook control for placing alternative investments;
    • Both may be invested in annuities;
    • Both are protected from creditors;
    • Both allow for nondeductible contributions;
    • Both are prohibited from investing in assets listed under I.R.C. 408(m); and
    • Neither may be invested in your own business. 

    The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k Differences

    • In order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;
    • To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;
    • In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company (IRA LLC) must be utilized;
    • The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;
    • The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;
    • It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;
    • The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;
    • The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;
    • The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2016, the solo 401k contribution limit is $53,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);
    • The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;
    • The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;
    • When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;
    • Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);
    • When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.
    • Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;
    • Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;
    • Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;
    • Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;
    • A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.);
    • Roth IRA funds are not subject to requirement minimum distributions (RMDs);
    • The fair market value (FMV) of assets held in a self-directed IRA is reported on form 5498;
    • The fair market value of assets held in a solo 401k are reported on Form 5500-EZ;
    • At termination, the solo 401k is required to file a final Form 5500-EZ and 1099-R; and
    • At termination, the self-directed IRA is only required to file a form 1099-R.
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  • Elaine Jordan
    OP
    Investor · Orlando, FL · Member since 2016 · 17 posts · 5 votes
    9y

    Jeff and Mark, 

    Wow! Thank you both for such detailed and awesome advice! I appreciate it so much. I printed out your replies so I can review it and ponder the best course of action for me.  I would not be doing any of the work myself as I work a full time job and would depend on others to do any repairs to a property. Based on your advice, perhaps instead of a flip I should focus on buy & hold rentals. I am just getting started in this business, but I want to keep going forward as I can afford to. 

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