Nontraditional investments favored by many self-directed IRAs can lead to unexpected taxation of unaware IRA account holders.

The appeal of investing retirement funds outside of the typical securities market has driven a surge in the use of self-directed IRA (SDIRA) investment structures. These structures come in various forms, but they all start when an IRA account holder forms an SDIRA with a custodian (e.g., a bank or trust company) that is amenable to holding “nontraditional” types of investments. In other words, the feature that makes an IRA “self-directed” is not its general legal framework, but rather the fact that the SDIRA’s custodian permits a wide array of investments and maximum control by the account holder.

Investments within SDIRAs frequently include real estate, closely held business entities, and private loans and can include any other investment that is not specifically prohibited by federal law—anything other than life insurance and collectibles can be held in an SDIRA. The SDIRA itself can be structured as a self-employed plan (SEP), a savings incentive match plan for employees (SIMPLE), or a traditional or Roth IRA, and is normally funded by a transfer from an account holder’s other IRA or a rollover from a qualified retirement account (e.g., a 401(k)). However, one common theme is that the IRA account holder wants to diversify away from 100% stock market-based investments and/or believes that better investment returns exist outside the securities market. Read More