Real estate is an allowable investment inside an IRA, but you’re going to have to find an IRA custodian willing to do it. A recent Tax Court case showed how not to invest IRA money in real estate. An individual wanted his IRA to directly buy a piece of undeveloped land, but the problem was his brokerage firm (the IRA custodian) had a policy of not allowing clients to invest in "alternative investments" which included real estate. Click to learn how NOT to invest your IRA in real estate.
So, you make your way into the financial "doctor's" office, armed with all of your bank and retirement account statements. What should you expect from the meeting - what burning questions should you and your financial team have the answers to? I examine the mandatory 3 questions that must be asked and answered below.
You’ve had "the conversion talk" and have decided that a Roth conversion is in your best interest. Now you have a choice ... should you convert your existing 401(k) money to a Roth 401(k) – your plan must have adopted this voluntary feature in order for you to do so – or should you make a conversion to a Roth IRA? While on the surface these two types of accounts are very similar – they both, for example, offer the prospects of tax-free growth and future distributions – there are a number of subtle, and not so subtle, differences that may make one type of conversion far more beneficial for you than the other. With that in mind, here is a summary of some of the most important factors to consider when making this decision:
A taxpayer we will call "Rebecca" represented that she received a distribution from her IRA on December 4, 2009. It was always her intent to rollover that distribution back into the IRA by the 60-day rollover deadline. She was informed in writing by her financial institution that the redeposit deadline was February 4, 2010 (a date which was actually after the deadline). She followed that procedure and gave her financial advisor a check for the entire rollover amount for redeposit on the specified deadline date (February 4, 2010). Unfortunately, Rebecca's rollover actually happened on day 62.
How do you become an IRA expert? You must devote substantial time and resources to a topic you are passionate about and never stop learning. That's what separates experts from those with foundational knowledge. Tax rules governing IRAs are always changing, and we make sure we know these updates and how they affect the IRA landscape as soon as possible. Here's a few of the questions we get from financial advisors and consumers about our methods for staying on top of the IRA world.
Whenever you move IRA money into another IRA at a different financial institution, it can be done in one of two ways. First, you could take a distribution from your IRA that is payable to you and roll over the money to another IRA. The second way is to transfer the funds directly from one IRA to another IRA. We recommend that you move IRA money using the direct transfer method to avoid problems. Click to find out why.
One of the most common Roth IRA questions I'm asked is, "Should I make a Roth conversion?" While Roth conversions can make sense at any age, depending on your particular circumstances, generally speaking, the younger you are, the more it makes sense. In this article we go over 3 reasons to wait until you retire to make a Roth conversion.
Ed Slott's Elite and Master Elite IRA Advisor Groups are convening this week at the Rosen Centre in Orlando, Florida for our semi-annual workshop. Are you a financial advisor interested in what makes Ed Slott's Elite IRA Advisor Group different from other training groups, or a consumer intrigued by what being an "Elite Advisor" means for you as a client of an educated advisor? Click for details!
April 16th is here. The blossoms are budding on the trees, the birds are beginning to chirp and, of course, CPAs and tax preparers everywhere are coming out of a 2 ½ month hibernation. Tax season is officially over. With that in mind, taxes may be the last thing you want to talk about right now, but with the sting of this year’s tax season still fresh, now’s the time to start thinking about a few easy steps to help make next year’s tax season a little less... well… taxing! Here are three such steps you might want to consider.
If you're lucky enough to be getting an income tax refund from IRS for 2013, you might be wondering what you can do with that money. Certainly you can use it to pay some bills, or treat yourself to something you've wanted to buy for a while. But if you're thinking about using that refund to help save for retirement, you're in luck. The IRS allows you to have that refund check directly deposited into an IRA if you follow certain procedures when you file your federal income taxes for 2013.
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