Some Helpful Tips For Investing In Real Estate Using Retirement Funds

Most people mistakenly believe that their retirement accounts must be invested in traditional financial related investments such as stocks, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, etc. Few Investors realize that the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) permits retirement accounts, such as an IRA or 401(k) plan, to invest in real estate and other alternative types of investments.  In fact, IRS rules permit one to invest retirement funds in almost any type of investment, aside generally from any investment involving a disqualified person, collectibles and life insurance.

One of the primary advantages of purchasing real estate with retirement funds is that all gains are tax-deferred until a distribution is made or tax-free in the case of a Roth account (after-tax). For example, if one purchased a piece of property with retirement funds for $100,000 and later sold the property for $300,000, the $200,000 of gain appreciation would generally be tax-deferred. Whereas, if you purchased the property using personal funds (non-retirement funds), the gain would be subject to federal income tax and in most cases state income tax.

The two most common vehicles for purchasing real estate with retirement funds is the self-directed IRA or an employer sponsored 401(k) plan.  However, most employer 401(k) plans do not offer real estate as a plan investment option and, thus, the self-directed IRA has become the most popular way to buy real estate with retirement funds.  Establishing a self-directed IRA is quick and relatively inexpensive and can be done in just a few days.  The most challenging aspect of investing in real estate using retirement funds is navigating the IRS prohibited transaction rules.  In general, pursuant to Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 4975, the retirement account holder cannot make a retirement account investment that will directly or indirectly benefit ones self or any disqualified person (lineal descendant of the retirement account holder and related entities), perform any service in connection with the retirement account investment, guarantee any retirement account loan, extend any credit to or from the retirement account, or enter into any transaction with the retirement account that would present a conflict of interest.  The purpose of these rules is to encourage the use of retirement account for accumulation of retirement savings and to prohibit those in control of the retirement account from taking advantage of the tax benefits for their personal account.

Read the full article here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2017/01/24/some-helpful-tips-for-investing-in-real-estate-using-retirement-funds/#2b0a281163c5