As you have written about extensively on this blog and within other “self-directed IRA” related articles, one of the key legal matters that SDIRAs face is “unrelated business taxable income” (UBTI) – i.e., current tax from the SDIRA’s investments.  Generically speaking, UBTI occurs in two situations: (1) the SDIRA earns income (directly or through a … Continue reading Sorry, but UBTI losses from IRA (still!) don’t “flow through” to your individual tax return →

  There has been some rumbling (at least in my world) over the past few weeks regarding another Tax Court dealing with Roth IRAs and “excess contribution” issues.  The case, Block Developers, LLC v. Commissioner, involves four family members (father, mother, two children) that formed Roth IRAs and attempted to shift income that would otherwise … Continue reading Quoted in Forbes piece on Roth IRA/LLC case (Block Developers, LLC v. Commissioner) →

I am very pleased to announce that the article I co-authored with the esteemed Natalie B. Choate (“The Care and Feeding of Large IRAs” – Trusts & Estates magazine, December 2016) has won the Distinguished Author “Thought Leadership” Award.  More information regarding this award can be found here: http://www.wealthmanagement.com/estate-planning/2017-trusts-estates-distinguished-authors-awards Might need to make an appearance in NYC … Continue reading Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! →

As some of my readers are aware, Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon; Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee) has been very interested in the self-directed IRA market for some time.  For example, his office commissioned the two Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that are focused on retirement accounts that purchase “nontraditional” assets (e.g., real estate, … Continue reading My email to Senator Ron Wyden RE: the proposed RISE Act of 2016 →