Follow Us 
Insider
-
The gap between what we see & reality has never been wider
-
Where the markets are most likely headed from here
Comments
New Forum Topics
JamesTerry: 3 days 7 hours ago
JamesTerry: 6 days 12 hours ago
Mohave: 6 days 21 hours ago
nedyne: 1 week 2 days ago
FreeNL: 1 week 2 days ago
Judd: 1 week 2 days ago
sand_puppy: 1 week 3 days ago
JamesTerry: 1 week 4 days ago
ltlredwagon: 1 week 4 days ago
Mohave: 1 week 5 days ago
Newest groups
-
A resource for planning for & reacting to the unexpected (storms, natural disasters and other shocks)
-
Members to support one another in investing endeavors
-
Preparing those people on Ise Lodge (Kettering) Northants, interested in the future post fossil fuel.
-
A meeting place for all who are interested in building or sharing a resilient lifestyle up here in the North.
-
A group to form alliances for survival
I am personally of the opinion that we are better off opting out of any program (including self directed IRAs ) because any of these programs pull us into the control web that keeps us so neatly kept under their (and Wall Street/Bank) thumb. Every time I even think about participating in some government program, I find myself deluged with paperwork and restrictions that I will not live with. The idea that anything from Big Brother that has any financial spin to it will somehow make my life better is an illusion.
Jim
jpitre
I agree that non-IRA money is easier and more flexible. But some of us already have sizable sums and a large proportion of our assets in an IRA.
A Self-directed IRA allows you to hold gold and sell it without the 28% tax bite. You can buy a much better retreat with your real estate purchase through a Self-directed IRA If you avoid the 30%-40% tax and penalties of early withdrawal from cashing in your standard IRA.
I'm not saying that a Self-directed IRA is a good thing for everyone, but it is worth investigating so you can make the best decison for your circumstances.
Coorect me if I am wrong, but it is my understanding that assets within a self-directed IRA may not be personally utilized. such as a country retreat. You may argue that you are there in a managerial capacity or something of that nature. I looked at that myself and decided that I didn't want to take any chances that Uncle Sugar could figure a way to dramatically affect my plans. It might also be complicated when mandatory disbursements begin.
Coorect me if I am wrong, but it is my understanding that assets within a self-directed IRA may not be personally utilized. such as a country retreat. You may argue that you are there in a managerial capacity or something of that nature. I looked at that myself and decided that I didn't want to take any chances that Uncle Sugar could figure a way to dramatically affect my plans. It might also be complicated when mandatory disbursements begin.
That is correct. You can buy land or property but you cannot directly use it until you take distribution and pay taxes on the distribution. I looked at doing that also but decided that I would just bite the bullet and take the distribution.
I suppose that you might buy some land in your IRA that you found a great deal on and just keep it until you are ready to retire and take the distribution and tax hit but that seems like a really difficult proposition with all of the unknowns.
Ken
Coorect me if I am wrong, but it is my understanding that assets within a self-directed IRA may not be personally utilized. such as a country retreat. You may argue that you are there in a managerial capacity or something of that nature. I looked at that myself and decided that I didn't want to take any chances that Uncle Sugar could figure a way to dramatically affect my plans. It might also be complicated when mandatory disbursements begin.
That is correct. You can buy land or property but you cannot directly use it until you take distribution and pay taxes on the distribution. I looked at doing that also but decided that I would just bite the bullet and take the distribution.
I suppose that you might buy some land in your IRA that you found a great deal on and just keep it until you are ready to retire and take the distribution and tax hit but that seems like a really difficult proposition with all of the unknowns.
Ken
MarkM & KenC
Thanks for the information. I haven’t gotten that far in my research on a self-directed IRA so my example of buying a retreat seems incorrect. Could you buy productive farmland and rent it to a local farmer for income from a secure asset? To make a living most farmers now need to plant more land than they afford to buy.
For some people paying the tax and penalty is a the right choice. I’m just saying check out all the options. If you can find a way to avoid the penalties that works for you, then you will have a lot more money to use for preparations.
I took a 32% hit but cashed in about two-thirds of my self-directed IRA anyhow. It broke down to 10% penalty, 7% state tax, and 15% federal. We used it to get a well, put a huge Square foot garden, an airtight woodstove, storage space in our attic, a solar-powered attic fan, and many more projects. Should we have an emergency we can heat, cool and defend our home. We'll have water, and we can eat. We have PMs as an investment. And if we are wrong the worst thing that could happen is that our untility bills are MUCH lower and we are eating healthierwith home-grown food andgetting exercise as we garden.
Good deal.
Could you buy productive farmland and rent it to a local farmer for income from a secure asset? To make a living most farmers now need to plant more land than they afford to buy.
It is my understanding that you could do just that. I even gave some thought to personally buying a small tract for a house within a larger tract that would be a productive asset held by the self-directed IRA. In the end, that just seemed to have to many potential problems.
You are absolutely right that all angles should be examined and that the "right" answer is not the same for everyone.
Finally did it, cashed out our Traditional IRAs. Still have 30K or so in my individual 401K, but have the paper work to close it and take my distribution.
Thanks for the information. I haven’t gotten that far in my research on a self-directed IRA so my example of buying a retreat seems incorrect. Could you buy productive farmland and rent it to a local farmer for income from a secure asset? To make a living most farmers now need to plant more land than they afford to buy.
For some people paying the tax and penalty is a the right choice. I’m just saying check out all the options. If you can find a way to avoid the penalties that works for you, then you will have a lot more money to use for preparations.
Yes, you could do that. The thing to remember is that all income from the property goes into your IRA account and all expenses for the property comes out of the account. Also, you cannot rent it to yourself or family.
It just seemed to be too hard to control something like that. ( at least for me)
Ken
Can anyone give me advice as to how I can get an inherited IRA penalty/tax free (or as close to it as possible)?
We would be using the money to expand our house because our family has outgrown our current home. I have read you can use up to $10K towards buying a new home, but would that include expansion in any way?
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p590/ch01.html#en_US_2010_publink1000230896
Had to deal with this last year....IRS calls it a Non-spousal inheritance (since you mentioned your family, I am taking a guess that the IRA was inherited from a relative).
Not sure on the house situation.