Self-Directed IRA LLC Article Library

A self-directed IRA LLC is a limited liability company owned by your IRA and managed by you, the IRA owner. Instead of asking a custodian for permission every time you want to buy an asset, you get checkbook control: your IRA funds the LLC, the LLC opens a bank account, and you sign the LLC’s checks to buy real estate, notes, precious metals, private company interests and other assets a typical brokerage IRA will never offer you.

That freedom comes with a hair trigger. If your IRA LLC engages in a prohibited transaction under Internal Revenue Code Section 4975, the IRS can treat the entire value of your IRA as distributed to you on the first day of the year in which the violation occurred. The result is income tax on the whole account, plus a 10% penalty if you are under 59½. There is no partial credit and no do-over. Most of the people who blow up their retirement accounts this way never knew they crossed a line.

Our library exists so you do not become one of them. Start with what a self-directed IRA LLC that gives the IRA owner control  of how money is invested, then read our 49 frequently asked questions about forming and operating an IRA LLC. Before you write a single check, study the prohibited transaction rules and the 21 common IRA LLC mistakes that cost people their retirement savings. Together these articles cover disqualified persons, self-dealing, the assets your IRA may not own, custodian requirements, funding, recordkeeping and the operating rules you must follow for as long as the LLC exists.

When you are ready to form your IRA LLC, the library also walks you through the practical steps: checking your LLC name for availability, the 6 steps to hire an Arizona LLC attorney to start your self-directed IRA LLC, and the Arizona IRA LLC formation agreement that lists everything we do for you when you hire us.