The “Checkbook Control” Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC

A Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC with “Checkbook Control” plan is an IRS and tax court approved structure that will allow you to use your Roth IRA funds to make almost any type of investment, including real estate, tax liens, precious metals, foreign currency and much more tax free!

With a “checkbook control” Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC you will never have to seek the consent of a custodian to make an investment or be subject to excessive custodian account fees based on account value and per transaction

To establish the Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC “Checkbook Control” structure, a limited liability company (“LLC”) is established that is owned Self Directed IRA LLC With Checkbook Control by the Roth IRA and managed by the IRA account owner (you). The IRA owner’s funds are then transferred by the passive custodian to the new Roth IRA LLC bank account. As the manager of the Roth IRA LLC, the IRA owner will have the authority to make investment decisions on behalf of the Roth IRA providing the Roth IRA owner with “checkbook control” over his or her Roth IRA funds.

With a “checkbook control” Self Directed Roth IRA LLC you will never have to seek the consent of a custodian to make an investment or be subject to excessive custodian account fees based on account value and per transaction.

By having “checkbook control” over your Roth IRA funds you will gain the following advantages:

Investment Opportunities: A Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC with “Checkbook Control” will allow you to invest in almost any type of investment opportunity that you discover, including: Real Estate (rentals, foreclosures, raw land, tax liens etc.), private businesses, precious metals, foreign currency, stock options, hard money & peer to peer lending; you're only limit is your imagination. Of course, you can still make traditional investments, such as stock and mutual fund investments, as you did with a non-self directed IRA. The income from these Roth IRA investments will flow back into your IRA tax-free.

"Control": With a Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC, you will no longer have to get each investment approved by the custodian of your account. Instead, as manager of the Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC, all Roth IRA investment decisions are truly yours. To make an investment, simply write a check or wire funds straight from your Self Directed Roth IRA LLC bank account.

Example 1: Joe has a Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC set-up by the IRA Financial Group. Joe has established his Self Directed Roth IRA LLC bank account with Bank of America. The name of Joe’s LLC is Joe Smith IRA LLC. Joe wishes to use his Roth IRA funds to purchase a home from Steve, an unrelated third-party (non-disqualified person). Steve is anxious to close the transaction as soon as possible. With a “checkbook control” Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC, Joe can simply write a check using the funds from his Roth IRA LLC account or can wire the funds directly from the account to Steve. Joe, as manager of the LLC, no longer is required to seek the consent of the IRA custodian before making the real estate purchase. In contrast, with a regular Self- Directed IRA without “checkbook control” Joe may not be able to make the real estate purchase since seeking custodian approval would likely take too much time.

Example 2: Joe has a Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC set-up by the IRA Financial Group. Joe has established his Self Directed Roth IRA LLC bank account with Bank of America. The name of Joe’s LLC is Joe Smith IRA LLC. Joe wishes to use his Roth IRA funds to invest in tax lien certificates via auction. Purchasing tax lien certificates requires Joe to make the tax lien payment at the auction. With a “checkbook control” Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC, Joe can simply bring his LLC checkbook to the auction or secure a certified check from the bank in order to make payments at the auction. In contrast, with a regular Self-Directed Roth IRA without “checkbook control” Joe would not be able to make tax lien certificate investments because he would need IRA custodian approval before each tax lien certificate purchase and would not have sufficient time to seek the consent of the custodian.

Tax-Free Investing: The primary advantage of using a Self Directed Roth IRA LLC to make investments is that all income and gains associated with the Roth IRA investment grow tax-free and will not be subject to tax upon withdrawal or distribution. This is because unlike traditional IRAs, you are generally not subject to any tax upon taking Roth IRA distributions once you reach the age of 591/2.

Lower Custodian Fees: With a Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC with “checkbook control” you can save a lot of money on IRA custodian fees. With a Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC with “checkbook control” you no longer have to pay excessive custodian fees based on account value and transaction fees. Instead, with a “checkbook control” Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC, an FDIC backed IRS approved passive custodian is used. The custodian in the “checkbook control” Self Directed Roth IRA LLC structure is referred to as a “passive” custodian largely because the custodian is not required to approve any IRA related investment and simply serves the role of satisfying IRS regulations. By using a Self Directed Roth IRA LLC with “checkbook control” you can take advantage of all the benefits of self-directing your retirement assets without incurring excessive custodian fees and custodian created delays since you as manager of the IRA LLC have “checkbook control” over your Roth IRA funds (“checkbook control”).

See how much you can save in custodian fees with a Self-Directed IRA LLC Structure:

Self Directed IRA Custodian	Checkbook Control	Annual Fees – Assuming $100,000 IRA Value and 2 Transactions per year
Equity Trust	No	Approximately $640 per year – Fees may increase based on increase in value of investment(s)
Entrust	No	Approximately $765 per year - Fees may increase based on increase in value of investment(s)
Pensco Trust	No	Approximately $675 per year - Fees may increase based on increase in value of investment(s)
IRA Services	Yes	$165 flat fee for Year 1 $105 flat fee for Year 2+
Sunwest Trust	Yes	$275 flat fee for Year 1 $225 flat fee for Year 2+

Below are a number of examples that demonstrate the financial savings one can enjoy using a “checkbook control” Self Directed IRA LLC versus a Self Directed IRA without “checkbook control.

Example 1: Jim, who resides in Missouri, wants to use his retirement funds to invest in real estate and is debating between using a “checkbook control” Self Directed Roth IRA LLC and a Self Directed IRA without “checkbook control”.

If Jim selected Equity Trust as the custodian, Jim would be paying approximately $640 each year for a custodian plus will require custodian approval to purchase or sell a real estate investment. Over a 4-year period, Jim would pay approximately $2560 to Equity Trust for custodian services.

Alternatively, if Jim elected to use the IRA Financial Group’s Self Directed Roth IRA LLC “checkbook control” structure, Jim would pay approximately $1400 in year 1. However, for every year thereafter Jim would only be required to pay approximately $105 per year for maintenance of the “checkbook control” structure. Thus, over a 4 year period, Jim would be required to pay approximately $1715, a saving of $845 or a savings of approximately 33%.

Example 2: Beth, who resides in Michigan, wants to use her retirement funds to invest in precious metals and is debating between using a “checkbook control” Self Directed IRA LLC and a Self Directed Roth IRA without “checkbook control”.

If Beth selected Entrust as the custodian, Beth would be paying approximately $765 each year for a custodian plus will require custodian approval to purchase or sell precious metals. In addition, Beth would have to pay approximately $250 a year for depository services to store the metals. Over a 3-year period, Beth would pay approximately $3045 to Entrust for custodian services.

Alternatively, if Beth elected to use the IRA Financial Group’s Self Directed Roth IRA LLC “checkbook control” structure, Beth would pay approximately $1400 in year 1. However, for every year thereafter would only be required to pay approximately $105 per year for maintenance of the “checkbook control” structure. Thus, over a 3 year period, Beth would be required to pay approximately $1700, a saving of $1345 or a savings of approximately 44%.

Example 3: Dan, who resides in Kentucky, wants to use his retirement funds to invest in real estate and is debating between using a “checkbook control” Self Directed Roth IRA LLC with the IRA Financial Group and a Self-Directed Roth IRA without “checkbook control”.

If Dan selected Pensco Trust as the custodian, Dan would be paying approximately $675 each year for a custodian plus will require custodian approval to purchase or sell a real estate investment. Over a 5 year period, Dan would pay approximately $3375 to Pensco Trust for custodian services.

Alternatively, if Dan elected to use the IRA Financial Group’s Self Directed Roth IRA LLC “checkbook control” structure, Dan would pay approximately $1400 in year 1. However, for every year thereafter Dan would only be required to pay approximately $105 per year for maintenance of the “checkbook control” structure. Thus, over a 5 year period, Jim would be required to pay approximately $1820, a saving of $1555 or a savings of approximately 46%.

Example 4: Lisa, who resides in Iowa, wants to use her retirement funds to invest in tax liens and is debating between using a “checkbook control” Self Directed Roth IRA LLC and a Self Directed Roth IRA without “checkbook control”.

If Lisa selected Entrust as the custodian, Lisa would be paying approximately $765 each year for a custodian plus will require custodian approval to make each tax lien purchase. Over a 7-year period, Lisa would pay approximately $5300 to Entrust for custodian services.

Alternatively, if Lisa elected to use the IRA Financial Group’s Self Directed Roth IRA LLC “checkbook control” structure, Lisa would pay approximately $1400 in year 1. However, for every year thereafter would only be required to pay approximately $105 per year for maintenance of the “checkbook control” structure. Thus, over a 7-year period, Lisa would be required to pay approximately $2030, a saving of $3270 or a savings of approximately 62%.

Speed: With a Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC with “Checkbook Control”, you, as manager of the Roth IRA LLC, can act quickly on a great investment opportunity. With a Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC, when you find an investment that you want to make with your Roth IRA funds, simply write a check or wire the funds straight from your Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC bank account to make the investment. The Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC allows you to eliminate the delays associated with an IRA custodian, enabling you to act quickly when the right investment opportunity presents itself.

Diversification: With a Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC, you can invest in almost any type of investment, including real estate, allowing you to diversify and better protect your retirement portfolio.

Access: With a Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC with “checkbook control”, you, as manager of the Roth IRA LLC, will have direct access to your Roth IRA funds allowing you to make an investment quickly and efficiently. There is no need to obtain approvals from your custodian, or deal with time delays in awaiting approval from your custodian or paying any review fees. Instead making a Roth IRA investment is as simple as writing a check or wiring funds directly from your Roth IRA LLC checking account.

The IRA Financial Group will take care of setting up your entire Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC “Checkbook Control” structure. The whole process can be handled by phone, email, fax, or mail and typically takes between 7-21 days to complete, the timing largely depending on the state of formation and the custodian holding your retirement funds. Our Roth IRA experts and tax and ERISA attorneys are on site greatly reducing the set-up time and cost. Most importantly, each client of the IRA Financial Group is assigned a tax attorney to help with the establishment of the Self-Directed Roth IRA LLC “Checkbook Control structure. You will find that our fee for this service is significantly less than other companies that perform the same or similar services.