Self-Directed IRA’s have been popular among retirement investors in recent years due to the ability for the IRA funds to be invested in nontraditional assets including a ongoing business concern. However, scrutiny has increasingly been focused on these IRA’s by members of Congress particularly large balance retirement accounts that can contain upwards of $20 million. In particular, concern has emerged over the “gray areas” of the self-directed accounts since there has been little in the way of legal guidance from Congress, the tax court system, as well as through IRS regulations and revenue rulings. While no immediate action is expected to be taken, particularly since the Government Accountability Office has not completed it report, it is something to keep an eye on going into the future as the changes that are eventually made could have a major impact for some retirees that have been aggressive in their use of self-directed IRA’s.
See, Pending GAO Report of Self-Directed IRAs, Fairview Law Group, January 13, 2016.
