The Virginia Self Directed IRA LLC with “Checkbook Control” lets you use your retirement funds to make both traditional and alternative asset investments, such as tax liens and precious metals. With checkbook control, you can make any investment without the consent of a custodian. If you find a lucrative investment opportunity in the state of Virginia, such as real estate, write a check or wire funds from your Self-Directed IRA LLC to make the purchase.
By using a Virginia Self-Directed IRA LLC with “checkbook control”, you will gain the following advantages:
“Checkbook Control”
With checkbook control, you no longer need each investment to be approved by the account custodian. You will be the manager of the Virginia Self-Directed IRA LLC, so all investment decisions are yours. If you want to make an investment, do so on the spot by writing a check from the IRA LLC bank account.
Example: You have established a Self-Directed IRA LLC. The Traditional IRA, care of the custodian, is the sole member of the LLC and you will be appointed as the LLC manager. You can now open your Self-Directed IRA LLC bank at any bank in Virginia. Let’s assume the name of the Self-Directed IRA LLC is ABC LLC. You want to use your IRA funds to purchase a house from Bill, an unrelated third-party (non-disqualified person). Bill wants to complete the transaction quickly, and with checkbook control, you can write him a check using the funds from the ABC LLC bank account or wire the funds directly from the account to Bill.
With a regular Self Directed IRA without “checkbook control”, you would likely not be able to make the real estate purchase since seeking custodian approval may take too much time.
Investment Opportunities
The Virginia Self-Directed IRA LLC provides you with more investment options. This includes:
- Real Estate in or outside the State of Virginia (rentals, foreclosures, raw land, tax liens etc.)
- Private Businesses
- Precious Metals
- Hard Money & Peer to Peer
- Traditional investment (stock, mutual funds, etc.)
The income and gains you generate from the investments will glow into your IRA LLC tax-free.
Low Custodian Fees
With the Virginia Self-Directed IRA LLC “Checkbook Control” structure, you no longer have to pay excessive custodian fees based on account value and transaction fees as with a custodian controlled Self-Directed IRA. Instead, with a “checkbook control” Self-Directed IRA LLC, an FDIC backed IRS approved passive custodian is used.
The custodian in the “checkbook control” Self-Directed 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 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.
All the Passive Custodians we work with are FDIC backed and IRS approved. Once your custodian has transferred your retirement funds to the Passive Custodian, the Passive Custodian will immediately transfer your funds to your new Virginia Self Directed IRA LLC bank account where you as manager of the LLC will have “Checkbook Control” over those funds.
Investments Made Quickly
With a Virginia Self-Directed IRA LLC “Checkbook Control” structure, you, as manager of the IRA LLC, will have the power to act quickly on a potential investment opportunity. When you find an investment that you want to make with your IRA funds, as manager of the LLC, simply write a check or wire the funds straight from your Virginia Self Directed IRA LLC bank account to make the investment. The Self Directed IRA allows you to eliminate the delays associated with an IRA custodian, enabling you to act quickly when the right investment opportunity presents itself.
Tax-Free Income & Gains
With a Virginia Self Directed IRA LLC “Checkbook Control” structure, all income and gains from IRA investments will generally flow back to your IRA LLC tax-free. Because an LLC is treated as a pass-through entity for federal income tax purposes and the IRA, as the member of the LLC, is a tax-exempt party pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Section 408, all income and gains of the LLC will flow-through to the IRA tax-free!
Limited Liability Protection
The State of Virginia has enacted a statute that provides for the creation and governance of LLCs. In addition, The State of Virginia allows an IRA to be a member/owner of an LLC.
By using a Virginia Self-Directed IRA LLC with “Checkbook Control”, your IRA will benefit from the limited liability protection afforded by using a Virginia LLC. By using a Virginia LLC, all your IRA assets held outside the LLC will be shielded from attack. This is especially important in the case of IRA real estate investments where many state statutes, including Virginia impose an extended statute of limitation for claims arising from defects in the design or construction of improvements to real estate.
Asset & Creditor Protection
By using a Virginia Self-Directed IRA LLC with “Checkbook Control”, the IRA holder’s IRA will be protected for up to $1 million in the case of personal bankruptcy. In addition, the State of Virginia shields Traditional and Roth IRAs from creditors attack against the IRA holder outside of bankruptcy . Therefore, by using a Virginia Self-Directed IRA LLC, a Traditional IRA and Roth IRA will be generally protected against creditor attack against the IRA holder.
