If you talk to the average CPA, he’ll tell you that UBIT is the boogeyman and is to be avoided… always. Discussing this topic with an above average CPA (such as Eric Wikstrom of Integrated Wealth Strategies) yields different advice.

The Two Types of UBIT

1. Triggered from a trade or business – if a tax exempt entity (such as an IRA or 401k) owns a trade or business, the income of that business is taxed at trust rates (i.e. very high tax rates). Both IRA & Solo 401k accounts are subject to this type of UBIT.
2. Triggered from ownership of leveraged real estate – if a tax exempt entity (including IRA) owns real estate leveraged with a mortgage loan, the portion of that income attributable to the mortgage loan is taxed at trust rates. This type of UBIT is specifically referred to as UDFI – Unrelated Debt Financed Income. Solo 401k accounts & other qualified plans are exempt from UDFI.

Trust tax rates are very high, so it might make sense to avoid Type 1 UBIT at all costs. On the other hand, a close examination of UDFI tends to revoke its “boogeyman” status.

The reason UDFI isn’t a detrimental cost is that non-recourse mortgage loans (the only type an IRA/401k can legally obtain) are typically only offered at a 65% loan-to-value maximum. So this means that the UDFI tax is only payable on up to 65% of the property’s net income. (That’s right – net income. You do get to deduct depreciation and other expenses before paying UDFI tax).

Let’s examine a simple comparison of the taxes payable on net real estate income with 50% leverage:

Example A

Example B

The gap between the dollar amount of taxes paid widens as the income increases:

Let’s go back and look at Example B. Take the difference in taxes and examine the long term effects of 25 years of investing and compounding returns. These charts assume a 15% annualized ROI:

Example B1

This uses an effective tax rate of 16.23% for UDFI

Example B2

This uses an individual tax rate of 28%

The result? The IRA has a balance of $631,385.87 more than the individual does.

Conclusion

It might make sense to avoid Type 1 UBIT, while Type 2 UBIT (UDFI tax) results in less taxation than the alternative of investing with individual funds. For those eligible for the Solo 401k, Type 2 UBIT (UDFI tax) generally does not apply.

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Precious Metals

Gold, silver, and platinum coins

Precious metals can offer a secure way to ensure wealth preservation. Gold has been used directly as money for the vast majority of human history. Own the only asset that has been time tested for thousands of years.

Real Estate

Cash purchased or leveraged, residential, commercial, land, options, tenants in common, mortgage notes, trust deeds, domestic or foreign

Owning real assets can be a predictable and understandable way to protect and grow wealth.

Private Companies

Stock in corporations, membership units in LLCs, promissory notes, private placements memorandums, hedge funds, domestic or foreign, revenue participation agreements

Invest in the startup or expansion of private companies… others’ or your own.

Miscellaneous

Foreign bank accounts
While you are probably familiar with holding the U.S. Dollar as a liquid asset in a U.S. bank account, today’s inflationary dollar policies create a strong incentive to hold liquid reserves in foreign banks denominated in a foreign currency that is likely to be more stable than the dollar.

Foreign stock markets
The crash of the American economy doesn’t have to leave you moping around waiting for it to be rebuilt. Take a look at the vibrant economies of other countries. Your Solo 401k can invest directly into stock markets in other countries.

American stock market – Expanded options
With our Self Directed Solo 401k, you can buy and sell options, trade on margin, sell stocks short, and invest in many stocks and funds that are usually unavailable to conventional IRA and 401k accounts.

What is and isn’t allowed

The only specific assets that aren’t allowed are collectibles and precious metal bullion. Rather than list allowable investments, the law names what is disallowed.

In addition to the 2 disallowed investments, “prohibited transactions” are not allowed. These are generally transactions that involve or benefit yourself or your family – outside of taxable distributions from your retirement account.

While there are flawed theories that attempt to convince Joe the Plumber to use the stock market as his sole source of investment opportunities, actual data suggests that across the globe the two leading sources of wealth are real estate and business ownership. Annual wealth reports also often dictate that the wealthy enjoy returns from their private investments far superior to their returns from publicly traded securities.

A winning investment strategy simply insn’t likely with a severely restricted investment platform. With a Self Directed Solo 401k, you can enjoy unlimited possibilities.