A reader asks:

i just received a k-1 1065 from an llc which is included in my ira brand new this year.
because my investment is included in my ira porfolio do i have to report the income shown on the k-1

That’s a great question. It would be an even better question to ask before buying an LLC in your IRA. That’s because LLCs often generate income that is – surprise! – taxable to the IRA.
The tax law frowns on tax-exempt entities like IRAs holding business assets. While it’s OK to hold investments that generate interest and dividends in an IRA, Congress thought it would be unfair for taxable businesses to have to compete against tax-exempts. That’s why the tax law imposes the Unrelated Business Income Tax, or UBIT, on business income earned by tax exempt entities. The UBIT is, in general, the corporation tax system applied to business income earned by exempt entities.
When UBIT applies to an IRA, the IRA has to pay income tax itself on Form 990-T at rates up to 35%. State income taxes can also apply. Of course, the after-tax income of a traditional IRA may be taxed again when it is distributed to the IRA owner.
If you have income taxable to an IRA coming from an LLC, it should be on line 20 of the LLC’s K-1, listed with code “V”. In this case, “V” doesn’t stand for “Victory.”
The Moral: LLCs and IRAs are a poor mix unless the LLC only holds investments that generate interest and dividend income. If you own an LLC that generates business income in your IRA, you may need to file Form 990-T by April 15.
Stop by tomorrow for the next installment of our 2009 filing season tips series!

Tags: IRA, Tips for filing 2008 returns, UBIT

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 31st, 2009 at 11:00 am and is filed under 2009 Filing Season Tip. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.