team@coachjanellecpa.com

Mon - Fri: 9:00am - 5:00pm

Beware of UBIT Lurking in Your IRA—It Causes Double Taxes

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on February 26, 2025

Do you own a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP-IRA, or SIMPLE IRA? Usually, the income earned within these accounts is tax-free. This applies to common investments such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, ETFs, CDs, and Treasury bills.


But if your IRA makes alternative investments, it may be subject to a special tax called the unrelated business income tax (UBIT)—and that’s true even if it’s a Roth IRA.


When Does UBIT Apply?

Investing in active businesses. If your IRA invests in an S corporation, a limited partnership, a regular partnership, or an LLC engaged in an active business, it may owe UBIT. This does not apply to investments in C corporations because such corporations pay their own taxes.


A common example of a UBIT-generating investment is an investment in a master limited partnership.


Using debt financing in a self-directed IRA. If your self-directed IRA buys real estate or other assets using debt, it may owe the UBIT on its unrelated debt-financed income.


For example, if your IRA buys a $500,000 rental property with $250,000 of debt, 50 percent of the rental income is subject to UBIT.


How UBIT Works


Tax rates. UBIT is taxed at trust tax rates, reaching the top 37 percent bracket at just $14,450 of taxable income.


Exemption. Each IRA gets a $1,000 exemption from UBIT annually.


Filing requirements. If an IRA generates more than $1,000 in unrelated business taxable income, it must file Form 990-T electronically and the IRA (not you personally) must pay the tax. The IRA custodian handles this filing separately. It’s not part of your personal tax return.


Double taxation for traditional IRAs. A traditional IRA paying UBIT faces double taxation—first at punitive trust rates and then at ordinary income rates when you, the traditional IRA owner, withdraw funds.


Key Point


IRAs should generally avoid investments that generate UBIT. To protect your retirement savings from unnecessary tax burdens, carefully evaluate any alternative investments within your IRA and consider consulting a tax professional to ensure compliance and minimize exposure to UBIT.

About Coach Janelle CPA

My passion is to help 6 & 7- figure+ earners see their financial possibilities through financial literacy and strategy. 

I want to help you save on taxes so you can keep more of your money to live the life you dream of and have worked for NOW, and build wealth and equity for the next generation.

Sign Up To Our Weekly Newsletter

Get the latest tax planning tips content delivered straight to your inbox.

 All Your Information is Protected When You Sign Up

Check Out Some Of Our Latest Blog Post


Almost the Last Chance to Claim the 2021 Employee Retention Credit!

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on February 19, 2025

If your business has not yet claimed the 2021 Employee Retention Credit (ERC), you still have time—but you must act soon. What Is the ERC, and How Much Can You Claim?
The ERC is a refundable tax credit designed to support businesses that retained employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the 2021 tax year, eligi...

Tax-Free Home Sale: When and Why You Need to Report to the IRS

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on February 5, 2025

You’re probably aware that when you sell your home, you may exclude up to $250,000 of your gain from tax if you’re unmarried (or married, filing separately) and $500,000 if you are married and file jointly...

Missed an Estimated Tax Payment—Now What?

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on January 29, 2025

Missing an estimated tax payment can result in non-deductible penalties. Make timely payments via IRS Direct Pay or EFTPS—secure and convenient methods to help you avoid the penalties...

Can Real Estate Professional Status Free Up Old Passive Losses?

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on January 22, 2025

Deducting your rental property tax losses against your other income is tricky, as you likely know. You have to get the tax law to treat you—say, a computer engineer—as a tax-code–defined real estate professional. Let’s say you get there. Does that status allow immediate use of suspended passive losses? Unfortunately, the answer is no. Here’s why.,,

Court Battles Rage: File Your FinCEN BOI Report Now or Wait?

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on January 15, 2025

Here’s an update on the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting requirements. Recent legal developments have created uncertainty around filing deadlines, and it’s important to understand your options and responsibilities...

2024 Last-Minute Vehicle Purchases to Save on Taxes

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on December 18, 2024

Here’s an easy question: Do you need more 2024 tax deductions? If the answer is yes, continue reading. Next easy question: Do you need a replacement business vehicle?
If so, you can simultaneously solve or mitigate the first problem (needing more deductions) and the second problem (needing a replacement vehicle) if you can get your replacement vehicle in service on or before December 31, 2024. Don’t procrastinate...

2024 Last-Minute Year-End General Business Income Tax Deductions

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on December 4, 2024

The purpose of these strategies is to get the IRS to owe you money. Of course, the IRS will not likely cut you a check for this money (although in the right circumstances, that will happen), but you’ll realize the cash when you pay less in taxes...

Got IRS Penalties? Know the Rules, Pay Nothing

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on December 14, 2024

If the IRS has recently claimed that you owe a penalty for late filing, late payment, or missed employment tax deposits, pause before making any payment. You may not have to pay that penalty at all....

Three Possible Ways to Deduct Your Dog or Cat

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on November 27, 2024

Dogs, cats, and other household pets are expensive. Owners spend an average of $1,270 to $2,800 a year to own a dog. Can you ever deduct these costs from your taxes? The expenses for a family pet that provides you only with love and companionship are never deductible. They are purely personal expenses...

Tax Planning to Winter in Florida and Summer in Massachusetts

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on November 20, 2024

You can plan your tax-deductible business life to avoid cold winters and hot summers.
Spend a moment examining the following four short paragraphs containing the Andrews case’s basic facts. For six months of the year, from May through October, Edward Andrews lived in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, where he owned and operated Andrews Gunite Co., Inc...

Tax Deductions for Dues and Expenses of Being a Mason or a Lion

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on November 13, 2024

Based on IRS regulations, club dues are generally not deductible if the organization’s principal purpose is to conduct entertainment activities for its members. However, there are exceptions for civic and public service organizations, such as the Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis...

The Supreme Court Likely Shook Up Your Buy-Sell Agreement

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on November 6, 2024

The Supreme Court’s ruling in the Connelly case established that life insurance proceeds used by a company to redeem a deceased owner’s shares increase the company’s value for estate tax purposes. This could result in a higher estate tax liability than anticipated...

The Department of Labor Makes It Harder to Hire Independent Contractors

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on October 30, 2024

Here’s a recent update on the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and the new IRS payback scheme. New IRS ERC Payback Program. The IRS introduced a second ERC Voluntary Disclosure Program for 2021 claims. Under this program, you can say, “I didn’t deserve the ERC, so I’ll repay 85 percent of my claimed ERC and retain 15 percent tax-free...

Employee Retention Credit (ERC) Update

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on October 23, 2024

Here’s a recent update on the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) and the new IRS payback scheme. New IRS ERC Payback Program. The IRS introduced a second ERC Voluntary Disclosure Program for 2021 claims. Under this program, you can say, “I didn’t deserve the ERC, so I’ll repay 85 percent of my claimed ERC and retain 15 percent tax-free...

BOI Reporting Deadline is Closing In

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on October 16, 2024

The clock continues to tick. Here are the upcoming deadlines for filing your Business Ownership Information (BOI) reports with the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)..

Avoid the Hidden Dangers of the Accumulated Earnings Penalty Tax

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on September 18, 2024

f you run your business as a regular C corporation, beware of the accumulated earnings tax (AET). The IRS can use the AET to penalize C corporations that retain earnings in the business rather than pay them to shareholders as taxable dividends. When retaining earnings, the C corporation first pays the corporate tax of 21 percent on those earnings.,,

Reduce Taxes by Using the Best Cryptocurrency Accounting Method

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on September 11, 2024

Consider this happy scenario: You purchased one Bitcoin for $15,000 14 months ago and another six months later for $40,000. Today, you sell one Bitcoin for $60,000. You’re a genius! But is your taxable gain $45,000 or $20,000...

What Happens When You Die and Your S Corporation Owns the Rental?

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on September 4, 2024

You may own an S corporation with a rental property as its sole asset. A common concern with this approach is what happens when the owner passes away, specifically regarding the step-up in basis. Here’s good news. While technically the rental property itself doesn’t receive a step-up in basis upon your death, your heirs will achieve the same outcome. It works like this...

Smart Solutions That Decrease Social Security and Medicare Taxes

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on August 28, 2024

Here are some important updates and strategies regarding Social Security and Medicare taxes that may significantly impact your business. For 2024, the Social Security tax ceiling increased to $168,600, resulting in a maximum Social Security tax of $20,906 for high-earners. The Social Security Administration projects this ceiling to rise annually...

Tax Guide to Deducting Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on August 21, 2024

Long-term care costs can be substantial, and neither Medicare nor Medicaid provide comprehensive coverage for most people. Long-term care insurance can help protect your finances, and there may be ways to deduct the premiums, depending on your business structure...

Know the Exceptions to the 10 Percent Penalty on Early IRA Withdrawals

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on August 14, 2024

Early withdrawals from a traditional IRA before age 59 1/2 generally incur a 10 percent penalty tax on the taxable portion of the withdrawal. There are several exceptions to this rule that can help you avoid the penalty under specific circumstances. Below, we have outlined the key exceptions that may apply to your situation. Substantially equal periodic payments...

Shutting Down Your S Corporation

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on August 7, 2024

As you consider the process of shutting down your S corporation, it is crucial to understand the federal income tax implications that come with it. Here, I outline the tax basics for the corporation and its shareholders under two common scenarios: stock sale and asset sale with liquidation...

Claim Up to $32,220 in Missed 2021 Self-Employed COVID-19 Sick and Family Leave Credits Today

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on July 31, 2024

Were you self-employed during 2021? If so, there is a good chance that you could have qualified for COVID-19 sick and family leave credits worth as much as $32,220. If you’re like many self-employed individuals or partners, you probably never heard about these tax credits. Unlike employee retention credit for employers, the special temporary credits for the self-employed received relatively little publicity. Many tax professionals were unaware of them. As a result, many self-employed individuals and partners never applied for...

Limited Partners and Self-Employment Taxes

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on July 17, 2024

Self-employment taxes are substantial, and most people want to minimize them. Self-employed taxpayers often avoid self-employment taxes by operating as an S corporation. The distributions from the S corporation are not subject to self-employment tax. But Social Security and Medicare tax must be paid on the shareholders’ employee compensation (which must be reasonable based on the services they provide). S corporations are also subject to various legal restrictions that can...

Tax Implications of Shutting Down a Sole Proprietorship

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on July 10, 2024

As you consider shutting down your sole proprietorship or your single-member LLC treated as a sole proprietorship for tax purposes, it’s crucial to understand the tax implications of this decision. Here’s an overview of key points you need to consider. 1. Asset Sale Tax Implications When you sell a sole proprietorship, you sell its assets, not the company. Federal tax rules tell you how to allocate the total sale price to specific business assets....

Cost Segregation: Is This Strategy for You?

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on July 6, 2024

One significant tax benefit of owning residential rental property or non-residential commercial or investment property is depreciation—a deduction you get without spending any additional money. But regular depreciation for real property is slow. Residential rental property is depreciated over 27.5 years and non-residential property over 39 years, providing a relatively small deduction each year. Fortunately, there is a way you can speed up your depreciation deductions—especially during the first year or years you own the property: cost segregation...

Tax Implications of Selling Qualified Improvement Property (QIP)

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on March 16, 2024

You need to think about the sale of your rental property when you claim depreciation on your qualified improvement property (QIP). Gains may be subject to higher-than-expected tax rates due to Section 1245 and Section 1250 ordinary income recapture and other factors. Planning your depreciation methods can significantly impact your current tax liabilities and long-term taxable gains when you sell...

The IRS Annual Dirty Dozen List

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on March 11, 2024

Have you heard about the enormous tax savings you can reap by investing in a Maltese individual retirement arrangement or utilizing Puerto Rican captive insurance for your business? Before you invest your hard-earned money in these or other highly promoted tax schemes, you should check the IRS Dirty Dozen list...

Estimated Tax Penalties

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on March 2, 2024

The United States has a “pay as you go” tax system in which payments for income tax (and, where applicable, Social Security and Medicare taxes) must be made to the IRS throughout the year as income is earned, whether through withholding, by making estimated tax payments, or both.

New 1099-K Filing Rules Delayed Again

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on January 27, 2024

Do you sell goods or services and receive payment through a third-party settlement organization (TPSO)? If so, you must know the IRS’s new Form 1099-K reporting rules.
TPSOs include: 1, payment apps such as PayPal, CashApp, and Venmo; 2. online auction or marketplace services such as eBay and Amazon...

2023 Last-Minute Vehicle Purchases to Save on Taxes

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on December 13, 2023

Here’s an easy question: Do you need more 2023 tax deductions? If the answer is yes, continue reading. Next easy question: do you need a replacement business vehicle? If so, you can simultaneously solve or mitigate the first problem (needing more deductions) and the second problem...

Last-Minute Year-End Retirement Deductions 

Written by Coach Janelle CPA on December 8, 2023

The clock continues to tick. Your retirement is one year closer. You have time before December 31 to take steps that will help you fund the retirement you desire. Here are five things to consider. 1. Establish Your 2023 Retirement Plan. First, a question: do you have your (or your corporation’s) retirement plan in place? If not, and if you have some cash...

Share Us On Social Media

@coachjanellecpa

Follow me. Let's be friends!

@coachjanellecpa

Follow me. Let's be friends!

© 2021 Coach Janelle CPA. 
All Rights Reserved.

Follow me on socials

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

Get the latest tax planning tips content delivered straight to your inbox.

© 2021 Coach Janelle CPA. 
All Rights Reserved.

Follow me on socials

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

Get the latest tax planning tips content delivered straight to your inbox.