Published fee
$1,295
One-time IRA LLC service fee: formation, the IRA-specific operating agreement, EIN coordination and custodian paperwork.
State filing fees, custodian account and transaction fees, and bank charges are separate. We do not hold assets or select investments.
See the full price listMechanics
How the structure actually works
The IRA owns the LLC
Your self-directed IRA is the member of a new LLC. You are typically the manager. The account owns the company; you administer it on the account's behalf.
The custodian stays in the picture
A self-directed IRA custodian holds the IRA itself, funds the LLC on your direction and reports the account's value each year. The custodian does not disappear because an LLC exists.
Checkbook control means timing, not freedom
A bank account in the LLC's name lets the account transact without a custodian instruction for every item. The IRA rules apply exactly as before - the speed changes, the rules do not.
Cash flow
How money must move
- Every dollar the LLC spends comes from the LLC's own account, never from your pocket
- Every dollar of income - rent, interest, proceeds - returns to the LLC's account
- The asset is titled in the LLC's name, not yours
- You take no compensation, benefit or personal use from anything the LLC holds
- Valuations are reported to the custodian on their schedule, usually annually
- Records are kept so the account's activity can be reconstructed years later
Boundaries
Prohibited transactions and disqualified persons
- You, your spouse, your ascendants and descendants and their spouses
- Entities that disqualified persons own or control above the applicable thresholds
- Fiduciaries of the plan and people providing services to it
- Buying from, selling to or lending to any of the above with account assets
- Living in, staying in, or personally using property the account holds
- Doing your own repair or management work on account-owned property
This is a summary, not a complete statement of the rules, and it is not legal or tax advice. Take any transaction you are unsure about to your own attorney or CPA before it happens.
Process
How the setup runs
- 1
Consultation
We confirm your account type, whether a self-directed custodian is already in place and whether an IRA LLC actually suits the investing you intend.
- 2
Custodian coordination
If you do not have a self-directed custodian, that relationship must exist first. The custodian's own approval requirements apply.
- 3
Entity formation
The LLC is formed with the IRA as member, using an operating agreement drafted for retirement-account ownership rather than an ordinary template.
- 4
EIN and bank account
An EIN is obtained and the bank account is opened in the LLC's name so the account can transact directly.
- 5
Funding and first investment
The custodian funds the LLC on your written direction. From there, the LLC transacts - with the rules explained and in writing.
Scope
Roles and limitations
What Survival 401K does
- Prepare the LLC and operating-agreement documentation for IRA ownership
- Coordinate the paperwork the custodian requires from their side
- Coordinate EIN issuance and the documentation a bank asks for
- Explain prohibited transactions, disqualified persons and record-keeping clearly
What we do not do
- Act as custodian, trustee, bank or administrator of your account
- Select, recommend, endorse or perform due diligence on investments
- Give legal or tax advice, or opine on whether a transaction is prohibited
- Value assets, prepare custodian reports or file tax forms on your behalf
Questions
IRA LLC FAQs
Next step
Set up the IRA LLC
Have a consultation first if you want the structure and the rules walked through, or go straight to the secure IRA LLC application when your custodian arrangement is already in place.
The secure application opens on this site and is submitted over an encrypted connection to the Survival 401K secure application system.