You can open an account by simply completing an online application or you can complete an Application Kit using either a PDF or DocuSign form.
To pay with a credit card or bank account (ACH), log in to the client portal and click "Pay My Account Fees." To pay by check, please mail a check, along with our Deposit Notification Form indicating the check is a fee payment, to our mailing address provided, with your Forge Trust account number in the check's memo line.
To open an IRA with Forge Trust Co. you’ll select the type of account you’re opening and provide your personal information, such as your name, contact information, date of birth, and social security number.
We recommend that you talk to your advisor to determine whether a Traditional, Roth or other type of IRA account is best for you.
Fees cover services for both asset custody and account maintenance. Self-directed IRAs give the account owner the ability to invest in many things and the IRS requires that a custodian hold these assets securely and maintain them on behalf of the IRA owner. Alternative investments often have processing and regulatory requirements that need careful attention to detail more so than with traditional, publicly traded investments. Please refer to our Fee Schedule for details.
No, you can choose to transfer the exact amount needed for the investment you are making through your IRA. However, you may wish to transfer additional funds to cover the related transaction fees, or you can elect to set up automatic online payments to have these (and future administration fees) paid by credit card or from a personal bank account if you want to avoid using retirement dollars for fees.
The IRS refers to “IRA transfers” as “rollovers”. Traditional, SEP and Simple IRA funds may be “rolled over” to a Roth IRA but amounts rolled over will be treated as income.
Please consult with your tax advisor before authorizing this type of rollover/transfer.
Review the IRS Rollover Chart (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/rollover_chart.pdf) to determine rollover/transfer options for other types of employer-sponsored retirement plans.
You can fund your account in three ways:
Whenever you make a deposit to your account please complete a Deposit Notification Form.
An “in-kind” transfer is one in which your current custodian will transfer your asset(s) “as-is” without the need for you to liquidate and re-purchase the asset(s). Forge Trust will charge a re-registration fee for each asset transferred in-kind.
Please refer to our Transfer Authorization form for more details on transfers in-kind.
The IRS refers to “IRA transfers” as “rollovers”. Traditional, SEP and Simple IRA funds may be “rolled over” to a Roth IRA but amounts rolled over will be treated as income. Please consult with your tax advisor before authorizing this type of rollover/transfer.
Direct Rollover: If you’re getting a distribution from a retirement plan, you can ask your plan administrator to make the payment directly to another retirement plan or to an IRA. Contact your plan administrator for instructions. The administrator may issue your distribution in the form of a check made payable to your new account. No taxes will be withheld from your transfer amount.
Indirect 60-day Rollover: If a distribution from an IRA or a retirement plan is paid directly to you, you can deposit all or a portion of it in an IRA or a retirement plan within 60 days. Taxes will be withheld from a distribution from a retirement plan (see below), so you’ll have to use other funds to roll over the full amount of the distribution.
You can make only one rollover from an IRA to another (or the same) IRA in any 12-month period, regardless of the number of IRAs you own.
The one-per year limit does not apply to:
A Trustee-to-Trustee transfer occurs when you authorize your current IRA custodian/trustee to transfer assets directly from your existing IRA account to another IRA or to a retirement plan. No taxes will be withheld from your transfer amount. You may only transfer cash and acceptable assets to your Forge Trust Co. account.
Yes. There are Prohibited Transactions and investing in them could result in serious tax consequences and disqualification of your IRA, among other things.
Using your self-directed IRA to transact business with a Disqualified Persons is also prohibited.
Yes. Any asset that is available for you to buy with a traditional IRA is available to you through a Self-directed IRA.
Yes. Complete a Publicly Traded Buy & Sell Authorization Form to invest. There is a quarterly asset fee for each fund you hold.
Yes. Please speak to your tax advisor for guidance or for more information.
No. Forge Trust Co. is a non-depository trust company. It is our job to facilitate your financial decisions by enabling you to perform the transactions you wish to make. Legally we cannot offer you any advice in the form of recommendations or offer insight or information on any available securities. Many of our customers opt to employ the services of a qualified financial advisor to help them make decisions especially those who are new to investing.
As this is a self-directed account you will need to contact your investment provider, financial planner, accountant or other professional to answer questions about your investment.
Forge Trust as custodian is prohibited from giving investment related advice. However, we can help you if you have questions about managing your account, conducting transactions, or understanding regulations: you can reach out to us via phone at (800) 248-8447 or via email at [email protected].
Only you or someone you designate as an attorney in fact through a Power of Attorney (POA) on your account can authorize transactions on your account. You must provide a copy of the POA and complete the Power of Attorney Affidavit in order to authorize another individual to transact on your behalf.
No. To take advantage of the tax benefits offered for investing in real estate through your IRA all expenses associated with the upkeep and operations of your properties must be paid from your IRA account--not from any other account, nor from your personal funds--or can be paid from rental income from the property.
Yes. In fact, you must pay for all expenses associated with the upkeep of your property from your IRA. Use the Expense Payment Request Form to direct funds to your property manager to pay property expenses.
If your real estate is held by your IRA LLC then you must pay property expenses from your IRA LLC checking account.
Yes. As a property co-owner, the amount of expenses you pay will be calculated by your ownership percentage. For example, if you own 50% of a property, you will pay 50% of its expenses.
Your designated property manager can only conduct transactions on your behalf and cannot pay for anything out of their own account. Depending on the terms of your agreement with them and the type of property in question they may handle both the payment of expenses and collection of revenues that are necessary for operating the property in its intended capacity.
You may be required to pay UBTI (Unrelated Business Taxable Income) or UFDI (Unrelated Debt-Financed Income) taxes if you use your IRA to invest or cover expenses for certain types of businesses or business activities.
UBTI taxes may apply to you if you have investments in an LP or an LLC. It also may apply if your investments within your tax-advantaged account contain debt financing and have net income over $1000 or you wish to file for a net operating loss (NOL).
For more information on the types of investments that may “trigger” a UBIT payment you can consult the IRS’s guide to Unrelated Business Income.
You may also reach out to Forge Trust if you have any questions. However, we cannot advise you on how to manage your accounts.
UDFI taxes are a subcategory of UBIT and are triggered when an IRA acquires debt as part of a real estate purchase transaction.
Both UBIT and UFDI triggers are discussed in IRS Publication 598.
Checks should be made payable to “Forge Trust Co. CFBO [your name],” and ensure either your account number or property description (as it’s displayed in your account) is listed on the memo line to ensure we can accurately credit to your account without delay.
Yes. However, the combined amount being contributed to both types of accounts must not exceed that year’s contribution limits.
For changes to beneficiaries please submit a new Beneficiary Designation or Changes Form which will supersede any previously submitted form.
Be aware that if you live in a community property state and you elect to list someone other than your spouse as your sole primary beneficiary your spouse will have to authorize this change with a notarized signature. Please see form for instructions.
There are nine community property states: Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin. Alaska is an opt-in community property state that gives both parties the option to make their property community property.
Please use the Account Owner Information Change Form to change your contact information (e.g., telephone number, email address, mailing address, etc.).
Please use the Account Owner Information Change Form with a copy of the applicable legal document (e.g., marriage certificate, divorce decree, etc.) to request a name change.
Some institutions require an original “wet” signature from you for some transactions such as to transfer funds. You can provide this by completing and submitting a printed PDF form.
In other cases you may choose between using a PDF form or a DocuSign form.
PDF forms can either be filled out online then emailed; or printed, filled out by hand and then mailed or faxed. Please refer to each form’s specific instructions about how to deliver a PDF form to us.
DocuSign allows you to complete a form online and submit it in real time for processing. You will be prompted to provide your name and email address to access a DocuSign form.
These are the key steps involved when converting a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA:
You need to submit a valuation of the asset in your existing Traditional IRA using one of the appropriate forms:
You must complete a Roth Conversion & Re-Characterization Request Form to finalize the conversion of your Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.
Note: You can indicate on this form whether you want to do a full or partial conversion of your Traditional account. If you choose to do a partial conversion, we need to know the asset(s) and the amount you wish to convert.
If you are converting non-cash assets, we must have an up-to-date verifiable valuation of the asset(s) you are converting. If you are converting real property, we must have an appraisal from a certified appraiser.
We process these requests in the order in which we receive them. We cannot start the conversion until all of the forms and documentation have been provided. You will be notified if we need additional information.
For the conversion to be effective for a given tax year the valuation and the Roth Conversion & Re-Characterization Request Form must be dated in that year.
If this is your first time logging in go to our website mouse over “Login” and choose Client Portal. Please provide your account number and password to gain access to your account.
If you have never logged in before, or your temporary password for a new account has expired you will be prompted to call us to select a new password and security questions to protect your account in order to login.
To pay with a credit card or bank account (ACH), log in to the client portal and click "Pay My Account Fees." To pay by check, please mail a check, along with our Deposit Notification Form indicating the check is a fee payment, to our mailing address provided, with your Forge Trust account number in the check's memo line.
Go to our login page and click “Forgot Password?” You will be prompted for your account number, email address, and to answer security questions to access your account.
If you don’t remember your account number or have any difficulties with this process, please call our Contact Center for assistance at 1-800-248-8447.
Statements are prepared quarterly based on the quarter end date as follows:
Please provide your current email address as your statement will be emailed to you. Accounts without an email addresses will be mailed a paper statement for which there is a fee. Online statements are free of charge.
Statements are sent during the month following the quarter end date.
If you make a contribution to a Roth IRA, and then discover that your income will exceed the maximum allowed to contribute to a Roth IRA the amount contributed for that year can be re-characterized as a contribution for a Traditional IRA.
If you elect to re-characterize a contribution you must do so by your tax return due date (including extension), using the Roth Conversion & Re-Characterization Request Form
You are not required to take money out of a Roth IRA during your lifetime.
You are required to take a “Required Minimum Distribution” (“RMD”) from your Traditional IRA after you reach the age of 73 years old.
And if you are the beneficiary of an IRA you may also be subject to RMDs.
Yes, it is possible to withdraw money from your IRA account, with a few notable exceptions.
One option for withdrawal is to set up early distribution payments in the form of substantially equal payments on a schedule determined by your life expectancy. You will avoid penalties through this set up but you will also be spending through your funds.
Withdrawing funds from a Traditional IRA before the age of 59 ½ may include a 10% IRS penalty, plus any additional penalty fees your state may require when filing your taxes.
The rules are slightly different for Roth IRA accounts—you can take out money that you contributed to the account at any time without penalty but you cannot remove earnings before the age of 59½ without penalty.
There may be certain exceptions where you can withdraw money from your account penalty-free. For example, if you are a first-time home buyer you may withdraw up to $10,000 to use for purchasing a home. Other exceptions include: education expenses, disability, unreimbursed medical expenses, and health insurance premium payments during unemployment.
Reasons for the penalty exemption can be found in the IRS publication 590B.
You can take a distribution by filling out a Distribution Request Form.
There are no rules or restrictions governing when or how frequently distributions can be taken. However, you should be aware of possible tax consequences to consider. Please see IRS Publication 590B.
An “early” withdrawal is generally a withdrawal taken before age 59 1/2 in a Traditional IRA or within the first five years of a Roth IRA.
In addition to the amount added to your income the IRS may assess an additional 10% penalty. You should consult with your tax advisor regarding the tax consequences of taking an early withdrawal.
Distributions from a Traditional IRA, SEP or SIMPLE are treated as income to you. You will receive an IRS form 1099R each January summarizing the amount distributed and the taxes withheld if any. In a Roth IRA if you take a distribution after the account has been open five years the distribution will not be included in your income. If taken within the five-year period it will be taxable like a Traditional IRA distribution.
We provide an online Asset Valuation Portal for our account owners to use for providing valuations. Please visit the portal for details. You may also download and submit an Asset Valuation Form however an administrative fee may be incurred.
You provide fair market valuations for all your assets every year. All your private equity investments should be issuing reports to you on the company’s worth. You can use that to complete the valuation forms.
Please refer to the Valuation of Assets section in your IRA Custodial Agreement.
A valuation is a determination of the current value of the alternative assets held in your IRA.
The IRS requires the IRA custodian to provide an annual current valuation report of all assets held in the IRA account. Alternative investments are not publicly traded and therefore require a valuation from the investment sponsor or other validated source.
As a financial professional, the forms you will need for yourself and your client can be found at forgetrust.com/advisor