Real property, including vacant or raw land, pre-developed property, and commercial or residential property
Tips
What you need to know about real estate before you invest.
For most real property held directly by the IRA (except vacant or raw land), the individual retirement account (IRA) must have an agreement with a third-party property manager. The property manager is responsible for ensuring that all expenses, such as property taxes, insurance premiums, homeowner’s association fees and maintenance expenses are paid in a timely manner from the property management trust account.
If the expenses exceed the retained cash in the property management trust account, the property manager must forward bills and invoices to Provident for payment from the IRA*. Expenses are prohibited from being paid by the IRA owner with personal funds. If an IRA owner elects not to use a property manager, they must complete and submit a Property Manager Waiver form.
Real property can be rented to offset costs and increase value, or can be improved upon if the restrictions surrounding prohibited transactions are observed.
Rules
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has certain rules to keep in mind when considering investing in real estate.
- Owning real estate in your IRA means you lose some of the tax breaks that most real estate investors can take if the property operates at a loss. You also cannot claim depreciation on IRA-owned real estate.
- Any mortgage tax breaks that you would normally qualify for will be lost when you purchase real estate with an IRA. IRAs are already tax-sheltered accounts, so you will lose out on any other tax benefits when you choose to use an IRA. If you want to take full advantage of tax benefits, then you shouldn’t use your IRA for the transaction.
- Take extra precautions to ensure you avoid prohibited transactions—an IRA owner, or other disqualified person, cannot personally perform any maintenance or improvement activities related to the property. An IRA owner, or other disqualified person, may not use the property in any way that may provide a personal benefit.
- Unrelated Business Tax Income (UBTI) considerations: If property is being ‘flipped,’ the IRA owner may need to be aware of potentially triggering UBTI. An IRA owner that plans to use a non-recourse loan to purchase property must be aware of potentially triggering a type of UBTI called Unrelated Debt-Financed Income (UDFI). Tax owed on UBTI/UDFI must be paid from cash held within the IRA holding the property and filed on IRS Form 990-T. If your real estate investment incurs UBTI/UDFI, consult a competent tax professional to prepare a Form 990-T and contact Provident for instructions on paying any taxes your IRA may owe.
Single member or multi-member
Tips
What you need to know about LLCs before you invest.
A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a type of business entity registered with the state. “Limited liability” refers to the protection this type of entity offers—LLC owners (called ‘members’) are protected from personal liability for business debts and claims. In other words, personal money or possessions cannot be targeted, and LLC owners stand to lose only the money they’ve invested in the LLC itself.
Like a partnership or sole proprietorship, an LLC is also a “pass-through entity,” which means that the LLC’s income passes through the business and to the LLC member(s), which in this case is the Individual Retirement Account (IRA). As such, the LLC isn’t taxed.
An LLC offers the limited liability benefit of a corporation and the single level of taxation of a partnership.
Rules
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has certain rules to keep in mind when considering an investment in LLCs.
- If an IRA is investing into an LLC, the account owners must be aware that the investments made in an LLC must adhere to the same rules regarding prohibited transactions and prohibited investment classes as investments made directly through a custodian.
- An LLC for investing purposes must be a newly formed entity. You cannot invest with your self-directed IRA through an LLC you have created previously for another purpose. It is your responsibility to set up your LLC.
- Since LLCs must be established and registered in a state, it is important to know the rules of establishing an LLC in your state. Each state may have different fees for registering or maintaining an LLC.
- LLCs may incur unrelated business taxable income (UBTI). Tax owed on this income must be paid from cash held within the IRA holding the LLC and filed on IRS Form 990-T. If your LLC investment incurs UBTI, consult a competent tax professional to prepare a Form 990-T and contact Provident for instructions on paying any taxes your IRA may owe.
Promissory notes backed by collateral
Tips
What you need to know about secured promissory notes before you invest.
A promissory note is a legally binding contract outlining the borrower’s promise to pay back a sum of money to the lender within a defined time frame. Promissory notes are a form of private money lending. Basically, it’s a legally-binding “IOU.” In this case, your self-directed IRA is the lender.
Secured promissory notes indicate that the lender will receive a previously agreed upon asset or property as collateral for the note if the borrower defaults.
Unsecured promissory notes are a more informal contract, in which the lender does not have the opportunity to claim any collateral in the case of a default without additional legal action. See our Loans & Notes Receivable page for more information.
Rules
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has certain rules to keep in mind when considering an investment in secured promissory notes.
- The interest rate on your promissory note cannot be above or below market rate.
- You cannot invest in any asset related to the cannabis industry or a marijuana-related business (MRB). This includes using an MRB to secure a promissory note, a promissory note to, or paid by, an MRB.
- You cannot lend money from your IRA to yourself or other disqualified persons, directly or indirectly. Take precautions to ensure that you avoid prohibited transactions.
Including Limited Partnerships (LPs)
Tips
What you need to know about partnerships before you invest.
A partnership is a type of unincorporated business entity in which multiple people (“partners”) manage the business and are responsible for its debts. In the case of your self-directed Individual Retirement Account (IRA), the IRA becomes one of the partners and is responsible for expenses and receives income based on the percentage of its investment. You can partner your funds from multiple IRAs or retirement accounts, partner your IRA and your personal funds, or partner with your family members, friends, or business partners and/or their IRAs.
A limited partnership differs from other partnerships in that partners can have limited liability, meaning they are not liable for business debts that exceed their initial investment.
Establishing a partnership (or limited partnerhip) is a common strategy used in real estate investments.
Rules
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has certain rules to keep in mind when considering an investment in partnerships.
- If an IRA is investing in a partnership, the IRA must be a passive partner; it cannot be the general partner.
- Partnerships may incur unrelated business taxable income (UBTI). Tax owed on this income must be paid from cash held within the IRA holding the partnership and filed on IRS Form 990-T. If your partnership investment incurs UBTI, consult a competent tax professional to prepare a Form 990-T and contact Provident for instructions on paying any taxes your IRA may owe.
Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium coins and bullion
Tips
What you need to know about precious metals before you invest.
Investors often turn to physical assets like precious metals to diversify their retirement portfolio during times of higher inflation or stock market volatility. Certain coins and bullion are acceptable as Individual Retirement Account (IRA) investments as long as they are not collectibles. An individual holding precious metals in their IRA may not have physical possession of the coins or bullion at any time; they must be stored at an approved depository.
View the list of acceptable and unacceptable precious metals before you get started.
Rules
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has certain rules to keep in mind when considering an investment in precious metals.
- Precious metals cannot be collectibles, as described in IRS Publications 590-A and 590-B.
- Precious metals must adhere to applicable fineness and/or bullion standards, as described in the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997: Gold must be .9950 pure. Silver must be .9990 pure. Platinum and Palladium must be .9995 pure.
- You cannot personally hold or store your precious metals (e.g., keeping the metals in a safe inside your home). You must select an approved depository to do so, and may choose to hold them in segregated or non-segregated (“commingled”) storage.
- Your IRA cannot purchase any metals you personally own from yourself.
1. Open you self-directed IRA account and fund it
Register and log in to the client portal, then complete a self-directed IRA application online. Visit our Open an Account page for more details.
2. Choose a depository
We work with certain depositories, or you are free to choose your own, but it must be approved by Provident.
3. Complete our Precious Metals Direction of Investment Form
You can easily complete a digital version of this form through your portal, or you can email, fax, or mail us a completed Precious Metals Direction of Investment Form.
4. Send your supporting documentation
Along with your Precious Metals Direction of Investment Form, you must provide the following:
-Invoice/Purchase Order from the precious metals dealer
5. Receive a confirmation
You will receive an email confirmation once your request has been processed and your funds have been scheduled to leave your account.
You are responsible for performing due diligence on your investment. Every investment has unique risks and any decision to invest should only be made after you conduct a thorough review of the investment and any parties related to the investment. Provident Trust Group is a passive, directed custodian and as such does not provide any type of investment advice or due diligence.
Unsecured promissory notes
Tips
What you need to know about unsecured promissory notes before you invest.
A promissory note is a legally binding contract outlining the borrower’s promise to pay back a sum of money to the lender within a defined time frame. Promissory notes are a form of private money lending. Basically, it’s a legally-binding “IOU.” In this case, your self-directed Individual Retirement Account (IRA) is the lender.
Unsecured promissory notes are a more informal contract, in which the lender does not have the opportunity to claim any collateral in the case of a default without additional legal action.
Secured promissory notes indicate that the lender will receive a previously agreed upon asset or property as collateral for the note if the borrower defaults. See our Secured Notes page for more information.
Rules
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has certain rules to keep in mind when considering an investment in unsecured promissory notes.
- The interest rate on your promissory note cannot be above or below market rate.
- You cannot invest in any asset related to the cannabis industry or a marijuana-related business (MRB). This includes using an MRB to secure a promissory note, a promissory note to, or paid by, an MRB.
- You cannot lend money from your IRA to yourself or other disqualified persons, directly or indirectly. Take precautions to ensure that you avoid prohibited transactions.
If you have funds in your PTG account that are not subject to a current Direction of Investment (or awaiting your direction), or uninvested cash funds, those funds will be deposited in the investments listed below until you provide direction otherwise.
Your account will be credited with a portion of the earnings on these fund balances. Provident Trust Group will credit interest earned on Uninvested Cash Balances to your accounts within 30 days after month end. The interest rate paid on Uninvested Cash Balances will be adjusted on a monthly basis based on actual interest earned during the prior period, with a minimum rate of 0.001% to be paid on all balances. Between March 1st, 2026 and March 31st, 2026, the interest rate paid on all balances is 0.004%, with a jumbo rate of 1.900% applicable to an owner’s accounts if the owner’s combined average Uninvested Cash Balance exceeds $3,000,000 during the prior month. Rates between April 1st, 2026 and April 30th, 2026 will be 0.004% with a jumbo rate of 1.880%. Rates effective May 1st, 2026 will be 0.004% with a jumbo rate of 1.870%.
Provident Trust Group will retain the interest earned on the money held by Provident Trust Group for assets held pending investment instructions or while waiting for a distribution check to be presented for payment, or “float.”
The approximate uninvested cash fund and float earnings retained by Provident Trust Group are calculated monthly. The average annual rate for 2022 was 1.50%. The average for 2023 was 3.61%. The average for 2024 was 4.00%. The average rate for 2025 was 3.88%. The monthly rates for 2026 are as follows: January 3.76%, February 3.74%, March 3.74% (estimate), April 3.74% (estimate).
Provident Trust Group will hold funds from all checks for a minimum of two business days from the date of deposit to ensure the funds are collected and determined to be good funds. Funds from personal checks will be held for a minimum of five business days from the date of deposit before Provident Trust Group will release the funds.