Fixing IRA Account Delinquencies
In order to maintain your Forge Trust Co. IRA account in good standing, you must do three things:
- Pay annual administrative fees
- Report the end-of-year fair market value of your LLC/Trust
- Keep your contact information up to date
Failure to maintain the account can result in additional fees, or worse…
An account that is delinquent on fees or valuation reporting for an extended period may be terminated and resigned by Forge Trust Co. This can result in severe tax consequences.
Use the following resources to remedy problems with your IRA account.
Paying Past-Due Account Fees
For purposes of paying past-due fees only you may use the Forge Trust Co. E-Bill Express platform.
https://ww2.e-billexpress.com/ebpp/IRAServices/
You will be asked to provide your IRA account number and billing zip code to access the system. This information is available on your Forge Trust Co. account statement.
If you cannot login, Contact Forge Trust Co. at 800-248-8447 for assistance.
Using E-Bill Express solves the current delinquency problem but is not a long-term fix. When the next quarter rolls around, you will again be behind on fees. You will therefore also need to replenish the cash balance of the IRA so that future account fees may be drawn from the IRA.
For information on how to maintain your IRA cash balance, refer to the following article:
Reporting Fair Market Valuation
Most investors can report the fair market value of their IRA-owned entity quickly online using the Forge Trust Valuation Portal.
You will be asked to provide your IRA account number, the last 4 digits of your SSN, and your date of birth to access the system. Your account number is available on your Forge Trust Co. account statement.
Investors with an account subject to Required Minimum Distributions will not be able to use the online valuation portal and will need to submit a paper form with a 3rd party certified valuation. A link to the IRA LLC Valuation form is available at the bottom of the valuation portal login page.
For more information on how to report fair market value, refer to the following article:
Updating Contact Information
Forge Trust Co. communicates largely via email. It is therefore important for them to have a valid email address on file. It is also important for Forge Trust Co. to have your current mailing address.
You can make account contact changes using the Account Owner Information Change form, or by submitting a signed letter of instruction to Forge Trust Co., P.O. Box 7080, San Carlos, CA 94070-7080.
It is also helpful to make the @forgetrust.com domain a safe sender in your email client. Most contact you receive will be system automated messages that may go to junk mail if not properly flagged.
If you have changed your address or other contact information there are other vendors associated with your checkbook IRA that you will want to notify. Please refer to the following article for more details:
Preventing Future Delinquencies
Set a calendar reminders to do the following two things in early January each year:
- Replenish Cash Balance
The easiest way to maintain the cash balance is to reimburse the IRA for fees assessed during the current tax year year. Login to your account sometime in January, review your account statement for fees paid in the prior calendar year, and send that amount to Forge Trust Co.. It is important to do this early in the year, as after February 28th you may no longer pay prior year fees with non-IRA funds.
- Report Annual Valuation
Valuation of the IRA owned LLC/Trust entity is required as of December 31st each year for reporting purposes. The deadline to report is January 10th.
Contacting Forge Trust Co.
If you need assistance with your IRA account, please contact Forge Trust Co. directly.
800-248-8447
Monday – Friday; 8:00am – 5:00pm Pacific time