What is an in-kind transfer?

Cash rollovers and transfers are free of charge.

What is an in-kind transfer?

An in-kind transfer is when instead of selling out of your investment assets to cash, you keep the asset in your IRA and then transfer it "in-kind" to another retirement account, IRA, or 401(k).

Do I get charged for moving cash from my existing retirement account to a Rocket Dollar IRA or Solo 401(k) account?

No. Rocket Dollar does not charge customers to move cash from one IRA/401(k) to another IRA or a 401(k). However, please keep in mind that in the case of a rollover, your 401(k) custodian may charge you to issue a check for any kind of transfer. Within an IRA or 401(k), selling assets to cash does not generate any capital gains taxes, as the assets are held in an account structure that protects the investor from any capital gains tax.

Who can do an in-kind transfer?

Currently, in-kind transfers are primarily for clients with a direct custody account type; however, clients with an IRA w/ LLC or Solo 401(k) account interested in doing an in-kind transfer must purchase a gold account. Because of the high demand for in-kind transfers, all customers must submit the in-kind transfer waitlist form before they can start the in-kind transfer process. If you plan to transfer 10+ assets or have multiple custodians, please call our sales team for a quote.

As of February 2023, Rocket Dollar is exploring a way to accept Crypto In-kind transfers in the near future. Interested investors can fill out the in-kind transfer waitlist, but please be patient as we roll out support. Executing crypto transfers properly is extremely important to avoid a loss of assets.

Rocket Dollar is currently working on bringing public assets through in-kind transfers. Currently, all stocks, bonds, and other public securities must be sold to retirement cash before transferring. There are no capital gains taxes.

If I can’t do an in-kind transfer, what should I do if I have other alternative assets in other self-directed IRAs?

When presented with all the options and the complexity of moving some of their assets, many customers decide to move forward with a Rocket Dollar checkbook IRA and transfer their cash balance, allowing the existing assets to stay at their existing custodian and transfer the cash as existing investments redeem, payout, or mature.

Is there any way I can avoid an in-kind transfer?

Rocket Dollar will never charge to transfer over cash balances from another IRA or 401(k). If it is possible to sell out of that asset and then repurchase the same investments in a new retirement account at Rocket Dollar after your account is open, you can do so.

Be careful of prohibited transaction rules while doing this, as each selling and buying of the asset is a transaction event where you must be aware of prohibited transaction rules.

What does the in-kind transfer process look like for other custodians?

Completing an in-kind transfer usually takes coordination between quite a few parties. You, your old IRA custodian, whoever has issued the investment asset, and whoever controls the titling of the investment. If one or more parties of the transaction are hesitant or slow to cooperate, the receiving custodian has to spend a significant amount of time tracking down deliverables. In-kind transfers of existing private and alternative investments are typically much slower to process than moving cash or traditional stocks, bonds, and mutual funds that have more established infrastructure and protocols to support the transfer of traditional assets. In order to safely move your private and alternative assets, these processes must be followed to respect retirement account IRS regulations and to avoid any potential for a prohibited transaction.

It is easier to move an IRA LLC (even if the IRA LLC contains many investments) in-kind than a direct custody IRA invested in several different assets.

Will Rocket Dollar help me transfer my IRA LLC if I decide to go to another custodian?

Of course. Just understand that this is an involved process that could take significant steps that will require your involvement to coordinate between both custodians and titling/re-titling of the specific assets from investment issuers or real estate property deeds.

Gold Membership Requirement for LLC & Solo 401(k)

Transfers in a “Checkbook IRA” or Solo 401(k) are effectively a change of ownership where the deal issuer will typically need to be involved. Due to the level of difficulty in changing the asset’s ownership, our Gold-level membership is required, as well as the account owner’s participation in obtaining all necessary signatures.

If you are moving real estate or other individually owned property(or properties), please contact our sales team for a price quote. In-kind transfer of real estate assets presents unique challenges, so we would need specific information in order to provide you with a quote.