Anyone who has a small business in operation has probably given some thought to invest additional funds into it at some time or another. One of the sources of funding that has proven to be popular in recent years is a simple IRA as managed by a financial institution.

As many financial advisers will tell you, there are many ways by which you could set up a business inside an IRA. Nevertheless there are certain rules and restrictions that will apply, which you would do well to be aware of before making any important decisions.

Keep in mind that the stock of an S corp cannot be held by a self-directed IRA, although it is possible for a self-directed IRA to grant a loan to an S corp. However, if the loan in question is to be made to an S corp or any other business entity wherein you or a "disqualified person" as defined by IRS regulations' own 50 percent or more in, this would constitute a prohibited transaction.

The penalty for such transactions can be quite severe and the IRS would probably consider the IRA fully distributed and therefore impose taxes on the full value of the IRA.

One way that you can circumvent this potential problem is by having the self-directed IRA make out a loan to a person that you trust, who will then make the loan to your S corp. keep in mind that this person should not fit into the category of disqualified person as defined by the IRS. This restriction includes but is not limited to spouses, ancestors, lineal descendants and spouses of lineal descendants.

While the above workaround is proven to work under certain circumstances, keep in mind that there is a fair amount of risk involved as well. If the transaction is handled improperly for example, or if the transaction could be construed as involving indirect benefits or conflicts of interest, it could well be deemed a prohibited transaction by the authorities, whether or not the person that applied for the loan was a disqualified person.

Another other option that is available to you then if you want to establish a business inside an IRA is to apply for an exemption that will allow your self-directed IRA to make loans to your S corp. This is something that not too many advisors know about, but there is in fact a provision existent in the Internal Revenue Code that gives the Secretary of Labor the authority to grant exemptions to certain prohibited transactions.

In any case, you would do well to seek out the advice and assistance of a professional tax or financial advisor who is thoroughly knowledgeable with the various aspects of this plan. Keep in mind that with a self directed IRA, the time that it will take to set up a business depends on the particular financial institution or brokerage firm.

In some cases, the entire process of setting up a self-directed IRA and having the funds moved from the old account into the new one can take anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks.