@Leila NosratiContinuation:The Self-Directed IRA and Solo 401k DifferencesIn order to open a solo 401k, self-employment, whether on a part-time or full-time basis, is required;To open a self-directed IRA, self-employment income is not required;In order to gain IRA checkbook control over the self-directed IRA funds, a limited liability company (IRA LLC) must be utilized;The solo 401k allows for checkbook control from the onset;The solo 401k allows for personal loan known as a solo 401k loan;It is prohibited to borrow from your IRA;The Solo 401k may be invested in life insurance;The self-directed IRA may not be invested in life insurance;The solo 401k allow for high contribution amounts (for 2017, the solo 401k contribution limit is $54,000, whereas the self-directed IRA contribution limit is $5,500);The solo 401k business owner can serve as trustee of the solo 401k;The self-directed IRA participant/owner may not serve as trustee or custodian of her IRA; instead, a trust company or bank institution is required;When distributions commence from the solo 401k a mandatory 20% of federal taxes must be withheld from each distribution and submitted electronically to the IRS by the 15th of the month following the date of each distribution;Rollovers and/or transfers from IRAs or qualified plans (e.g., former employer 401k) to a solo 401k are not reported on Form 5498, but rather on Form 5500-EZ, but only if the air market value of the solo 401k exceeds $250K as of the end of the plan year (generally 12/31);When funds are rolled over or transferred from an IRA or 401k to a self-directed IRA, the amount deposited into the self-directed IRA is reported on Form 5498 by the receiving self-directed IRA custodian by May of the year following the rollover/transfer.Rollovers (provided the 60 day rollover window is satisfied) from an IRA to a Solo 401k or self-directed IRA are reported on lines 15a and 15b of Form 1040;Pre-tax IRA contributions on reported on line 32 of Form 1040;Pre-tax solo 401k contributions are reported on line 28 of Form 1040;Roth solo 401k funds are subject to RMDs;A Roth 401k may be transferred to a Roth IRA (Note that from a planning perspective, it may be advantageous to transfer Roth Solo 401k funds to a Roth IRA before turning age 70 ½ in order to escape the Roth RMD requirement applicable to Roth 401k contributions including Roth Solo 401k contributions and earnings.)

You never know what might inspire her, but I suggest plenty of conversations about the nature of the business; always invite her to participate along the way if she chooses to stay out of it.

Is this a business plan to purchase and receive bank financing, or is it a more general business plan stating the type of investment ( i.e. sole ownership, JV, or 506 c fund participation)?

You'll learn a lot about the investment process, if you participate in real projects as a volunteer, bird dog, assistant, etc. 

This type’s of Plans are usually managed by the Custodian, and the investments options are limited in the Basic Plan Document:“…limit the available investments for Participants’ individual direction to certain specified investment options (including, but not limited to, certain mutual funds, investment contracts, deposit account and group trusts” (see section 7.22 B)While this plan can be trustee managed, the plan document again limits investments only in the Fund:“The responsibilities of the Trustee shall be limited to the following duties: To receive Plan contributions and to hold, invest, and reinvest the portion of the Fund for which it serves as Trustee, as authorized by the Employer or its designee, without distinction between principal and interest, provided, however, that nothing in the Plan shall require the Trustee to maintain physical custody of stock certificates representing assets within the Fund” (see section 8.02 A.1)You can find out more info about TD Ameritrade 401k plan here:https://www.tdameritrade401kplan.com/Here is a link to the Investment Fund Summary Table showing available investment options if you use TD Ameritrade to set up your Plan:https://www.fascore.com/PDF/td_ameritrade/Investment_Fund_Summary_Table.pdfAlso, in addition to the Basic Plan Document you need to review Summary Plan Description as well as Adoption Agreement, which is where certain features of the plan will be added or removed.

To qualify, 51% of the personal services she performed in all trades or businesses during the tax year must be performed in real property trades or businesses in which she materially participated AND she performed more than 750 hours of services during the tax year in real property trades or business in which she materially participated.However, if she is working in the real estate field (i.e. as a GC) but working for someone else (i.e. an employee), she cannot count these hours or services toward the two criteria stated above unless she owns at least 5% equity in the business she works for.If you can elaborate on your wife's business activities I will be able to provide a clearer picture.

Or, you type the @ followed by a question mark; again you will get a list from which to pick, but that list will only include users who have participated in the thread topic already - the @ followed by three characters will allow you to also see your colleagues that match what was typed. 

The same can be said for participant loans and the ability to invest into alternative assets.

For example, if you plan on flipping, this can be a great way to participate on the transaction side of the deal, along with making money on the actual flip!

@Rich Hupperassuming that the plan provisions allow 'participant loan' the terms are usually set at prime plus 1% and the term is 5 years (the loan must be amortized).