Foreign stocks in IRA

[Guest helpmewithtaxes]

Is it allowed to have shares of PFIC (passive foreign investment companies) in an IRA account? Some PFIC are traded on the U.S. exchanges and could be easily bought through an IRA account.

Would income still be tax-free / tax-deferred?

Are the respective reporting forms (form 8621) required in this case?

[John G]

Looks like no one here has specific info for your question. My knowledge is limited - I know you can buy ADRs in a Roth. You might want to call the back office IRA desk at your custodian and ask them about any restrictions they might impose. Note, your custodian can be more restrictive than other custodians or the IRS.

[Guest helpmewithtaxes]

Thanks. -

I was primarily interested in the legal / IRS restrictions. It is easy to buy stocks of foreign banks or REITs in an IRA, since some are traded in the U.S., but I was wondering if there are any tax implications or might disqualify the retirement account etc. The point is I would like to diversify my retirement assets internationally, to reduce risk.

Looks like nobody knows the answer. I'm sure I won't get an answer when I call 1st level support of IRS.

Looks like no one here has specific info for your question. My knowledge is limited - I know you can buy ADRs in a Roth. You might want to call the back office IRA desk at your custodian and ask them about any restrictions they might impose. Note, your custodian can be more restrictive than other custodians or the IRS.