Carry Learning Center

If you freelance as a developer, it may be possible to open a Solo Roth 401k before tax season and still make it count for the current tax year. The key issue is timing. Many self-employed workers focus on when they can fund the account. In many cases, the more important question is when the [...]

Opening a Roth Solo 401k for your LLC sounds complicated, but the document list is shorter than you might expect. The catch? Missing even one key piece of paperwork can delay your plan or lock you out of important features like catch-up contributions. Starting in 2026, new IRS rules make Roth provisions mandatory for certain high [...]

Running a business with your spouse can create additional retirement planning opportunities. Many self-employed business owners wonder if their spouse can contribute to a Roth Solo 401k alongside them. The short answer is yes, but only if your spouse works in the business and meets specific requirements. If both spouses qualify, this setup may allow [...]

Funding a Solo 401k sounds straightforward until you sit down to move money and realize there are two separate contribution buckets, multiple deadlines, and different tax treatments depending on how you structure each deposit. Most self-employed professionals know the plan exists and have heard the big numbers, but the mechanics of actually getting funds into [...]

A Solo 401k offers self-employed business owners meaningful tax advantages and retirement savings options. One lesser-known benefit is the ability to borrow from your account balance. Not all Solo 401k plans permit participant loans — the feature depends entirely on whether your plan documents explicitly allow borrowing. This matters because accessing your retirement funds without [...]

High-income software engineers often hit a frustrating ceiling when trying to save for retirement. Direct Roth IRA contributions phase out completely once your income crosses certain thresholds. For singles, that happens at $168,000 in 2026. Married couples filing jointly lose access at $252,000. These limits block many tech professionals from contributing to one of the [...]

Looking for more freedom in how you invest your Solo 401k funds? Some account setups give you more control than others, especially if you are not tied to a prepackaged plan from a brokerage. A non-prototype brokerage account opens the door to broader investment choices and greater control. But it also shifts more responsibility to you [...]

If you have a Solo 401k, staying compliant does not end after setup. Plan documents require periodic updates to reflect changing IRS rules. Missing these updates can lead to unexpected consequences. That is why Solo 401k restatements exist. In this article, you will learn what a Solo 401k restatement actually is, why it matters, and what to [...]

Borrowing from a 401k can feel like a short-term fix, but it may lead to unexpected taxes if employment changes or payments stop.  This article explains two situations that often cause confusion: a loan default that turns into a taxable deemed distribution, and a plan loan offset (including a Qualified Plan Loan Offset, or QPLO) where [...]