If you sent us a request between 28 July and 5 August, it did not reach us. A fault on our form stopped some messages from coming through. Please call (301) 820-7664 or fill the form again. We're sorry for the inconvenience.
Roth IRA conversion valuation services for LLC membership interests, private company stock, and partnership interests held in self-directed IRAs, prepared in accordance with USPAP and IRS fair market value requirements. AppraiseItNow values S-corporation shares, family limited partnerships, and checkbook-control LLC structures for account holders.
Discounts considered in every valuation
Illustrative. Each discount is supported with evidence specific to the interest, under Revenue Ruling 59-60.
See how we support each discountResponsive, professional, first class deliverables
DEFENSIBLE, USPAP-COMPLIANT BUSINESS APPRAISAL REPORTS — QUALIFIED FOR THE IRS, AUDITORS, AND THE COURTS.
.jpeg)
Owner & CEO
Joe founded AppraiseItNow to make a certified, USPAP-compliant appraisal as simple to order as anything else online. A former Bain & Company strategy consultant, Joe leads the entire team and specializes in strategy, growth, and the firm's tech capabilities.
Business Valuation Expert & Appraiser
ASA, ABV, and CFA charterholder. Since 2016 Justin has valued businesses for estate and gift tax, purchase price allocations, fairness opinions, lending, and buy-sell agreements, across manufacturing, services, retail, and pre-revenue biotech.
Business Valuation Expert & Appraiser
Accredited Senior Appraiser with the American Society of Appraisers. Raymond values capital stock, business enterprises, stock options, and intangible assets.
Client Success Manager
Manages each engagement from the first enquiry to the delivered report, and keeps you posted at every step along the way.
American Society of AppraisersAccredited Senior Appraiser
The Appraisal FoundationAuthorized by Congress as the source of appraisal standardsA Roth IRA conversion valuation establishes the fair market value of a private business interest held in a traditional IRA, SEP IRA, or SIMPLE IRA at the moment it converts to a Roth IRA. That value determines the taxable income you recognize in the conversion year and must be reported on IRS Form 8606. Book value, CPA-prepared statements, and 409A valuations do not meet the IRS standard for adequate disclosure, so custodians require an independent appraisal before processing the conversion.
Our business valuation practice covers the full range of privately held interests found in self-directed IRAs, applying the Revenue Ruling 59-60 framework and IRS Publication 561 requirements to reach a fair market value conclusion built to withstand IRS scrutiny. Every report is signed and dated by a credentialed appraiser with no relationship to the IRA owner, satisfying the independence requirement that applies to hard-to-value IRA assets.
We appraise the privately held business interests most commonly converted from traditional IRAs to Roth accounts:
Our process and deliverables are built around IRS documentation standards and custodian requirements for conversion transactions:
A lower supportable fair market value means less taxable income recognized in the conversion year, while all future appreciation grows tax-free inside the Roth. Because discounted values on hard-to-value assets draw IRS attention, the analysis behind the discount matters as much as the number.
Independent by rule
Unbiased does not mean undiscounted.
We do not start from the number you would like to report. We start from the interest itself: its rights, its restrictions, its liquidity. The discount is whatever that evidence supports, and the report walks an IRS reviewer through every step. Three things keep the conclusion independent:
DLOC
A minority holder cannot set distributions, compensation, or the timing of a sale, so a buyer pays less for the interest than for a controlling stake.
What we examine to size it:
DLOM
Closely held shares have no ready market, and the time and cost of finding a buyer make the interest worth less than freely traded stock.
What we examine to size it:
These discounts are not an appraiser’s courtesy. Decades of IRS guidance, Tax Court decisions and market evidence define them, and the same sources are what an examiner reads:
The IRS framework for valuing closely held stock: eight factors, among them the size of the block being valued and the market for it.
The first large study of what buyers paid for restricted shares, and the start of decades of restricted stock and pre-IPO studies. The IRS recognized their relevance in Revenue Ruling 77-287.
A family member’s shares are valued as what they are, not as part of the family’s combined control, and lack of marketability is a discount in its own right.
The IRS accepted minority discounts on transfers to family members even where the family as a whole controls the company, reversing its earlier position in Revenue Ruling 81-253.
Judge Laro’s list of factors for sizing a marketability discount, still the checklist courts, the IRS and appraisers work from.
The guide the IRS wrote for its own valuation analysts, cataloguing the restricted stock studies, pre-IPO studies and analytical models that support a discount for lack of marketability.
Every discount we apply is supported with empirical evidence, including restricted stock studies and market transaction data, and documented under the Revenue Ruling 59-60 framework. The facts of each interest determine the discount; we never apply a preset percentage.
What clients say we are known for
Across 80+ published AppraiseItNow reviews the picture is consistent: every one is from a client who paid us for an appraisal, and the three things they raise most often are that they would hire us again, how quickly we answer, and how much research is visible in the report.
Responsive, professional, first class deliverables -- especially considering that that the appraised assets are extremely complex financial assets with little by way of comps. The deliverable satisfied my accountants and advisers as being more than adequate to support the valuation needed to complete a conversion to a Roth IRA
Business Valuation Appraisal for IRA Conversion
The team was highly knowledgeable, helpful, and efficient. I highly recommend their appraisal services, especially for private companies.
Business Valuation Appraisal for IRA Conversion
Joe and Aron were extremely impressive - the entire process went very smoothly. They were always quick to respond to any questions I had and could not have been more helpful. They were aware of some tight time restrictions I had and made sure I received my reports in a timely fashion. I highly recommend them to anyone needing a valuation.
Business Valuation Appraisal for Charitable Donation
I used AppraiseItNow to examine a contribution to a foundation. Their work was quick, thorough, and easy to work with, as they’ve developed a simple system for uploading documents. I plan to use them again.
Business Valuation Appraisal for Charitable Donation
I found them professional & responsive. The report was quite thorough as well.
Business Valuation Appraisal for Charitable Donation
From the start they were very responsive, price competitive, and had a quick turn around time. Thank you so much to Joe who was very sweet in responding to my emails; I am looking forward to utilizing AppraiseItNow for many years to come.
Very thorough and professional — great communication and outstanding service. Highly impressed with their work!
The interest's fair market value on the conversion date, which becomes the taxable distribution amount reported on Form 8606. The IRS applies the willing-buyer, willing-seller standard through Revenue Ruling 59-60's eight factors; investment value, strategic value, and book value are not accepted for the conversion.
Generally no. Custodians and IRS examiners expect an independent appraisal prepared specifically for the conversion, supported by the cap table, financial statements, records of recent financings or secondary sales, and any transfer restrictions on the exact interest the IRA holds. Company-prepared documents lack the required independence.
Yes, when supportable. Discounts for lack of marketability and lack of control are accepted if grounded in empirical data and the interest's actual restrictions, but unsupported or aggressive discounts are a leading audit target, and an undervalued conversion is underreported income with penalty and interest exposure.
No. Annual reporting for alternative assets tolerates lighter evidence, but a Roth conversion is a taxable event and carries higher documentation expectations: typically a full appraisal tied to the conversion date under the Revenue Ruling 59-60 framework, not a carried-forward annual estimate.