If the K-1 is from an investment held in your IRA, you can probably just ignore it. If the investment is a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) you should be aware of a potential issue with holding MLPs in a IRA.
MLPs and other pass-through entities can trigger special issues in an IRA. Owning such a pass-through entity in a retirement account creates what's known as unrelated business taxable income, or UBTI. The Schedule K-1 you get from the MLP will include any UBTI figure. If the total exceeds $1,000 from all your MLP investments in your IRA, then you must complete a Form 990-T, and send to your IRA custodian for filing. You will then have to pay tax on the UBTI, even though you own the investment in a retirement account.
But if there is no UBTI, or the amount is less than $1,000, you can just ignore it.
If the K-1 is from an investment held in your IRA, you can probably just ignore it. If the investment is a Master Limited Partnership (MLP) you should be aware of a potential issue with holding MLPs in a IRA.
MLPs and other pass-through entities can trigger special issues in an IRA. Owning such a pass-through entity in a retirement account creates what's known as unrelated business taxable income, or UBTI. The Schedule K-1 you get from the MLP will include any UBTI figure. If the total exceeds $1,000 from all your MLP investments in your IRA, then you must complete a Form 990-T, and send to your IRA custodian for filing. You will then have to pay tax on the UBTI, even though you own the investment in a retirement account.
But if there is no UBTI, or the amount is less than $1,000, you can just ignore it.