Report the interest from these loans as you would report any other type of interest income. Depending on the amount of your interest, you may enter it directly on your return or need to complete Schedule B of Form 1040. If you didn’t charge interest or you set interest at below the IRS’s applicable rate for the period of the loan, you may have phantom interest to report. This means you report the interest even though you don’t receive any such payment. However, there’s no phantom interest on gift loans (loans no more than $10,000), and there are special rules for loans to family members up to $100,000.
A retirement account to which up to $4,000 (or $5,000 if you are 50 or over) may be contributed for 2007, but deductions for the contribution are restricted if you are covered by a company retirement plan. Earnings accumulate tax free.