coin guide

How to Invest in a Gold IRA

To invest in a gold IRA, you open a self-directed IRA with a custodian that holds metal, fund it by transfer, rollover or cash contribution, direct the custodian to buy eligible gold, and leave that gold in the trustee's possession. An IRA can buy gold, but only IRA-eligible gold, and only through the custodian. Each step below comes with a check you can run yourself.

Step 1: Choose a Custodian and Verify It

Every IRA needs a trustee or custodian, and the law limits who can be one. IRS Publication 590-A says it "must be a bank, a federally insured credit union, a savings and loan association, or an entity approved by the IRS to act as trustee or custodian." One that accepts precious metals is called a self-directed IRA custodian. That label describes the custodian's menu, not a separate kind of account, so you'll still open a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA.

To verify a nonbank custodian, look it up on the IRS list of approved nonbank trustees and custodians, which names the firms approved under Treasury Regulation 1.408-2(e). In its investor alert on self-directed IRAs, the SEC notes the list "is not a complete list of every custodian," because banks don't appear on it, and 26 U.S.C. 408(n) counts a corporation supervised and examined by its state's banking authority as a bank. That's how a state-chartered trust company can serve without being on the IRS list. If yours isn't listed, ask which banking regulator supervises it.

Verifying the custodian doesn't verify the purchase. The SEC is blunt about it: a self-directed IRA custodian holds and administers the assets, and it doesn't evaluate the quality or legitimacy of anything the IRA buys. Steps 3 through 5 are your checks.

Step 2: Fund the Account Without Triggering Withholding

The IRS describes three ways to move retirement money, and a cash contribution makes four ways to fund a new IRA.

Moving an existing IRA is usually a transfer, whatever the paperwork calls it. In Publication 590-A, the IRS says a transfer from one trustee directly to another "isn't a rollover," is tax free because nothing is distributed to you, and isn't affected by the 1-year waiting period between rollovers. It still counts when your old trustee hands you a check made out to the new one.

From a 401(k), ask the plan administrator for a direct rollover. On that route, the IRS says the administrator may issue a check payable to your new account, with no taxes withheld. A check payable to you is the one to avoid: the IRS applies mandatory 20% withholding to a plan distribution paid to you, even if you intend to roll it over, and gives you 60 days to finish. Read the payee line. It should name the new IRA, not you.

New money has a cap. For 2026, the IRS limits what you can contribute across every traditional IRA and Roth IRA you own to $7,500, or $8,600 at age 50 or older, and to no more than your taxable compensation. A rollover isn't held to that figure, so moving a 401(k) or IRA balance isn't limited by the annual cap.

Step 3: Pick Eligible Gold and Test It Before You Pay

Gold gets into an IRA through one of two doors, and a product has to fit just one. The first is by name: 26 U.S.C. 408(m) names the 1 oz, 1/2 oz, 1/4 oz and 1/10 oz American Gold Eagles. The second is by fineness: gold bullion qualifies when it meets the minimum fineness a regulated futures contract requires for delivery and it's in the trustee's physical possession. Congress wrote no percentage into the statute. The COMEX gold contract sets that minimum at 995 fineness, or 99.5%. That's the test gold bars have to pass, along with coins struck at .9999 fine.

Purity isn't what qualifies the Gold Eagle. NGC lists it at 91.67% gold, which is 22 karat, so it would fail the fineness test, and it's eligible because the statute names it. Rand Refinery describes the Krugerrand as 22 karat gold too, but that coin isn't named, so it fits neither door. "The Eagle is 22 karat, so any 22 karat coin works" is the mistake to avoid.

No IRS list settles the question for a specific product. The IRS says "there is no list of approved investments for retirement plans," and its IRA FAQs add that trustees "are permitted to impose additional restrictions on investments." Run two tests before any money moves. Is the product an American Gold Eagle, or is its stated fineness at least .995? And will your custodian accept this exact product? Get the second answer in writing.

Step 4: Direct the Purchase and Get the Prices in Writing

You don't buy the gold yourself. You give the instruction, the custodian pays the seller from the IRA, and the metal goes into the trustee's possession. The CFTC and FINRA state that metals in a self-directed IRA "must be held by the IRA trustee or custodian," so you never take delivery while the gold is in the IRA.

Before you give that instruction, price the order two ways. Start with spot, which the CFTC notes is quoted per troy ounce (about 31.1 grams). Multiply the metal's weight by spot and compare that figure with the price you're being charged. The gap is the premium. A 2020 CFTC advisory puts bullion premiums at 5% to 10% over spot and says numismatic (collectible) coins are often sold at 40% to 200% over. Our post on understanding the gold premium explains what goes into that number.

Then get the price to sell. The CFTC and FINRA define the spread as the gap between a seller's selling price and its price to buy the same metal back. Ask for that second figure, with every fee and commission, in writing before the custodian sends payment.

Step 5: Audit the First Statement Against Melt Value

Your first statement will show less than the IRA paid, and that's expected. The CFTC and FINRA explain that a custodian's statement shows the "melt" value of the metals, the total bullion weight times the spot price. Premiums don't appear. At a 5% premium, a statement on the purchase date reads 100 ÷ 105 = 95.2% of the amount paid. At 10%, it reads 100 ÷ 110 = 90.9%.

Run the numbers yourself. Add up the fine gold in troy ounces and multiply by spot on the statement date. That's the figure the statement should show. A 1 oz Gold Eagle counts as 1 troy ounce even though 31 U.S.C. 5112 sets the coin's weight at 33.931 grams, because the rest is alloy. Run the same sum for the purchase date and subtract it from the invoice. What's left is the premium the IRA paid, and it should match the quote from step 4.

Gold IRA Costs by Type and How Commissions Affect Your Limit

Account costs come on top of the premium and spread from step 4. The SEC's investor alert lists transaction, account opening, annual, administrative and asset-specific fees, and says they may be significantly higher than for other accounts. The CFTC and FINRA add storage and insurance. The SEC says these fees vary among trustees and custodians, so ask for the full schedule in writing before you fund the account.

How a cost is paid changes how much you can contribute. In Publication 590-A, the IRS says brokers' commissions paid in connection with a traditional IRA are subject to the contribution limit, while trustees' administrative fees aren't.

Two Shortcuts the Rules Close: Home Storage and Gold You Already Own

You can buy gold with your IRA, but you can't hold it yourself. The IRS answers the home storage question in its IRA FAQs: bullion qualifies only if it's "in the physical possession of a bank or an IRS-approved nonbank trustee," and the rule also applies when an IRA-owned LLC buys the metal. The U.S. Tax Court reached the same result in McNulty v. Commissioner in 2021: an owner whose IRA-owned LLC bought American Eagle coins, and who kept them herself, received taxable distributions equal to their cost.

Gold you already own can't go in either, for two reasons. Contributions must be money: IRS Publication 590-A states that "Property can't be contributed." Selling your coins to the IRA fails too, because the IRS lists selling property to an IRA among its prohibited transactions, and the rule reaches your spouse, ancestors, lineal descendants and their spouses. The penalty is the whole account, which stops being an IRA as of the first day of that year and is treated as distributing all its assets at fair market value.

Regulators' Warning Signs for Gold IRA Offers

The SEC calls four phrases hallmarks of fraud: "risk-free," "zero risk," "absolutely safe" and "guaranteed profit." Its investor alert also advises extreme caution with any unsolicited offer that promotes a self-directed IRA, and the CFTC and FINRA tell investors never to respond to cold calls, unsolicited emails or infomercials selling metals.

Skipping those price checks has a cost on record. The CFTC and FINRA describe gold and silver IRA fraud cases in which markups, fees and commissions drained one-third to one-half of a victim's savings. Before you make significant changes to a tax-advantaged retirement plan, the CFTC's advice is to talk to a qualified financial planner, investment advisor or accountant.

How Our Marketplace Fits Into the Purchase Step

Step 4 asks for two prices, and our product pages show both. We run a two-way market, so each product's bid, the price to sell, appears beside its ask, the price to buy. Many gold coins and bars in our catalog qualify for an IRA when they meet IRS requirements, and we can help you pick a custodian and storage option for a precious metals IRA. We're not a registered investment advisor and can't give individual investment or tax advice, so speak with a tax professional or financial advisor.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the downsides of a gold IRA?

Gold in an IRA produces no income. The CFTC says precious metals "do not pay dividends, create earnings growth, or compound, like other assets," and that their prices are just as volatile as those of other assets. The SEC says self-directed IRA fees may be significantly higher than for other accounts, the IRS bars home storage, and the custodian doesn't vet what you buy.

How can one invest in gold?

There are three main routes. Buy coins or bars outright and hold them yourself, and the IRS taxes a long-term gain at a maximum 28% rate. Hold eligible gold in an IRA through a custodian. Or buy shares of an exchange-traded product, which the CFTC and FINRA note you might be able to add to an existing IRA and which carries its own fees and costs.

Can a gold IRA be a Roth IRA?

Yes. "Gold IRA" isn't an account type in the tax code, so the account underneath is a traditional, Roth, SEP or SIMPLE IRA. The IRS says the investment restrictions "apply equally to all types of IRAs." In a Roth IRA, contributions aren't deductible and qualified distributions are tax free. The eligibility and storage rules for the gold don't change.