The .995 Gold IRA Fineness Requirement, Explained

Updated: August 13, 2026

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Every gold IRA eligibility question begins with one number. That number is .995, the minimum fineness the Internal Revenue Code sets on gold bullion held inside a retirement account. Silver, platinum, and palladium each get their own floor. One statutory carve-out lets a 22-karat coin sit inside the wrapper anyway. This page walks the rule end to end, without the marketing gloss.

The framing statute is IRC §408(m). It sits on top of a general ban on collectibles inside IRAs and opens two narrow doors. Subsection (m)(3)(A) names specific coins. Subsection (m)(3)(B) sets the fineness floors and, in the same breath, requires the metal to sit with a qualifying trustee from day one. As of August 13, 2026, the same rule still controls what a self-directed IRA custodian is allowed to hold.

The four fineness floors under IRC 408(m)(3)(B)

Subsection 408(m)(3)(B) attaches a minimum fineness to each of the four metals it covers. The floors track the futures-grade purity standards used by the major commodity exchanges. A bar that clears the floor by name meets one prong of the bullion test. The trustee prong is separate.

The floors are minimums, not targets. Most refiners strike gold Good Delivery bars at .9999 fine, well above the statutory floor. Silver Good Delivery bars are typically .999 to .9999. Platinum and palladium plates are typically .9995 to .9999. A refiner marking a bar below the floor rules the bar out for IRA use, regardless of size, brand, or dealer packaging.

The Cornell Legal Information Institute publishes the current text of IRC §408 and its subsections. IRS Publication 590-A reflects the same rule for the contribution side of the account.

What fineness actually measures

Fineness is a purity expression in parts per thousand. A .995 gold bar contains 995 parts pure gold and 5 parts other metal, for a total of 1,000 parts. A .9999 bar (called “four nines” in the trade) contains 999.9 parts pure gold and 0.1 part impurity. The measurement is done at the refinery by fire assay or spectroscopy, then stamped on the bar with the refiner’s hallmark.

Readers who know karats can map the two scales directly. Pure gold is 24 karat, or 1.000 fine. Every karat represents roughly 4.167 percent of the metal by weight. The table below converts the common IRA fineness marks into karats.

The scale is decisive because the 408(m)(3)(B) floor is a hard cut, not a rounding zone. A .9945 bar does not clear .995. A dealer offering “22-karat IRA bullion” outside the American Eagle exception is describing a product that fails the statute. The dealer’s marketing is not the standard. The stamped fineness is.

The American Gold Eagle carve-out at .9167

The one production coin that sits inside a gold IRA below the .995 floor is the American Gold Eagle. It is struck at .9167 fine, or 22 karat, with the balance made up of copper and silver alloy for durability. On the (m)(3)(B) fineness test alone, the Eagle would fail.

Congress closed the gap in IRC §408(m)(3)(A). The carve-out lists specific coins by name, independent of any purity minimum. The American Gold Eagle is listed because it is issued under 31 U.S.C. 5112(i), the Gold Bullion Coin Act of 1985. The American Buffalo, at .9999 fine, is listed by name as well under 5112(q).

The statutory name-check is the only reason a 22-karat coin can sit inside an IRA. A different sovereign coin at the same fineness does not automatically inherit the exception. The South African Krugerrand is also .9167 fine and is not IRA-eligible for exactly this reason. For the full walk of the Eagle’s eligibility path, dealer premium gradient, and custody flow, see the American Gold Eagle coin IRA eligibility page.

Refiner accreditation: LBMA Good Delivery, COMEX, and NYMEX

Meeting the fineness floor is necessary but not sufficient for bars. The IRA carve-out also requires the bar to come from a refiner recognized by a qualifying credentialing body. In practice this means one of three lists: the LBMA Good Delivery list, the COMEX (part of CME Group) approved-brand list, or the NYMEX approved-brand list. Coins do not need a refiner credential because the issuing government mint substitutes for it.

The London Bullion Market Association Good Delivery framework is the global reference. A Good Delivery refiner has passed a technical audit on assay accuracy, bar geometry, marking, and weight tolerance. The LBMA maintains a current list of accredited gold refiners and a separate list for silver. Bars produced by refiners on either list are accepted at every major commodity vault worldwide.

COMEX and NYMEX operate their own approved-brand lists for exchange-deliverable bars. Most U.S. IRA-approved depositories accept bars from any refiner on the LBMA Good Delivery list or on the CME Group approved-brand list. The LBMA gold and silver price benchmarks are the reference prices most U.S. dealers quote against on the day of the trade.

For the full certification chain from refinery melt to depository intake, see the IRA gold purity certification process page and the LBMA Good Delivery bars explainer.

Eligible versus non-eligible: a quick reference

The table below groups the products IRA buyers ask about most often, with the statutory basis for each verdict. Product-level pages linked from the table cover the buying mechanics for each item.

Common exclusions that trip up new buyers

Four categories of metal keep showing up in dealer pitches even though they fail the statute. Each fails for a different reason, and each is worth naming so the marketing does not do the naming.

• Junk silver (pre-1965 U.S. dimes, quarters, and half dollars). These are .900 fine silver. They fail the .999 silver floor. Dealers sometimes present them as a low-premium way to hold silver, which is accurate outside an IRA but not permitted inside one.
• South African Krugerrand and other 22-karat sovereigns not named in (A). Same fineness as the Gold Eagle, but no name-check in the statute. The Krugerrand’s global liquidity does not change the eligibility rule.
• Numismatic and graded rare coins. A high-grade proof or certified rare coin can meet fineness on the metal test, but the collectible premium and the (m)(3)(B) refiner prong usually do not clear together. For the pattern behind the pitch, see the collectibles rule explainer.
• Bullion from a non-accredited refiner. A bar at .9999 fine from a refiner not on the LBMA Good Delivery list or a CME-approved list fails the refiner prong of (m)(3)(B). Fineness alone is not enough. The credential chain is enforced at depository intake.

The general principle is straightforward. Read the fineness stamp against the (B) floor. If the product is a coin, check whether it is named in (A). If it is a bar, check the refiner against the LBMA and CME lists. If any prong fails, the product is outside the wrapper, regardless of dealer packaging or presentation.

How to verify a specific product before buying

A three-question check clears most eligibility questions in a minute. Ask the dealer to answer each one in writing before the wire authorizing purchase leaves the custodian.

1. What is the stamped fineness on the product? Numbers only. .995, .999, .9995, .9999. If the answer is in karats, convert it against Table 2 and match to the metal-specific floor.
2. If a coin, which subsection of 408(m)(3) does it sit under? The (A) list is short and public. Ask for the specific statutory citation, not a general “IRS-approved” claim.
3. If a bar, which credentialing list does the refiner appear on? LBMA Good Delivery for gold or silver, or CME (COMEX/NYMEX) approved brand list. Ask for the refiner name and the list.

The IRA custodian will typically decline a settlement wire on a product that fails any of the three. That is the custodian doing its job. If the custodian accepts a non-qualifying trade, the deemed distribution risk sits with the account holder at audit, not with the custodian. The three-question check is the account holder’s own defense.

Sources cited

1. 26 U.S.C. Section 408, Individual Retirement Accounts (Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute; includes 408(m)(1) collectibles rule and 408(m)(3) carve-outs)
2. IRS Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements
3. IRS Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements
4. 31 U.S.C. Section 5112, Denominations, Specifications, and Design of U.S. Coins (subsection (i) governs the American Gold Eagle, subsection (q) governs the American Buffalo)
5. London Bullion Market Association, Good Delivery framework and accredited-refiner lists
6. London Bullion Market Association, Precious Metal Prices (LBMA gold and silver price benchmarks)
7. Treasury Regulation 1.408-2, Individual Retirement Accounts (trustee and nonbank custodian requirements referenced by 408(m)(3)(B))

More on OPRS

• American Gold Eagle coin IRA eligibility. The full walk of the 22-karat coin’s statutory carve-out, the four-size premium gradient in 2026, and the acquisition flow from dealer to depository.
• LBMA Good Delivery bars, explained. What the Good Delivery test measures at the refinery, why the list is the global reference for exchange-deliverable bars, and how U.S. IRA depositories use it.
• The IRA gold purity certification process. The five-step credential chain from refinery melt-and-cast, through sealed assay card and serial number, to depository intake under custodian title.
• IRC 408(m): the collectibles rule that governs every gold IRA. The full statute walk-through, both carve-outs, the trustee clause, and the three-layer tax cost of a violation.
• American Silver Eagle IRA eligibility and American Platinum Eagle IRA eligibility. The Silver and Platinum siblings of the Gold Eagle, both eligible under 408(m)(3)(A) and (B) together.