Updated: July 28, 2026

OPRS may receive compensation when readers open an account through partner links on this page. Our analysis is based on independent research, BBB data, and IRS publications.

30-second verdict

A gold IRA is a self-directed IRA holding IRS-approved bullion or coins under IRC §408(m)(3). Three parties run it: a custodian, a metals dealer, and an approved depository.
The metal must meet minimum purity (gold 0.995, silver 0.999, platinum and palladium 0.9995) and stay in a third-party depository. You never hold the metal at home if you want the tax shelter.
Setup fees, annual administration, and storage stack to a typical industry-reported range of $230 to $900 per year per account, with segregated storage at the top of the band.
The 2026 IRA contribution cap is $7,500 ($8,600 with the 50+ catch-up). Rollovers from a 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) are separate and uncapped.
Use the procedural map below before you sign a dealer agreement. The sequence (custodian first, dealer second, depository third) protects the tax status.

A gold IRA is governed by the same Internal Revenue Code section that defines every other individual retirement account, with one carve-out for physical metal under IRC §408(m)(3). The carve-out is narrow and procedural: the metal must meet purity standards, it must sit in an approved depository, and a self-directed IRA custodian must hold legal title. Skip any of the three and the account loses its tax shelter. The mechanics are not hard. The order matters.

Element I covers the legal definition of a gold IRA and the IRS code that creates it. Element II walks the six-step setup sequence in order. Element III lists the IRS-approved metals and purity thresholds.

Element IV breaks down the custodian, dealer, and depository roles. Element V shows the typical annual fee stack with sourced numbers. Element VI is the common-mistakes section that separates this guide from the generic explainers. Before you commit a retirement balance to any provider, you can cross-check the 2026 OPRS list of dealers we clear and the ones we caution against.

Table of contents show

What a gold IRA actually is (and is not)

A gold IRA is not a separate type of retirement account in the tax code. It is a traditional, Roth, SEP, or SIMPLE IRA held by a self-directed custodian that permits physical precious metals as the underlying asset.

The structure was created by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. The Act amended IRC §408(m)(3) to allow certain bullion and coins inside an IRA. The metal has to stay in the custody of a non-bank trustee or an approved depository.

The same contribution limits, distribution rules, and required minimum distribution (RMD) rules apply. The 2026 IRA contribution cap is $7,500, with a $1,100 catch-up at age 50 (IRS news release IR-2025-111). RMDs begin at age 73 under SECURE 2.0. The gold IRA does not unlock any tax break the standard IRA does not already offer.

What the structure does buy you is the right to hold a hard asset inside a tax-deferred or tax-free wrapper. The FINRA investor alert on gold IRAs notes that fees, dealer markups, and storage costs run higher than at a brokerage IRA. The investor has to size that drag against the diversification rationale before the wire sends.

The mechanics: a self-directed IRA custodian holds legal title, an LBMA-list refiner produces the metal, a dealer brokers the purchase, and an IRS-approved depository stores it. Four entities, one account. You never take possession.

The six-step setup sequence in order

The order below is the order most custodians, dealers, and depositories actually accept. Doing step 3 before step 1, for example, leaves the metal in legal limbo because no IRA exists yet to take title. The sequence is also the audit-defensible order if the IRS ever reviews the account.

Flowchart showing the six procedural steps to set up a gold IRA in the legally required order. Step 1 is open a self-directed IRA with a non-bank trustee such as Equity Trust or STRATA Trust. Step 2 is fund the account via direct trustee-to-trustee transfer, direct rollover from a 401(k), 403(b), or 457(b) plan, or a new IRA contribution subject to the 2026 cap of 7,500 dollars. Step 3 is select a metals dealer and lock the order ticket with vetted markup disclosure. Step 4 is the custodian wires funds to the dealer and the dealer ships the metal to the IRS-approved depository. Step 5 is the depository inventories the shipment and reports holdings to the custodian. Step 6 is ongoing account maintenance including required minimum distributions at age 73 and eventual in-kind or cash distribution. — Figure 2. The six-step procedural sequence to set up a gold IRA in the order custodians, dealers, and depositories actually accept. Doing step 3 before step 1 leaves the metal in legal limbo because no IRA exists yet to take title. Source: IRC §408(a) and §408(m)(3); standard self-directed IRA custodian onboarding workflow.

Can you roll your account into a precious metals IRA? Eligibility checker

Most retirement money can move into a precious metals IRA once it qualifies as an eligible rollover distribution. Pick your account type and situation for a general answer. Always confirm specifics with your plan administrator or custodian.

Account type Your situation

General guidance only, not tax or financial advice. Eligibility depends on your specific plan document and IRS rules; confirm with your plan administrator and a tax advisor. A direct trustee-to-trustee transfer avoids the 60-day rule and 20% mandatory withholding.

The right dealer explains every fee up front. Get Augusta's free precious metals IRA company checklist.

Step 1. Open a self-directed IRA with a non-bank trustee

The custodian is a non-bank trustee authorized under IRC §408(a) to hold alternative assets inside an IRA. Major self-directed IRA custodians include Equity Trust, STRATA Trust, Kingdom Trust, and Goldstar Trust. The dealer you eventually buy metal from will list two or three custodians they routinely work with. The custodian charges an account-opening fee, typically $50 to $100, and an annual administration fee.

Step 2. Fund the account via rollover, transfer, or new contribution

Three funding routes exist. A trustee-to-trustee transfer moves IRA money from one custodian to another with no tax event. A rollover moves money from a 401(k), 403(b), 457(b), or TSP into the IRA, also tax-free if done by direct trustee-to-trustee transfer.

A new contribution is subject to the $7,500 annual cap (2026 number; IR-2025-111). The 60-day indirect rollover route exists but is the route the IRS rollover-rules page documents as most likely to fail. Direct trustee-to-trustee is the safer route.

Step 3. Select a metals dealer and lock the order

Dealer selection is the highest-stakes step. The dealer sets the markup over spot, recommends specific coins or bars, and processes the order ticket the custodian wires against. A high markup at this step compounds across the holding period. The CFTC press release on Lear Capital documents a $5.5 million settlement over markups disclosed to customers as 5 percent that were actually 33 percent on average. Dealer vetting comes before sizing the order.

Step 4. Custodian wires funds, dealer ships metal to depository

Once the order ticket is signed, the custodian wires funds directly to the dealer. The dealer then ships the metal to the depository the custodian designates. The metal title is in the IRA name, not the investor’s personal name, from the moment the wire sends.

The investor never sees, touches, or takes possession of the metal at this stage. That is a feature, not a bug. Home storage of IRA metal is the path to disqualification under IRS prohibited transaction rules.

Step 5. Depository inventories and reports holdings to custodian

The depository accepts the shipment, verifies serial numbers and bar lists, and reports the inventory to the custodian. The custodian then posts the holding to the IRA statement. Investors receive a quarterly statement listing the metal type, weight, refiner, and storage tier (segregated or commingled). The depository carries insurance on the holdings, typically through Lloyd’s of London or a major all-risk carrier.

Step 6. Ongoing account maintenance and eventual distribution

The account works like any other IRA from here. Annual fees post automatically. The investor can buy or sell metal through the dealer at any time, and RMDs begin at age 73.

At distribution, the investor can take the metal in-kind. The depository ships it to the home address, and the fair market value is reported as taxable income. The alternative route is to sell the metal back to a dealer and take a cash distribution. Both paths trigger a 1099-R from the custodian.

IRS-approved metals and minimum purity

Only certain bullion and coins qualify under IRC §408(m)(3). The table below lists the minimum fineness for each metal plus the most common qualifying products. Numismatic and collector coins are not IRA-eligible, with the narrow exception of American Eagle proof coins that the statute specifically permits.

Metal	Minimum fineness	Common IRA-eligible products
Gold	0.995	American Gold Eagle (proof and bullion), Canadian Gold Maple Leaf, Austrian Philharmonic, Australian Kangaroo, PAMP Suisse 1 oz bars
Silver	0.999	American Silver Eagle, Canadian Silver Maple Leaf, Austrian Silver Philharmonic, approved 1 oz and 100 oz bars
Platinum	0.9995	American Platinum Eagle, Canadian Platinum Maple Leaf, approved bars
Palladium	0.9995	Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf, approved bars

The American Gold Eagle is the most common IRA holding because the statute exempts it from the 0.995 purity threshold (it is 0.9167 fine). The South African Krugerrand is NOT IRA-eligible at 0.9167 fineness because the statutory exemption applies only to the American Eagle. That is the most common eligibility mistake newcomers make.

Where this matters: a dealer pushing you toward semi-numismatic coins (proofs with collector premiums above bullion melt value) is steering you toward a higher-markup product that may or may not be IRA-eligible. Bullion-grade coins and bars track spot more closely and carry lower dealer markups. The IRS publishes no list of approved products; the eligibility test is the purity standard plus the statutory exemptions, applied product by product.

Custodian, dealer, and depository: the three-role triangle

A gold IRA always involves three counterparties, each with a distinct legal role. Confusing the roles is the source of most account-management mistakes.

Role	What it does	How it gets paid
Self-directed IRA custodian	Holds legal title, files 5498 with the IRS, processes contributions, distributions, RMDs. Examples: Equity Trust, STRATA Trust, Kingdom Trust.	Setup fee + annual administration fee. Flat dollars, not asset-based.
Metals dealer	Sources and prices the metal. Recommends products. Processes the buy/sell ticket. Examples: Augusta Precious Metals, Birch Gold, Noble Gold.	Markup over the spot price on each transaction. Sometimes a “no-fee” structure that embeds the cost in the markup.
IRS-approved depository	Stores the physical metal. Inventories serial numbers. Carries insurance. Examples: Delaware Depository, Brinks, IDS of Delaware, HSBC.	Annual storage fee, split into segregated (higher) and commingled (lower) tiers.

The custodian and the dealer are independent. The dealer cannot legally take custody of IRA funds or metal. The depository is independent of both. Three audit trails, three sets of statements, three independent fee schedules. That separation is the structural protection retiree investors get under the rules.

A dealer that controls all three (its “own” custodian, its “own” depository, its “own” dealer brand) is the operational pattern BBB complaint records flag most often in the precious metals IRA category. Independent third-party storage and custodianship is the structural answer to the conflict-of-interest question.

The fee stack you actually pay each year

Industry-reported fee ranges, cross-checked against custodian fee schedules and depository rate cards published on company websites, fall into the bands below. A real account typically lands toward the lower end of each band if the investor selects commingled storage at a mid-tier depository, and toward the higher end if the dealer routes the account to segregated storage at a premium depository.

Grouped bar chart showing the annual fee stack on a typical gold IRA, broken into three fee lines and two ends of the industry-reported range. The custodian setup fee runs 50 dollars to 100 dollars at most non-bank trustees and is charged once at account opening. The annual administration fee runs 80 dollars to 300 dollars depending on whether the custodian uses a flat schedule or a balance-tiered schedule. Storage runs 100 dollars to 150 dollars for commingled storage and 150 dollars to 300 dollars for segregated storage at depositories such as Delaware Depository, Brinks, and IDS of Delaware. The stack totals roughly 230 dollars per year at the low end and 700 to 900 dollars at the segregated high end on a typical retail account. — Figure 1. Industry-reported annual fee bands on a typical gold IRA account, split into custodian setup, custodian annual administration, and depository storage. Storage is the most variable line because segregated storage runs roughly twice the commingled rate at the same facility. Sources: FINRA Investor Insights on gold IRAs and IRAs in precious metals; published custodian and depository rate cards (Delaware Depository, Brinks, IDS of Delaware).

The setup fee runs $50 to $100 at most custodians. Annual administration is the steadiest line, typically $80 to $300 depending on whether the schedule is flat or balance-tiered. Storage is the most variable line: commingled storage at Delaware Depository runs around $100 to $150 annually, while segregated storage at the same facility runs $150 to $300. Some dealer-promoted “no-fee” promotions cover the first one to three years of administration and storage, after which the standard schedule applies.

The dealer markup is the invisible fee. Markup ranges of 5 to 10 percent over spot on standard bullion are typical. Semi-numismatic and proof coins can carry markups of 25 to 40 percent over melt value, which is why sales-incentive dealers tend to recommend them.

The CFTC enforcement action against Lear Capital in 2023 documented average markups of 33 percent on products disclosed to customers as 5 percent. The markup compounds because it applies to the full transaction value, not just the annual fees.

In practice: a $50,000 gold IRA at the low end of the fee stack costs around $230 per year in account fees. The same account at segregated storage with a premium custodian runs $700 to $900. The dealer markup, applied once at purchase, can add another $2,500 to $5,000 on the same $50,000 if the dealer pushes semi-numismatic products.

Common mistakes new gold IRA holders make

The four mistakes below show up repeatedly in BBB complaint summaries and in customer service tickets the OPRS editorial team has reviewed across multiple custodians. Each is preventable with the procedural sequence above.

Mistake 1. Buying the metal before the IRA is funded

Investors sometimes wire personal funds to a dealer before the self-directed IRA is open and funded. Once the metal is purchased with non-IRA money, moving it into the IRA later is not legally clean. The metal would have to be sold back at market, the cash deposited as a contribution (subject to the $7,500 cap), and the metal repurchased inside the IRA. The transaction-cost drag wipes out most of the rationale for the original purchase.

Mistake 2. Taking physical delivery and storing the metal at home

So-called home-storage gold IRA marketing pitches usually rely on an LLC structure. The LLC is owned by the IRA, and the investor is the LLC manager who holds the metal at home.

The IRS and U.S. Tax Court have ruled against this structure in McNulty v. Commissioner (157 T.C. No. 10, 2021). The court treated the home-stored metal as a taxable distribution. The penalty stack on a six-figure account exceeded $300,000 in the McNulty case. Home storage of IRA metal is the single fastest path to account disqualification.

Mistake 3. Accepting the first product the dealer recommends

Dealer sales-incentive structures reward higher-markup products. A new investor asking for “the recommended starter portfolio” often gets steered toward semi-numismatic or proof coins with 25 to 40 percent markups. The same dollar amount in bullion-grade American Eagle or Canadian Maple Leaf coins typically carries a 5 to 10 percent markup. Ask the dealer for the markup over spot on every product line before agreeing to anything. A dealer that will not disclose markup in writing is signaling something.

Mistake 4. Ignoring the storage tier on the depository statement

Commingled storage means your metal is pooled with other clients’ holdings of the same type. Segregated storage means your specific bars and coins are stored on a labeled shelf with your serial numbers. Commingled is cheaper.

Segregated is what most retirees believe they are getting, and it is not always the default. Read the depository statement on month one of the account. If the storage tier is not what the dealer promised, raise it with the custodian in writing before the issue ages out.

Frequently asked questions

Can I roll over an existing 401(k) into a gold IRA without paying taxes?

Yes, if you use a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer or a direct rollover. The 401(k) plan administrator wires funds straight to the self-directed IRA custodian, no withholding, no taxable event. If the plan administrator sends you the check, the 60-day indirect rollover rule applies, and 20 percent mandatory withholding takes effect. The direct route avoids both risks. See the IRS rollover-rules page for the procedural detail.

How long does a gold IRA setup take from start to first metal in vault?

Two to four weeks is the industry-typical timeline. Account opening with the custodian takes one to three business days. Funding via rollover takes seven to fourteen business days depending on the sending plan’s processing speed. Dealer order-lock and depository shipment take another three to five business days. A direct trustee-to-trustee transfer between two IRA custodians is the fastest route; an indirect rollover from a 401(k) is the slowest.

What is the minimum balance to open a gold IRA?

Custodians themselves typically have no minimum or a $1,000 to $5,000 minimum. Dealers set their own purchase minimums, which is where the industry-reported $50,000 figure comes from. Augusta Precious Metals operates with an industry-reported minimum around $50,000 on the gold IRA program. Birch Gold and Noble Gold operate with lower minimums in the $10,000 to $25,000 range. Confirm the current minimum directly with the dealer before assuming.

Can I take the metal out of the IRA at distribution?

Yes. Distribution can be taken in-kind: the depository ships the metal to your home address. The fair market value at the date of distribution is reported as taxable income on a 1099-R.

The cash alternative is also available: the dealer buys the metal back at the bid side of the spot price, and the proceeds are wired or sent by check. That route is also taxable. RMDs after age 73 can be taken in metal or in cash. Consult your tax advisor for your specific situation.

More on OPRS

If you want to go deeper on adjacent mechanics, three OPRS guides cover the natural next questions. The 2026 IRA contribution limits guide walks the IRS limits and phase-outs in detail. The dealer vetting walkthrough covers the markup disclosure and BBB lookup process for non-finance readers. The $100k overconcentration counterpoint sizes a gold position against a sub-$200k liquid retirement balance. Before any wire sends, the 2026 dealer reality check lists the operators OPRS clears and the ones we caution against.

Sources cited

The procedural map above stays the same regardless of which dealer you eventually pick. The variable is the dealer. Augusta Precious Metals carries the BBB A+ rating, Money magazine’s Best Overall Gold IRA Company 2022 through 2024, Investopedia’s Most Transparent recognition, and runs an Education-First model that requires a one-on-one walkthrough before any order ticket is signed.

Request a free company comparison checklist from Augusta if the procedural sequence above lines up with your situation and you want the vetted walkthrough.

If you prefer to compare alternatives or you want a second opinion before any dealer conversation, work through the OPRS shortlist first. The page lists the operators we clear under the 2026 review and the ones we caution against. Once you have a dealer short list, the six-step sequence above runs the same way at any of them.