Education, not advice. Poverty Sux does not sell gold, does not run retirement accounts and is not paid by any dealer or custodian. Every rule below links to the official source it comes from.
A "gold IRA" is not a special kind of account in the tax code. It is the name the industry uses for a self-directed individual retirement account that holds physical precious metals instead of, or alongside, stocks and funds. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission puts it bluntly: dealers use the "gold IRA" label when they want older workers or retirees to use their retirement savings to buy bullion (Commodity Futures Trading Commission).
The account follows the same Internal Revenue Service rules as any traditional or Roth individual retirement account, plus a few extra rules that apply only to metal. This guide walks through those rules in plain English.
The three parties in a gold IRA
A gold IRA usually involves three separate businesses.
- The custodian or trustee. Every individual retirement account must be held by a custodian. The Securities and Exchange Commission notes that custodians may be banks, trust companies or other entities approved by the Internal Revenue Service to act as custodians (Investor.gov). The Internal Revenue Service publishes a list of approved nonbank trustees and custodians, updated from time to time; the version online when we checked was dated April 1, 2026 (Internal Revenue Service).
- The metals dealer, which sells the coins or bars to the account.
- The depository, a vault that stores the metal for the custodian.
A key point: the joint alert from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the North American Securities Administrators Association says self-directed custodians usually do not check the accuracy of financial information provided for an investment, and that the account holder carries responsibility for evaluating it (Investor.gov). In the words of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, once the cash is in the account, "you are on your own" (Commodity Futures Trading Commission).
Which gold the law allows
The starting rule is strict. Under section 408(m) of the Internal Revenue Code, when an individual retirement account buys a collectible, the purchase is treated as a distribution of its cost. Collectibles include works of art, rugs, antiques, stamps, alcoholic beverages and "any metal or gem" and "any stamp or coin" (Cornell Law School, 26 U.S. Code § 408).
Section 408(m)(3) then carves out exceptions. For gold, the exceptions are:
- Certain United States gold coins: the gold coins described in paragraphs (7) to (10) of 31 U.S. Code § 5112(a). Those are the one-ounce, half-ounce, quarter-ounce and tenth-ounce coins sold as American Eagle gold coins (Cornell Law School, 31 U.S. Code § 5112).
- Coins issued under the laws of any state.
- Gold bullion of a fineness equal to or above the minimum that a futures exchange requires for metal delivered against a regulated futures contract, if the bullion is in the physical possession of a trustee (Cornell Law School, 26 U.S. Code § 408).
For gold, the best-known benchmark is the COMEX gold futures contract, whose rulebook requires delivered gold to "assay to a minimum of 995 fineness" (CME Group, COMEX Rulebook Chapter 113). That is why you will often see 99.5 percent purity quoted as the line for gold bars.
The American Eagle gold coin is allowed because it is named in the coin exception, not because of its purity: under the coinage law the one-ounce coin weighs 33.931 grams but contains one troy ounce (about 31.1 grams) of fine gold (Cornell Law School, 31 U.S. Code § 5112).
What happens if an account buys something that is not on the list? The Internal Revenue Service explains that the cost of the collectible is treated as a distribution in the year it is acquired, generally taxed as ordinary income, and the 10 percent additional tax on early withdrawals may apply if the owner is under age 59½ (Internal Revenue Service).
Where the metal must be stored
The bullion exception only applies when the metal is "in the physical possession of a trustee". In practice that means a depository arranged through the custodian, not your house.
The clearest warning is a 2021 United States Tax Court case, McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10. An account owner set up a self-directed individual retirement account that invested in a limited liability company, had the company buy American Eagle coins, and kept the coins in a safe at her home. The court held that she received taxable distributions equal to the cost of the coins when she took physical possession of them, and it upheld accuracy-related penalties for not reporting them (Tax Notes, text of the opinion filed November 18, 2021).
Treat any "home storage gold IRA" pitch as a reason to ask a tax professional first.
Depositories commonly offer two kinds of storage. With segregated storage your specific bars or coins are kept apart and returned to you; with commingled (sometimes called non-segregated) storage you are owed metal of the same type and amount, not the exact pieces. Fees and terms differ, so ask which one you are paying for.
How money gets into a gold IRA
There are three ways in, and the Internal Revenue Service treats them differently (Internal Revenue Service, rollovers).
| Method | How it works | Key rule |
|---|---|---|
| New contribution | You pay in from your own money | For 2026 the combined limit for all your traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts is $7,500, or $8,600 if you are age 50 or older, or your taxable compensation if less |
| Trustee-to-trustee transfer or direct rollover | The old custodian or plan pays the new custodian directly | No taxes withheld; not limited by the one-rollover-per-year rule |
| 60-day rollover | The money is paid to you and you redeposit it | Must be completed within 60 days; only one IRA-to-IRA rollover in any 12-month period across all your accounts; withholding applies |
The 2026 contribution limits come from the Internal Revenue Service contribution-limits page (Internal Revenue Service).
The withholding detail catches people out. The Internal Revenue Service says a distribution from an individual retirement account paid to you is subject to 10 percent withholding unless you elect out, and a retirement plan distribution such as one from a 401(k) paid to you is subject to mandatory 20 percent withholding even if you intend to roll it over. If you then roll over within 60 days, you must make up the withheld amount from other funds (Internal Revenue Service).
The one-per-year limit applies to 60-day rollovers between individual retirement accounts. It does not apply to trustee-to-trustee transfers, to rollovers from an employer plan into an individual retirement account, or to Roth conversions (Internal Revenue Service; see also Announcement 2014-32). The Internal Revenue Service also publishes a rollover chart showing which account types can roll into which.
How money comes out: distributions and required minimum distributions
A gold IRA follows the same withdrawal rules as any other individual retirement account of the same type.
- Traditional accounts. The Internal Revenue Service says you generally have to start taking required minimum distributions when you reach age 73. The first one can be delayed until April 1 of the year after you turn 73; after that the deadline is December 31 each year (Internal Revenue Service).
- Roth accounts. Required minimum distributions do not apply to Roth individual retirement accounts while the owner is alive, although beneficiaries are subject to the rules (Internal Revenue Service).
Metal adds a practical wrinkle: a required distribution is a dollar amount, but a gold IRA may hold little cash. Ask a custodian before opening an account how it handles this, whether by holding some cash, selling metal or distributing metal itself, how it values metal, and what each option costs.
Tax treatment, described neutrally
A gold IRA is taxed like any other individual retirement account of the same type. The Internal Revenue Service says withdrawals are included in your taxable income except for any part that was taxed before (your basis) or that can be received tax-free, such as qualified Roth distributions (Internal Revenue Service). Gold held outside a retirement account is different: the Internal Revenue Service taxes net capital gains on collectibles at a maximum 28 percent rate (Internal Revenue Service, Topic 409). Which matters more for you is a question for a qualified tax professional.
Fees to ask about, in writing
Gold IRAs have more layers of cost than an ordinary brokerage account. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission lists storage, insurance and administrative fees, and advises asking for all fees, costs, commissions and the agreed retail price in writing before signing anything (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). A practical checklist:
- Account setup fee.
- Annual custodian or administration fee, and whether it is flat or based on account value.
- Storage fee, and whether it is for segregated or commingled storage.
- Insurance, and who the insurer is.
- The dealer's price over spot (the premium) on each product, and its buy-back price the same day.
- Fees to sell, ship metal out, transfer to another custodian or close the account.
To see why this matters: in one complaint described by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, a gold dealer and custodian charged nearly $150,000 in commissions and fees to a customer who rolled over a $300,000 retirement account (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). See how to check a gold dealer or custodian and how gold is priced.
Other ways to hold gold
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission notes that exchange-traded products might also be added to an existing individual retirement account (Commodity Futures Trading Commission). Our comparison guide sets the options side by side, and the hourly gold dashboard shows the current price.
Frequently asked questions
Is a gold IRA a different type of account from a normal IRA?
No. It is a self-directed traditional, Roth or other individual retirement account whose custodian allows physical metal. The tax rules are the same as for that account type, plus the collectibles and storage rules in section 408(m).
Can I keep gold from my IRA at home?
The bullion exception requires the metal to be in the physical possession of a trustee. In McNulty v. Commissioner (2021), the Tax Court treated coins kept at the owner's home as taxable distributions and upheld penalties.
When do required minimum distributions start?
For traditional accounts, generally at age 73, with the first one due by April 1 of the following year. Roth individual retirement accounts have no required minimum distributions while the owner is alive.
Sources
All accessed October 26, 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service: investments in collectibles, rollovers, Announcement 2014-32, contribution limits, required minimum distributions, approved nonbank trustees and custodians (list dated April 1, 2026) and Topic 409.
- Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute, 26 U.S. Code § 408 and 31 U.S. Code § 5112.
- CME Group, COMEX Rulebook Chapter 113, Gold Futures.
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, 10 Things to Ask Before Buying Physical Gold, Silver, or Other Metals (issued March 20, 2024).
- Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Beware of Gold and Silver Schemes Designed to Drain Your Retirement Savings.
- Securities and Exchange Commission, North American Securities Administrators Association and Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Investor Alert: Self-Directed IRAs and the Risk of Fraud (updated February 7, 2023).
- United States Tax Court, McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10 (November 18, 2021), opinion text via Tax Notes.
*Education, not investment, tax or legal advice. Rules and limits change; check the Internal Revenue Service and a qualified tax professional before acting.*
Not financial advice. This guide explains how the rules work in general. It is not investment, tax or legal advice, and it does not consider your situation. Tax rules change; confirm anything that affects you with the Internal Revenue Service and a qualified tax professional before you move retirement money. Read the disclaimer.