The four precious metals that may be held in an individual retirement account are gold, silver, platinum and palladium, provided they are in the form of IRS-approved coin or bar products. With your IRA, you can buy gold coins and gold bars, silver, palladium, and other precious metals that meet specific fineness requirements. Current law provides for both transfers of IRAs and rollovers from qualifying retirement plans, such as 401 (k), 401 (a), 403 (b), 457, Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), and pensions. An IRA also allows gold bars and bullets made of gold and silver if they have a fineness of 99.9%.
To own gold, whether in coins or gold bars, in an IRA, you need a genuine, self-directed IRA, which is offered by some custodian banks. If you have an existing IRA or 401 (k), you can fund an IRA by transferring either full or part of the amount. Of course, you can buy IRA-approved gold outside of an IRA and store it in your home or elsewhere. You probably also know that gold is a “collector’s item” and that IRAs are not allowed to own collectibles.
Since the American Gold Eagle is the only exception, gold bars must have a minimum fineness of to be included in an IRA account. The IRS has issued private letter rulings to the most important gold ETFs, which state that IRAs may own the ETFs. Money deposited into a traditional IRA is deductible up to the allowable annual limits, while cash in a Roth IRA grows tax-free and can be withdrawn tax-free in retirement. Companies such as Oxford Gold Group and American Hartford Gold can help you set up an IRA and organize the storage of your gold.
Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) offer tax-deferred or tax-free growth, which means investments made with an IRA can grow larger than similar investments made outside of an IRA. This is a prohibited transaction as an IRA owner is not allowed to make any purchase or sale transactions with the IRA. Self-managers do not offer investment advice, but do offer management and reporting services and purchase precious metals on your behalf via your IRA account at your instructions. After doing this research, you’ll likely conclude that gold or precious metals and coins shouldn’t be owned by your IRA.
Funds received from an IRA are not subject to penalties or taxes as long as they are deposited into your new IRA account within 60 days.
