What Are the IRS Rules for a Gold IRA?

Before the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, physical gold was treated the same as any other collectible under IRC Section 408(m)(1): holding it in an IRA triggered an immediate taxable distribution. The 1997 act carved out a narrow exception for certain coins and bullion meeting specific criteria. That exception lives in Section 408(m)(3).

The statute permits physical precious metals inside an IRA under three conditions. First, any gold coin must be minted by the United States government and meet a fineness standard — or fall within an explicit list of approved foreign coins. Second, any gold bullion bar or round must meet a minimum fineness of 0.9950 (99.5 percent) and be in the physical possession of a trustee described in subsection (a). Third, nothing in the statute permits the account owner to personally hold the metal — possession by the owner is treated as a distribution under all circumstances.

The phrase "in the physical possession of a trustee" is not decorative. It is the operative language that rules out home storage, safe-deposit boxes in the owner's name, and any LLC arrangement where the owner controls the metal directly. Congress used explicit language about trustee possession for a reason: precious metals held in an IRA have no custodian counterparty risk like a stock does, so the IRS needed a substitute safeguard. The depository and trustee requirements are that safeguard.

IRS Publication 590-A covers contributions to individual retirement arrangements and includes guidance on prohibited transactions. IRS Publication 590-B covers distributions. Neither publication replaces the statute, but both provide plain-language summaries of the rules that align with the specific requirements in Section 408(m)(3).

The fineness minimum for gold in an IRA is 99.5 percent (expressed as 0.9950 in hallmarking standards). This eliminates 22-karat gold products — including the South African Krugerrand and many other internationally popular bullion coins — from IRA eligibility. A 22-karat coin is 91.67% gold, well below the statutory threshold.

The single statutory exception is the American Gold Eagle. Congress explicitly named it in IRC Section 408(m)(3)(A)(i) as a permitted coin regardless of fineness. The American Gold Eagle is 22-karat gold (91.67% pure), but it is allowed because Congress chose to support the U.S. Mint's flagship gold product. This exception does not extend to any other 22-karat coin. The Krugerrand, the British Sovereign, and other 22-karat coins remain ineligible.

For other metals: silver must meet 99.9% fineness, platinum 99.95%, and palladium 99.95%. The American Silver Eagle (99.9%) and the American Platinum Eagle (99.95%) both meet their respective standards and are IRA-eligible. The American Palladium Eagle, introduced in 2017, meets the palladium fineness standard as well.

Bars and rounds from private mints — such as those produced by PAMP Suisse, Valcambi, or the Perth Mint — are eligible if they meet the fineness standard and are produced by a national government mint or a manufacturer, refiner, or assayer accredited by the NYMEX, COMEX, NYSE/Liffe, LME, LBMA, LPPM, TOCOM, ISO 9000, or equivalent exchange. This covers the major international mints and refiners that produce IRA-grade bullion.

A Gold IRA requires two separate entities that many investors conflate into one: a custodian and a depository. The custodian is the IRS-approved trustee who administers the account — processes paperwork, holds title, files IRS reports, and directs purchases. The depository is the physical vault where the metal lives. They are not the same company, and the IRS requires both.

The custodian must qualify under IRC § 408(a) as a bank, insured credit union, or non-bank entity specifically approved by the IRS to act as an IRA trustee. Approval is not automatic — non-bank custodians must apply to the IRS and demonstrate adequate security, fiduciary standards, and capitalization. A list of approved non-bank trustees is available from the IRS, though it is not published in a single convenient format. The major self-directed IRA custodians — Equity Trust, GoldStar Trust, Strata Trust, Kingdom Trust, Midland IRA — have completed this approval process.

The depository must be a domestic bank or a domestic non-bank custodian that meets the requirements of IRC § 408(a). In practice, this means IRS-approved facilities such as the Delaware Depository, Brinks Global Services, CNT Depository, or the International Depository Services Group. The IRS does not publish an official list of "approved" depositories; rather, the custodian is responsible for ensuring the storage facility meets statutory requirements. When evaluating a Gold IRA company, confirm in writing which depository they use and whether the custodian — not just the dealer — has verified that facility's compliance.

A Gold IRA follows the same contribution limits as any traditional or Roth IRA. For 2026, per IRS Notice 2025-67, the annual contribution limit is $7,500 for account owners under age 50, and $8,600 for those age 50 and older. These limits apply across all IRAs combined — a person with both a traditional IRA and a Gold IRA cannot contribute $7,500 to each; the total cannot exceed the annual limit.

In practice, most Gold IRA accounts are funded through rollovers from larger existing accounts — a 401k, 403b, TSP, or traditional IRA — rather than through annual contributions. Rollovers are not subject to the contribution limit. A person can roll an entire $500,000 401k into a Gold IRA in a single year without triggering contribution-limit violations, provided the rollover is conducted correctly (direct rollover, or indirect rollover completed within 60 days).

Required Minimum Distributions begin at age 73 under SECURE 2.0 (Public Law 117-328, enacted December 2022). The RMD age rises to 75 in 2033. A Gold IRA presents a unique challenge at RMD time: the account holds physical metal, not cash. To satisfy an RMD without selling the metal, the owner can take an in-kind distribution — receiving the actual gold rather than cash. An in-kind distribution is taxable at the fair market value of the metal on the distribution date, based on the spot price at the time of the transfer.

Early withdrawal before age 59½ triggers a 10 percent penalty on top of ordinary income tax. This penalty applies to the fair market value of any metal distributed early, not the original purchase price. If gold has appreciated substantially, the tax basis is measured at spot price on the distribution date — meaning a person who rolled $50,000 into gold that is now worth $80,000 pays income tax plus 10% on $80,000 if they distribute early.