How Do I Add Gold to My IRA?

Gold and other precious metals can provide shelter during economic downturns while diversifying retirement savings. When adding physical precious metals to an IRA account, assistance from a reliable company is required in the form of setting up a Self-Directed Precious Metals IRA with an appointed custodian, selecting approved metals, and storing in an IRS-approved depository.

Precious Metals IRAs

Precious Metals IRAs, also known as Gold IRAs, are self-directed retirement accounts that enable you to invest in physical precious metals for diversification, inflation protection and potential tax advantages. You can rollover an existing IRA, 401(k), 529 plan or use direct contributions to open one.

Select a metals IRA company with a strong track record in terms of competitive pricing, transparent transaction processes, customer education and segregated storage for precious metals approved for your account – one which accepts IRS purity requirements as well.

Storage options for precious metals vary, from keeping it at home or with another provider to depository facilities approved by the IRS. Physical possession may trigger taxes and penalties from taking physical possession; for safety, having your precious metals sent there could be beneficial as you pay an annual storage fee; once in storage they will then be handled by your custodian who books them into your account before sending them onward to be stored with another custodian and eventually back out again to you when required by an IRA custodian.

Self-Directed IRAs

Add gold to your retirement account as an effective way to diversify and protect against inflation, although experts advise limiting it as part of your overall portfolio in order to achieve proper diversification and safeguard your savings.

First step to opening a Precious Metals IRA is choosing an industry-focused custodian. Reputable companies like American Bullion partner with these custodians to ensure an effortless process that meets IRS regulations.

Once you’ve selected gold or other approved metals to add to your SDIRA, your custodian will purchase them on your behalf from an accredited dealer and ship them off to an IRS-approved depository for storage.

Your IRA should never store metals at home as this would constitute a distribution and incur taxes and perhaps an additional 10% penalty. Instead, your custodian will arrange to have them sent directly to a secure depository such as Delaware Depository which is IRS approved and covered against theft.

Traditional IRAs

Given economic instability, consumers are reevaluating their priorities and altering their investment strategy – one effective method being adding precious metals such as gold to their IRAs.

Traditional IRAs are retirement accounts funded with pretax dollars that grow tax-deferred until withdrawals can be made in retirement. By adding physical gold to your IRA portfolio, diversifying and protecting against inflation is made much simpler.

Care should be taken when choosing precious metals IRA assets as the IRS has specific guidelines regarding which coins, bars and bullion qualify for ownership within an IRA. You should select an IRA custodian who will work closely with you to verify that all selected metals comply with IRS standards and are safely stored away.

If you already have an IRA or retirement account, direct transfer may be the way forward to convert it to your gold IRA. A reliable precious metals company can assist with this process and ensure full compliance with IRS rules.

Roth IRAs

Gold investments provide an effective way to diversify your portfolio and may offer protection against long-term inflation. Before adding precious metals like gold to your IRA, however, consult with a financial advisor in order to make sure you’re not allocating too much of your IRA’s funds toward this form of investing.

Be mindful when investing physical gold through an IRA of any additional fees that could quickly add up, such as storage and insurance costs. Also note that unlike stocks or bonds, gold doesn’t generate dividends or interest which could reduce returns over time.

Finally, when purchasing gold for your IRA account, never take physical possession of it yourself – this is considered an illegal act and may incur IRS penalties. Instead, have a custodian purchase and store the gold for you in an approved depository. Alternatively, invest in alternative forms of gold such as ETFs or mining stocks as these investments do not carry the risk of theft or forgery that physical assets do.