IRA Approved Gold

Precious metals offer an effective means to diversify your retirement portfolio and offer protection from inflation; however, they may not be right for every investor.

Gold coins and bars must meet specific purity criteria set forth by the IRS to be eligible. They must also come from either a national government mint, an accredited refiner, assayer, or manufacturer.

Purity

Gold and other precious metals can make up an essential component of a well-diversified retirement portfolio, but in order to qualify as investments eligible for an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), these must abide by strict IRS rules. These standards include adhering to specific purity levels – the IRS has even set forth minimum fineness standards for gold bullion that must be fulfilled; silver, platinum and palladium also have their own respective fineness standards that must be fulfilled in order for these metals to qualify.

Furthermore, gold eligible for storage within an IRA should be stored segregated or allocated storage to reduce the chances of misplacing precious metals and speed up liquidation of holdings if you need to. Commingled storage increases your chances of losing them and can impede the sales process should your holdings need liquidating in a hurry.

Gold can provide many advantages to an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), including tax-deferred growth and inflation protection. You can invest in gold by moving funds between custodians or making cash deposits into new accounts.

Mints

The IRS has set minimum fineness standards for gold and other precious metals used to fund Individual Retirement Accounts, or IRAs, that all coins and bars approved for storage must adhere to. Furthermore, each coin or bar must come from a national government mint with an official assayer, refiner or manufacturer’s seal of approval from an assayer, refiner or manufacturer.

Many IRA investors choose gold coins like American Gold Eagles, British Britannias and South African Krugerrands as investments for their retirement accounts. These high-quality legal tender coins boast strong backing by national governments and come in various denominations for easy investing.

Investors looking for higher liquidity and convenience may prefer investing in gold bullion rounds and bars approved for an IRA account, which offer higher liquidity and more convenience than coins. These are often certified by LBMA or COMEX, come in various sizes and weights, or Valcambi Suisse produces CombiBars which can be broken apart without losing purity or weight, often at a lower premium than coins.

Approval

Add precious metals to your retirement portfolio is an effective way of diversifying assets, but be mindful that only certain gold coins, bars and bullion are eligible for inclusion in an IRA account. Investing in non-approved items could cause it to lose its tax-advantaged status and require payment of taxes on withdrawals from it.

Avoid this scenario by working with a reliable gold IRA company. These providers utilize secure depository facilities that meet IRS security standards, so your precious metals will remain separate from other assets in a segregated account and will remain safe.

Gold IRAs provide investors with many advantages, including diversification, inflation hedge protection and security during times of volatility in the economic market. Learn how you can establish one and maximize its potential by downloading our FREE gold IRA guide today!

Taxes

Gold and other precious metals can be stored in an individual retirement account (IRA), though you must follow IRS regulations when investing. The IRS stipulates purity criteria for coins and bullion that meet this investment category, along with specific rules about storage facilities that meet their standards, insurance, etc.

Your taxes depend on which type of IRA you have. Traditional IRAs are funded with pretax dollars, meaning withdrawals in retirement will be taxed; while Roth IRAs use after-tax funds that allow distributions tax-free.

Gold IRAs often incur more expenses than conventional IRAs, including account custodian and depository costs for storage of precious metals. You will also incur shipping and insurance fees when taking required minimum distributions in-kind; and there could even be buyback fees when your IRA company sells back your gold purchased from them; although these charges are sometimes uninformed.