Holding Gold in a Self-Directed IRA, and Why It Can't Go Home

A self-directed IRA can own physical gold, as long as the gold meets IRS rules and the custodian holds it at an approved depository for as long as it's in the account. That's the whole idea: an IRA whose custodian allows assets beyond the usual menu. Keeping IRA gold at home has been tried in Tax Court, and the IRA owner lost.

What is a self-directed IRA?

The SEC, the state regulators' association NASAA and FINRA define it in a joint investor alert: "A self-directed IRA is an IRA held by a custodian that allows investment in a broader set of assets." Legally it's the same account as any other IRA under Internal Revenue Code section 408, with the same contribution, rollover and distribution rules. Only the custodian's policy on what the account may own is different.

Gold is one of those assets. Section 408(m) treats most metals and coins as "collectibles," and if an IRA buys one, the purchase is treated as a distribution. Two exceptions let gold in: U.S. American Eagle gold coins, and gold bullion at or above the fineness required for delivery on a regulated futures contract (995 fine for COMEX gold, per CME Group), "in the physical possession of a trustee." Which coins and bars clear that bar is in our gold IRA guide.

What a gold IRA custodian does

The custodian, or trustee in the law's word, is the institution that holds the IRA. Under section 408(a)(2) it has to be a bank or another person who shows the IRS it will administer the account by the rules, and the IRS keeps a list of approved nonbank trustees under Treasury Regulation 1.408-2(e).

In a gold IRA, the custodian opens the account and takes in transfers, rollovers and contributions. When you sign a purchase direction, it pays the dealer and has the metal held at a depository in the account's name. It keeps the records, sends statements and files the IRS reports. And when you take a distribution, it sells the metal or ships it to you.

What it won't do matters just as much. The joint investor alert says self-directed IRA custodians "DO NOT sell investment products or provide investment advice," don't "evaluate the quality or legitimacy of any investment," and don't "verify the accuracy of any financial information." You pick the product and the dealer. The alert also notes that fees for self-directed IRAs "may be significantly higher than those for other types of investment accounts," so ask for the custodian's schedule.

Equity Trust, in its own words

Three of the five companies in our comparison name Equity Trust Company as a custodian, and it's Augusta Precious Metals' preferred custodian. Here's what Equity Trust publishes about itself and precious metals.

It says it "is a directed custodian and does not provide tax, legal or investment advice." Its predecessor business was established in 1974 and IRS-approved as a custodian in 1983, it says, and its address is 1 Equity Way, Westlake, Ohio. It offers self-directed traditional, Roth, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, among others.

On metals, Equity Trust accepts gold, silver, platinum and palladium bars and coins, including American Eagles, "provided they meet minimum fineness requirements." Gold bars have to be .995 or finer, from manufacturers accredited by exchanges such as NYMEX/COMEX or the LBMA, or from a national mint. Coins that have been certified and sealed ("slabbed"), American Eagles included, "are not acceptable in IRAs at this time."

Storage is spelled out too. "It's important that you do not take possession of the metals, per IRS rules," Equity Trust says, and it lists A-Mark Global Logistics (AMGL), Brink's, Delaware Depository, International Depository Services and Texas Bullion Depository as the depositories you or your dealer choose from. A purchase works like this: you open and fund the account, choose a precious metals dealer, and direct Equity Trust to pay.

Equity Trust's fee schedule is on its site, but we couldn't read the figures from the page, so we don't quote them. Augusta Precious Metals lists its own client costs as $125 a year administration (custodian) and $100 a year storage, after a $50 one-time opening fee, and lists ZERO setup, custodian and storage fees for up to 10 years.

Roth and traditional accounts hold the same gold

Either one can hold gold. The account type, set when the account is opened, is what differs; the metal is the same. These IRS rules from Publications 590-A and 590-B separate the two:

Money coming in has to match the account. Pre-tax money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) goes to a traditional self-directed IRA; Roth money goes to a Roth one. Converting from traditional to Roth is a separate decision with its own rules in Publication 590-A. How any of this applies to you is a question for a tax professional, and this page doesn't give tax advice.

Prohibited transactions that end an IRA

IRS Publication 590-A calls it "any improper use of your traditional IRA account or annuity by you, your beneficiary, or any disqualified person." Disqualified persons include your fiduciary and your family, which in the IRS's words means your "spouse, ancestor, lineal descendant, and any spouse of a lineal descendant." The IRS's examples:

• borrowing money from the IRA
• selling property to it
• pledging it as collateral for a loan
• buying property for personal use (present or future) with IRA funds

With gold, that means you can't sell your own coins to your IRA, and you can't use coins the IRA owns. The IRS adds that when an IRA holds assets "that you directly control, the risk of engaging in a prohibited transaction in connection with your account may be increased."

Get it wrong and the cost is big. If you or your beneficiary engage in a prohibited transaction, "the account stops being an IRA as of the first day of that year," and it's treated as distributing all its assets to you at fair market value on that date. If you own more than one IRA, only the one involved is affected.

Can you store IRA gold at home?

No. You may hear a pitch that goes like this: your IRA owns an LLC, the LLC buys coins, and you, as the LLC's manager, keep them at home. The Tax Court rejected exactly that in McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10, decided November 18, 2021.

Mrs. McNulty set up a self-directed IRA that invested in a single-member LLC she managed. She had the LLC buy American Eagle coins and took physical possession of them, and they sat in a safe at the couple's home alongside coins bought with non-IRA money. The court noted that a promoter's website had advertised that IRA owners could keep LLC-titled coins at home "without tax consequences or penalties."

It didn't go her way. The court held she "received taxable distributions from her self-directed IRA equal to the cost of the AE coins upon her receipt of the coins," and upheld accuracy-related penalties under section 6662(a). In its words: "An owner of a self-directed IRA may not take actual and unfettered possession of the IRA assets," and "Personal control over the IRA assets by the IRA owner is against the very nature of an IRA."

The court also turned down the argument that the "physical possession of a trustee" wording in section 408(m)(3) applies only to bullion and so lets owners keep coins. That text, it said, "does not create an exception to the custodial and fiduciary requirements of section 408(a)."

So IRA gold stays with the custodian at a depository until it's distributed. If you want coins at home, they leave the IRA as a distribution first, under the rules in IRS Publication 590-B. For storage options inside an IRA, see gold storage.

How to choose a gold IRA custodian

Your gold company may name one for you. We'd still want answers to these:

1. Is it qualified? It should be a bank, or a nonbank trustee the IRS has approved under Regulation 1.408-2(e). The IRS publishes its list, but FINRA notes it "is not a complete list of every custodian," so ask how the custodian is chartered and regulated.
2. Does it handle physical metals, which depositories does it use, and does it offer segregated and pooled storage?
3. What's the full fee schedule? Setup, yearly administration, storage, wire, purchase and sale transactions, in-kind distribution and closing. Are fees flat or based on account value?
4. Which products does it accept: what fineness, which refiners, and does it take graded coins?
5. How will you see your holdings? Look for online access and statements that list each product and quantity, and ask how values are set.
6. How do distributions work, in cash and in kind, and how long does shipping from the depository take?
7. Which custodians does your gold company work with? Our gold IRA companies comparison shows the ones each company names.

More on self-directed IRAs and gold

Can a self-directed IRA hold physical gold?

Yes, if it's a U.S. American Eagle coin or bullion at least 995 fine, and a qualified trustee holds it. That's section 408(m)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Can I buy gold in a Roth IRA?

Yes. A Roth IRA can be self-directed and hold the same qualifying gold as a traditional IRA. The account type changes the IRS contribution and distribution rules, not which metal qualifies.

What does a gold IRA custodian do?

It holds and administers the IRA. It takes in the money, pays the dealer on your direction, has the metal stored at a depository, keeps records and reports to the IRS. It doesn't sell metals or give investment advice.

Is Equity Trust a gold IRA custodian?

Yes. Equity Trust says it accepts gold, silver, platinum and palladium that meet minimum fineness rules, and lists five depositories, Delaware Depository among them. It describes itself as a directed custodian that doesn't give tax, legal or investment advice.

Can I keep my IRA gold in a safe at home?

No. In McNulty v. Commissioner (2021), the Tax Court held that an IRA owner who took IRA-bought coins home received a taxable distribution equal to their cost.

What happens if I make a prohibited transaction?

Under IRS Publication 590-A, the account stops being an IRA as of the first day of that year and is treated as distributing all its assets to you at fair market value.

Sources and fact-check9 primary sources, checked October 17, 2026

1. FINRA, SEC and NASAA: Investor alert, self-directed IRAs and the risk of fraud (updated February 7, 2023)
2. Legal Information Institute: 26 U.S. Code 408 (sections 408(a)(2) and 408(m))
3. IRS: Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
4. IRS: Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
5. IRS: Approved nonbank trustees and custodians
6. CME Group: Gold futures contract specs
7. U.S. Tax Court: McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10, Docket No. 1377-19 (November 18, 2021)
8. Equity Trust Company: Precious metals IRA
9. Equity Trust Company: Account fee schedule

We check every figure against the original source: the mint, the regulator, the exchange or the company itself. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.