Gold IRAs
Gold IRA Pros and Cons: What to Know Before You Open One
A gold IRA puts physical metal inside a retirement account. Here's what that gives you and what to know going in, with the numbers from named sources. One disclosure first: this site may earn a referral fee if you contact a gold IRA company through one of our links, so we show our sources.
The list in brief
- What it gives you: real metal in an insured vault, inside an IRA with the same tax treatment as any other IRA, funded from a 401(k) or IRA you already have.
- Gold grew about 8.9% a year, compounded, from 1972 through 2025 on NYU Stern figures, and it rose in 35 of those 54 years. Past performance doesn't tell you the future.
- What to know going in: there are account fees and a dealer's premium, gold's return comes from its price, and required minimum distributions take a little planning with metal.
- Each of those has a plain way to handle it, and we give it under each item.
- Whether to open one, and how much to put in, is your decision.
How we get paid
This site earns referral fees from a gold IRA company, and our disclosure page has the details. So we show our work: the numbers below come from named sources. If you're still learning what the account is, start with how a gold IRA works and come back.
The pros
1. Gold has often risen when stocks fell
Using annual return data compiled by Professor Aswath Damodaran at NYU Stern, stocks had 11 losing years between 1972 and 2025, and gold rose in 7 of them, including 2008 and 2022. Across the whole period, gold rose in 35 of 54 years.
Those are past figures, and past performance doesn't tell you the future.
2. The IRA's tax treatment
Inside a traditional IRA, nothing is taxed until you take money out. Inside a Roth, qualified withdrawals aren't taxed at all. Your IRA can sell gold at a gain and buy something else without a tax bill that year.
The tax treatment applies to any gain in the metal's price while it's in the account.
The real convenience is that you can use money already in a 401(k) or IRA. Moved correctly, a rollover into a gold IRA isn't a taxable event. See rollover vs. transfer for the direct way to do it.
3. You own physical metal
Your IRA holds specific coins and bars in an insured vault. It's a physical asset, and some people value that for its own sake.
The metal is stored at the custodian's depository while it's in the IRA. That's the IRS rule. Later you can sell it, or take the coins and bars themselves as a distribution, which is taxed like any other withdrawal from that type of IRA. Gold IRA vs. physical gold describes the account next to metal you keep yourself.
4. A long record
From 1972 through 2025, gold grew about 8.9% a year, compounded, in the same NYU Stern data. That's before costs and inflation, and it includes a rise of about 66% in 2025.
The price moves in both directions from year to year, and it has had down stretches, such as 2013 through 2015. Past performance doesn't tell you the future.
What to know going in
1. Account fees
Physical metal needs a vault and a custodian, and both charge. A gold IRA has a setup fee, then custodian and storage fees that come to a few hundred dollars a year on the published fee schedules we've read.
How to handle it: ask for the fee schedule in writing, and ask whether the fees are flat. A flat fee is a smaller share of a larger balance: $350 a year is 0.35% of a $100,000 account. Our fee guide has the published figures and ways to keep them low.
2. The dealer's premium, and the spread when you sell
This is the largest cost, and it's part of the metal's price instead of a line on a fee schedule. Dealers sell above the market price and buy back below it. The premium pays for making the metal, shipping and insuring it on the way to the vault, and the dealer's service.
Each dealer sets its own premium, so ask for it in writing, as a percentage over spot.
Say you put in $100,000 at an 8% premium. You hold about $92,600 of metal at the market price, and the premium was about $7,400.
How to handle it: get the premium as a percentage and the buyback price in writing, and compare two or three quotes on the same product. Our guide to coins vs. bullion explains which products carry which markups.
3. Its return comes from the price
Gold's return is the change in its price. To take money out of a gold IRA, you sell metal or take the metal itself.
How to handle it: ask for the buyback price when you buy, so you know how a sale will work before you need one.
4. The price moves
Gold's price moves in both directions from year to year. It rose in 35 of the 54 years from 1972 through 2025, and it fell about 28% in 2013 on the NYU Stern year-end data.
How to handle it: a longer holding period gives you more choice about when you sell.
5. Required minimum distributions take planning
Traditional IRAs require yearly withdrawals starting at 73, or 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. With metal, you have two ways to do it:
- Sell metal for cash. You get the buyback price on the day you sell, so start before the last week of the year.
- Take metal "in kind." The coins are shipped to you and their market value is taxed as income, so plan where the cash for the tax will come from.
Coins come in whole units, so an exact dollar figure is hard to hit. If a year's withdrawal comes up short, the IRS excise tax is 25% of the shortfall, or 10% if you correct it within two years.
How to handle it: you can total the RMDs for all your traditional IRAs and take the whole amount from a different one. A Roth IRA has no RMDs for the original owner, which is one reason some people look at a Roth gold IRA. Both are worth settling before you buy. Our RMD guide covers the rules.
6. Three companies and their paperwork
You'll deal with a dealer, a custodian, and a depository, each with its own forms. The custodian holds the account and carries out your instructions, and comparing dealer prices is up to you.
How to handle it: the dealer helps with the custodian's forms, and our guide on the custodian, dealer, and depository explains who's responsible for what.
7. The dealer you choose sets the price
This one is about the market more than the metal. The CFTC notes that precious metals dealers are typically commission-paid salespeople with no fiduciary duty to you, and it describes a complaint in which a customer who rolled a $300,000 retirement account into a gold IRA was charged nearly $150,000 in commissions and fees.
How to handle it: a good company puts the premium and the buyback price in writing and gives you time. Compare two or three dealers, and don't buy from a cold call. What a fair deal looks like, and the warning signs has the detail.
Side by side
| Topic | What it gives you | What to know going in |
|---|---|---|
| Price record | About 8.9% a year, compounded, 1972 to 2025; rose in 7 of the 11 years when stocks fell | The price moves both ways from year to year; past performance doesn't tell you the future |
| Taxes | Same deferral or Roth treatment as any IRA; rollovers done directly aren't taxed | The usual IRA rules apply, RMDs included |
| Ownership | Specific metal, insured, in a vault | It's stored at the depository while it's in the IRA |
| Running costs | Flat fees are a small share of large balances | A few hundred dollars a year; get the schedule in writing |
| Buying and selling | Your IRA can sell to any dealer, and written quotes are easy to compare | A premium when you buy and a spread when you sell; ask for both |
| RMDs | None in a Roth; can be met from another IRA | In a traditional IRA, plan the sale or the in-kind distribution before year-end |
Who is a gold IRA for?
People who want physical metal in their retirement savings and have money in an IRA or an old 401(k) to move. The company we refer readers to asks for at least $50,000.
Whether to open one, and how much to put in, is your decision. Gold IRA vs. gold ETF describes two ways to hold gold in a retirement account, and who a gold IRA is for covers what you need to open one.
The quickest way to see where you stand is our short quiz. It takes a few minutes.
Common questions
How much do I need to open a gold IRA?
The company we refer readers to asks for at least $50,000 in an IRA or an old 401(k). Flat yearly fees are a smaller share of a larger balance: $350 a year is 0.35% of $100,000.
How has gold moved when stocks fell?
On NYU Stern figures, stocks had 11 losing years between 1972 and 2025, and gold rose in 7 of them. Gold's price moves in both directions, nothing is guaranteed, and past performance doesn't tell you the future.
Does a gold IRA have tax advantages over other IRAs?
It gets the same tax treatment as any traditional or Roth IRA. The advantage is over holding gold in a taxable account, where selling at a gain is taxed that year.
Who can answer questions about my own situation?
A tax professional can handle the rollover and RMD questions for your case, and your plan administrator knows your plan's rules. This page is education, not personal advice.
We base our guides on primary sources such as the IRS, the Department of Labor, and federal regulators. Read our editorial policy. Spot an error? Tell us.
