Gold IRA Custodians: What They Do, What They Charge, and Every Custodian Compared (21 Custodians, 2026 Fees)

A gold IRA custodian is the bank or state-licensed trust company that legally holds your IRA, pays the dealer on your written order and has a vault store the metal. You cannot be your own custodian. Three companies take part: the custodian, the dealer (the gold company that sells you the coins) and the depository (the vault that stores them).

Published custodian fees for a $50,000 metals IRA run from $215 to $656 a year with shared storage, as of September 29, 2026. Leaving can cost another $100 to $500. So which custodian holds your IRA, and what does it do for that money?

The law makes the custodian hold, pay, record and report, but not check the dealer or the price. A state charter, not "IRS-approved," is the right test. Below, published fees are compared at three balances and all 21 custodians side by side. Then come the 2024 to 2026 changes, fit by situation, what happens if one fails and 7 questions to ask.

Table: Gold IRA custodians at a glance (as of September 29, 2026)

What Does a Gold IRA Custodian Do?#

A gold IRA custodian is the bank or trust company that legally holds your IRA, pays the dealer on your signed order, records your metal and reports to the IRS. The tax code calls this company the trustee: the legal holder of the IRA.

A gold IRA is the best-known kind of precious metals IRA. The same custodians hold silver, platinum and palladium, because every precious metals IRA follows 26 U.S.C. 408.

A gold IRA is a self-directed IRA: you choose the assets, and the custodian follows your written instructions. Its work falls into the 7 jobs listed below.

• Account opening: the application and an ID check under the USA PATRIOT Act.
• Money in: transfers, rollovers and yearly contributions.
• Purchase payments: it wires IRA cash to the dealer after you sign an order.
• Record keeping: it matches the vault's receipt to the dealer's invoice.
• Valuation: it values the metal at spot price (the market price of raw metal) or bid price.
• Money and metal out: sales, in-kind distributions (taking the coins themselves out), required yearly withdrawals and transfers.
• IRS reporting: Form 5498 shows the year-end value and Form 1099-R each withdrawal (26 U.S.C. 408(i)).

Section 408(a)(5) also says IRA assets "will not be commingled with other property." In plain English: your metal is not the custodian's metal. (Here "commingled" means mixed with the company's property, not "commingled storage.")

Do you need a custodian for a gold IRA?#

Yes: every gold IRA needs a custodian, because an IRA may own bullion only while a qualified trustee holds it, and you cannot be that trustee. Bullion means bars and coins valued for their metal content.

An IRS letter ruling of January 31, 2002 (PLR 200217059) covered bullion at a storage company that was not the IRA's trustee. The deposit "would have to" be treated "as a distribution from the IRA in an amount equal to the cost." A distribution is a taxed withdrawal. The ruling binds only the taxpayer who asked, but it shows why custodians hire vaults as agents.

The Tax Court agreed in McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10 (November 18, 2021; docket 1377-19). In 2015 an IRA owner used an IRA LLC (a company owned by the IRA that the owner runs) to buy 320 Gold Eagles for $374,000. The owner kept them at home. Their cost was a taxable distribution; Kingdom Trust was the custodian on paper. That is why every home storage gold IRA pitch fails, as home storage gold IRA explains.

You cannot become a trustee yourself either: the IRS rule for non-bank trustees says "the applicant cannot be an individual" (Treas. Reg. 1.408-2(e)).

An IRA LLC, also called a checkbook IRA, still has a custodian above it. It changes who signs the checks, not why metals still need a custodian.

Custodian, trustee or administrator: what is the difference?#

The custodian (the tax code's "trustee") legally holds your IRA; an administrator only runs the paperwork and phones; a nonbank trustee is a company that is not a bank, usually a large brokerage, that the IRS itself approved. The table sets the three side by side.

Six of the 21 brands on this page are administrators. American IRA's custodian is New Vision Trust (South Dakota), and The Entrust Group's is The Entrust Trust Company (Tennessee). Advanta IRA's is Advanta Trust Company (Nevada, custodian since February 17, 2026). None of these custodians is a nonbank trustee; each holds a state charter instead.

Knowing the legal custodian matters when something goes wrong. American Pension Services was a Utah administrator; its custodian was First Utah Bank. The SEC (the federal securities regulator) sued it on April 24, 2014, saying about $24 million was taken and misused. About 5,500 IRA holders got back a pro rata share, meaning the same percentage each. On March 9, 2017, a federal appeals court (10th Circuit) upheld an order barring suits against the bank.

Is the custodian your fiduciary? No: it does not check the dealer or the price#

No: a gold IRA custodian is a record keeper, not your fiduciary, and it does not check whether the dealer is honest or the price is fair. A fiduciary is someone legally bound to act in your best interest.

GoldStar's 2026 fee schedule says "GoldStar is not a 'fiduciary' with respect to your IRA." Provident's purchase form says the same about itself. The custodian's own paperwork tells you it is not your fiduciary.

The SEC's Initial Decision No. 1030 (June 27, 2016) dismissed charges against Equity Trust. The judge pointed to Equity Trust's account agreement, which gave it "no obligation or duty to investigate ... any investment directed by you." A stricter standard "would require custodians to charge much higher fees," the judge wrote.

The Texas State Securities Board warned on May 16, 2019 that custodians "generally do not evaluate the quality or legitimacy of any investment."

Directed IRA's purchase form (August 2025) says it may pay the dealer "before metals physically arrive at the depository." It adds that Directed "may also receive affiliate income ... from precious metals dealers." Entrust says "you are responsible for negotiating all the details ... including the metals' price."

So who checks the dealer? You do, before you sign: its written price, buyback terms and record. Each check is laid out in how to check a gold IRA company.

Why does your gold IRA statement show less than you paid?#

Your statement shows less than you paid because the custodian values metal at melt or bid value, not at the dealer's price with its premium. Melt value is the raw metal at the spot price. A premium is the dealer's markup over melt. The lower number is not a custodian error.

Three custodians describe their method in writing:

• Equity Trust: the previous day's value, which "does not include any markups, commissions or premiums from the precious metals dealer."
• Entrust: "the daily spot price, often referred to as the melt value."
• Directed IRA: "a bid price based on ... CME Group" data, the futures exchange, via bullionvalues.org.

The year-end value on Form 5498 uses the same basis. Each line of a gold IRA statement is explained on its own page.

How Does a Gold IRA Custodian Work With the Dealer and the Depository? 6 Steps#

The custodian pays the dealer from your IRA, the dealer ships the coins to a depository, and the depository holds them in your IRA's name: 6 steps across 3 companies. The steps below run in order.

1. Open the IRA with the custodian: an application and an ID check. Setup costs $0 to $50 on published metals schedules as of September 29, 2026 (Equity Trust and GoldStar $50; STRATA $50, waived online).
2. Move money in by trustee-to-trustee transfer or direct rollover, so it never passes through you. Neither starts a 60-day deadline or counts toward the once-a-year rollover limit. Those two traps apply when a check is paid to you: miss the 60 days and the money is taxed. Ask for an IRA to gold IRA transfer, not a check made out to you.
3. Agree on the coins and the price with the dealer, then sign the custodian's purchase order (a direction of investment). Entrust wants it within 1 to 2 business days of locking the price, then reviews it within 2 to 3 business days.
4. Pay: the custodian wires IRA cash to the dealer. Until the vault confirms, the metal shows as "Unsettled" at Equity Trust or as an escrow asset (held pending delivery) at Entrust.
5. Deliver: the dealer ships to the depository, which confirms receipt in the IRA's name. The custodian matches that receipt to the invoice; ask for a copy. How to check delivery: is your gold really in your IRA.
6. Hold and report: the custodian bills yearly fees, values the metal and files Forms 5498 and 1099-R.

The table shows who does what in a gold IRA, and who pays each party.

The custodian is one of four parties, and the only one that files IRS forms for the account. The whole account, from contribution to cash-out, is covered in how a gold IRA works.

Can you choose your own custodian, or must you use the gold company's?#

You can choose any custodian that holds metals, but the gold companies we checked each name one to three, and your fee schedule can depend on who brought you in. The table lists the pairings each dealer states, read September 29, 2026.

A designated representative is someone you allow to send orders to the custodian for you. Advantage's form lets you remove it. American Bullion charges a "Precious Metals IRA processing fee" if it helps open the IRA and you then do not buy from it. The fee is the greater of $250 or 0.50% of the transferred funds (Shipping and Transaction Agreement, October 2024). On a $100,000 transfer, that is $500.

A pairing is not a recommendation, and you can ask for a different custodian. Ask which fee schedule comes with the pairing. Each company's custodian and contract terms are listed with the gold IRA companies we track.

Are Gold IRA Custodians IRS-Approved? How to Check a Charter in 2 Minutes#

No: the IRS approves only non-bank trustees, 73 of them on its April 1, 2026 list, and none of the 21 custodians compared here is on it. They qualify as banks or state-supervised trust companies instead. A charter is the license a state grants a trust company.

The bar for that list is high: a non-bank applicant needs "a net worth of not less than $250,000" (Treas. Reg. 1.408-2(e)). The IRS list, "Nonbank Trustees Approved as of April 1, 2026," is mostly brokerages such as Charles Schwab & Co., Apex Clearing and Edward Jones. It also holds health savings account (HSA) administrators and church funds. Its only precious metals business is Lone Star Tangible Assets, LP (approved November 30, 2023), which operates the Texas Bullion Depository. Inspira appears only as its health-account affiliate, "Inspira Financial Health, Inc."

The IRS approves no coin or vault either: its retirement plan investments FAQ says "there is no list of approved investments for retirement plans." Checking a charter takes the 5 steps below and about 2 minutes.

1. Find the legal custodian's name on your application, statement or Form 5498, not the administrator's name.
2. Look up the state regulator the custodian names in its website footer or "about" page.
3. Open that state's official list: the South Dakota Division of Banking roster, the Nevada Financial Institutions Division (FID) list, or the banking departments of Texas, Tennessee or Kansas.
4. Match the exact legal name, and the charter number where the list shows one.
5. Use the IRS nonbank list only for a non-bank that says the IRS approved it (Treas. Reg. 1.408-2).

The table shows where each custodian's charter sits, as of September 2026.

Is a custodian that is not on the IRS list unsafe? No: state supervision is the legal route in 408(n)(3), as long as the charter is real and current. The full list, with every roster link, is on "IRS-approved" gold IRA custodians.

What Do Gold IRA Custodians Charge? 2026 Fees at $50,000, $100,000 and $250,000#

Gold IRA custodians charge $215 to $656 a year for a $50,000 metals IRA with shared storage, on 9 schedules in force in 2026 that publish both fees. A flat fee stays the same at any balance, so it shrinks as a share of a growing account. A value-based fee rises with the account.

These gold IRA fees go to the custodian and the vault. They are one of five layers of gold IRA fees; the dealer's spread is usually larger.

A custodian bill has the 4 parts listed below.

• Setup fee: $0 to $50 once when you apply online ($75 on paper at Directed and at Equity Trust's Universal IRA).
• Annual account fee: $90 (GoldStar) to $556 (Madison) on flat schedules. Value-based schedules reach $2,500 a year (Equity Trust Universal IRA at $1,000,000 or more).
• Storage and insurance: $100 to $240 a year flat, or a percentage of the metal's value. Commingled (shared) storage means your coins share a shelf with identical coins of other owners and stay allocated to you. Segregated (separate) storage keeps your exact bars and coins apart.
• Per-trade and exit fees: $0 per trade at Entrust and GoldStar, $75 at STRATA and $130 at New Direction Trust Company (NDTCO). Exit fees are covered below.

The table shows the yearly custodian and storage cost at three balances, from each schedule as read on September 29, 2026.

One-time gold IRA custodian fees are not in the table. Setup, wire and per-trade charges for each schedule are in gold IRA custodian fees.

Fees also read clearly in ounces of gold. The table uses the LBMA PM price of $4,144.55 on September 28, 2026 (the London benchmark set each afternoon).

The gap between Madison and GoldStar is $4,410 over 10 years for the same metal in the same kind of vault.

What does a custodian cost over 10 years on $100,000?#

Over 10 years, a $100,000 gold IRA pays about $2,410 (GoldStar, shared storage) to $7,225 (Directed, separate storage) in custodian, storage and exit fees, and up to $8,809.45 at Accuplan. A termination fee is the charge to close the account; a liquidation fee is the charge to sell metal. The table adds setup, one purchase, 10 years of fees and a full exit, from schedules read September 29, 2026.

The table assumes the balance stays at $100,000, one purchase in year 1, electronic statements and a full exit in year 10. The dealer's spread is a separate cost and is left out. Entrust does not publish storage, so the $125 is a SafeOunce assumption. You can try your own balance in the gold IRA fee calculator.

Fees also rise over time: Directed IRA's annual fee went from $295 (2023) to $395 (September 2024) to $495 (2026). In plain English: custodian choice alone can cost or save about one ounce of gold over ten years.

Why the same custodian's fees can differ by $875 a year#

The same custodian can charge you $285 or $1,160 a year for the same metal, because Equity Trust prices its metals-only schedule and its Universal IRA differently. The metals-only schedule is flat. The Universal IRA, used for direct clients, is priced by account value.

The Universal IRA also has a tier cliff (a price jump at a set balance): $49,999 pays $350 a year and $50,000 pays $500. Equity Trust uses four schedules in all, including an institutional one priced by "NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS BY REPRESENTATIVE." Ask whether the metals-only schedule is available to you.

STRATA shows the same pattern. American Bullion's website (read September 29, 2026) lists STRATA plans at a "$25 set-up fee. $160 annual account fee," with Basic $200 and Flex $275 plans. It adds that "fees may vary above $100,000 or for segregated storage," and does not say whether the $160 includes storage. STRATA's own page lists $150 a year plus $115 or $175 storage. STRATA also keeps "other institutional fee schedules for large-volume business providers."

Flat and scaled (value-based) fees also cross at set balances, where two schedules cost the same.

A cliff is a sudden jump (or drop) when your balance crosses a line.

Where each structure wins is worked out in flat vs scaled gold IRA fees.

What does it cost to leave a gold IRA custodian?#

Leaving a gold IRA custodian costs about $100 to $500 on published schedules as of September 29, 2026, and moving the metal unsold often costs more than selling it first. An exit bill can include a termination (closing) fee, a transfer-out fee, often per asset, to retitle the metal, a liquidation (sale) fee, and shipping or wire fees. The table shows gold IRA termination and transfer-out fees on published schedules, read September 29, 2026.

Every line item is in gold IRA termination and transfer-out fees. Timing adds cost: Forge bills each quarter on day 1 without prorating, so an account closed October 6 pays the full fourth quarter.

Get a written exit quote before switching gold IRA custodians. In-kind moves and timelines are covered in switching gold IRA custodians.

Are "we pay your custodian fees" offers worth it?#

A "fees paid" offer is worth about $755 to $1,870 over three years on $100,000, which is small next to a dealer spread of $5,000 to $10,000. Dealers advertise these as no-fee offers.

Provident's fee disclosure warns that "investment companies or financial advisors may offer to pay fees ... regardless, you are personally responsible for payment of all fees." In plain English: if the dealer stops paying, the bill comes to you. Augusta says every account receives "up to 10 years" of custodian and depository fees paid, with conditions not stated (Augusta FAQ, updated September 23, 2026). Each company's offer is valued in no-fee gold IRA offers.

Can you pay custodian fees from outside the IRA?#

You can usually pay the custodian's own account fee from outside the IRA, but custodians disagree about vault storage, so follow your custodian's written rule. IRS Publication 590-A says "Trustees' administrative fees aren't subject to the contribution limit." Fees you pay separately also "aren't deductible as IRA contributions." The publication does not mention vault storage.

A prohibited transaction is a banned dealing between you and your IRA. No IRS guidance settles storage paid from outside, so treat it as an open question.

Every Gold IRA Custodian Compared: 21 Custodian Reviews With Charters, Fees and Status#

Of these 21 custodians, GoldStar ($215), Equity Trust metals-only ($235) and STRATA ($265) publish the lowest yearly cost at $50,000 with shared storage, as of September 29, 2026. Kingdom Trust is now Digital Trust and Midland Trust is now Equity Trust; Inspira and Mainstar no longer market metals. The table is alphabetical, not a ranking. BBB means the Better Business Bureau, a nonprofit that grades how a business answers complaints.

Read three things in each row. First, who legally holds the IRA: six brands are administrators, not custodians. Second, whether the brand still exists under its name. Third, the exit cost next to the yearly cost. For five rows we could read only an older saved (archived) copy of the fee page: Forge, uDirect and Inspira (May 2026), Horizon (2025) and American IRA (November 2024).

Which custodians changed hands since 2024?#

Kingdom Trust, Midland Trust, Quest Trust and NuView Trust handed their accounts to Digital Trust, Equity Trust and Inspira in 2024, and Charles Schwab bought Forge Trust's parent on March 2, 2026. A successor custodian is the company that takes over the accounts.

Midland's letter said: "Midland Trust and Midland IRA are resigning and appointing Equity Trust Company as your custodian and administrator, effective July 15, 2024." It added "No action is needed." Owners who objected without closing or transferring were "deemed to have accepted." Leaving instead could incur "Midland Trust's transfer and account termination fees."

Kingdom Trust's metals stayed in the same vaults. Its $1.5 million FinCEN consent order (Consent Order No. 2023-01, April 2023) came from the Treasury's financial crimes unit. It covered Bank Secrecy Act (anti-money-laundering law) violations in a foreign payments business, not IRA metals.

What do gold IRA custodian complaints say?#

Most gold IRA custodian complaints are about leaving: slow exits and exit fees make up 64% to 75% of recent one-star reviews at Equity Trust, STRATA and GoldStar. The table sorts the most recent one-star reviews on Trustpilot, a public review site, by topic (read September 29, 2026). Complaints are the reviewers' claims, not findings.

One reviewer reports $390 to close a small Equity Trust account, and another $446.57 to close at STRATA. A third says GoldStar sold metal to cover more than $2,500 in fees.

BBB grades do not track complaint volume or review scores.

Inspira's record looks different. We sorted 517 BBB complaints filed from October 13, 2023 to September 10, 2026 (its profile shows 526 closed in 3 years), and none mention metals. Among retirement complaints, 67% cite delayed transfers out, 59% ID or login trouble and 37% say "never opened this account" (one complaint can fall in several groups). That last group fits forced rollovers: a plan can move an old balance of up to $7,000 into an IRA without asking (26 U.S.C. 401(a)(31)(B)).

Which Gold IRA Custodian Fits Your Situation?#

The right gold IRA custodian depends on your balance, your storage type and how soon you might leave. At $25,000 to $100,000 in shared storage, the lowest published yearly cost is $215 to $265, as of September 29, 2026. The table gives the lowest published option for 9 situations; it is not a ranking or advice.

Custodians are ranked on published criteria in best gold IRA custodians; no custodian pays for its place.

What Happens to Your Gold If Your Custodian Is Sold, Quits or Fails?#

Your metal normally stays in the same vault in your IRA's name when a custodian is sold, quits or fails; what changes is the custodian and its fees. Three things protect you. Section 408(a)(5) keeps IRA assets apart from the custodian's own. The vault holds the metal in the IRA's name, and Equity Trust's disclosure lists "an itemized listing of the individual coins and bullion purchased." A state regulator supervises the trust company.

A move to a new custodian is not a rollover. IRS Publication 590-A says a transfer "either at your request or at the trustee's request, isn't a rollover." In plain English: no tax, no 60-day clock and no once-a-year limit.

Some agreements let a custodian quit on 30 days' written notice (Directed, Inspira). If you do nothing, Directed may move your assets "to a successor trustee or custodian that we choose in our sole discretion." Or it may "pay or distribute your Account assets to you," which is "generally ... a taxable distribution."

The table shows the four patterns seen so far.

Take the 5 steps below when a change-of-custodian letter arrives.

1. Note the deadline in the letter. Midland's last day to opt out was July 14, 2024.
2. Download every statement and tax form.
3. Compare the new fee schedule with the old one, and update your wire instructions.
4. Ask the depository to confirm your holdings in writing.
5. Get a written exit-fee quote if you leave, and request a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer in kind.

Every real case and clause is covered in what happens to your gold IRA if your custodian quits, is sold or fails.

Is a gold IRA FDIC insured?#

No: FDIC insurance covers only the uninvested cash in a gold IRA, up to $250,000, and the vault's own insurance covers the metal. FDIC is federal bank deposit insurance. Uninvested cash is cash in the IRA not yet spent on metal. Three kinds of cover apply, listed below.

• FDIC: cash at an insured bank, up to $250,000 per depositor. GoldStar says: "The uninvested cash, up to $250,000, is the only portion of your account insured by the FDIC."
• SIPC: the Securities Investor Protection Corporation covers securities at a failed brokerage, up to $500,000 including $250,000 of cash. It never covers physical metal.
• Vault insurance: Delaware Depository carries $1 billion of all-risk cover plus $100 million of backup (contingent) cover (FAQ, read September 29, 2026). It pays metal value, not the premium you paid, and excludes war, terrorism, cyber events and confiscation.

Vault cover differs by vault. Limits and exclusions are in how gold IRA storage is insured.

Can the custodian sell your gold or close your IRA without asking?#

Yes, in one case: when fees go unpaid, at least 5 custodian agreements let the custodian sell or pay out your metal, and a payout is taxable. The 4 clauses below come from the custodians' own documents.

• Equity Trust (disclosure CA_F-0003-05 Rev. 121625) may "liquidate your precious metals assets to pay any fees due and owing ... and force distribute any remaining assets." In plain English: it can sell the metal and send you the rest as a taxed withdrawal.
• New Direction Trust Company may close the account and report the assets to the IRS on Form 1099.
• Equity Institutional (former Midland accounts): "Accounts with past due fees will be closed ... creating a taxable event." Reinstating (reopening) costs $250.
• Provident may liquidate for unpaid fees "plus one year's estimated fees," and its lien (a claim on your assets) "may be treated as distributed to you."

Advanta can do the same after 30 days' notice. Empty accounts can keep billing: Directed says "Fees will continue to accrue and be payable even if the Account contains no assets." Mainstar bills zero-value accounts "until written instruction to close the account is received and accepted."

Keep enough cash in the IRA for a year of fees. Close an empty account in writing and keep the confirmation. A forced payout is taxed like any other of your gold IRA distributions.

7 Questions to Ask a Gold IRA Custodian Before You Sign#

Before you sign, ask a gold IRA custodian 7 questions in writing, about the legal holder, the fee schedule, storage, exit costs, disputes, dealer payment and billing. Each question below comes with the dated finding that makes it matter.

1. "Who is the legal custodian, and which state regulator supervises it?" Six brands on this page are administrators. Check the charter on the state roster.
2. "Which fee schedule and revision applies to my account, and how much notice comes before a fee change?" Equity Trust has four schedules. GoldStar's changes take effect 30 days after mailed notice, and Directed's annual fee rose 68% from 2023 to 2026.
3. "Shared or separate storage, in which depository, and can you keep my silver separate?" Delaware separate storage excludes silver at STRATA and Forge.
4. "What does a full exit cost, in kind and by sale, and how long does it take?" Exits cost about $100 to $500 and drive 64% to 75% of one-star reviews.
5. "Is there an arbitration clause, and how do I opt out?" Arbitration sends disputes to a private judge instead of a court.
   • Equity Trust requires individual arbitration with a class-action waiver (no group lawsuits) unless you opt out "within 65 days of opening my Account." In Clark v. Equity Trust (federal court in New Mexico, October 29, 2024), an unfilled $200,000 Oxford Gold order went to arbitration.
   • Inspira requires individual arbitration, held in Chicago for claims of $50,000 or more, and bars claims after 2 years. It says the JAMS consumer minimum standards (an arbitration firm's fairness rules) "do not and shall not apply."
   • Directed caps its liability at "the total fees paid." Its statements are "deemed accepted" if not disputed within 60 days, and claims are "barred unless filed within two (2) years" (application 03-26). In plain English: check each statement within 60 days.
6. "Will you pay the dealer before the depository confirms delivery?" Directed's purchase form allows it.
7. "When are fees billed, how much cash must stay in the account, and who keeps its interest?" The two tables below answer this for the custodians that publish it.

Idle cash earns interest, but the custodian may keep it. GoldStar keeps its bank's rate spread as "GoldStar's compensation," and NDTCO keeps "all income that is generated from any undirected cash." Provident "may receive and retain interest," and STRATA sets rates "at STRATA's sole discretion." The sums are large: Forge Trust held $454.4 million of uninvested cash on September 30, 2025, per Forge Global's filing.

You can also cancel at the start. Treas. Reg. 1.408-6 gives you at least 7 days to revoke a new IRA and get back "the entire amount ... without adjustment for such items as sales commissions." You send the revocation to the custodian; the dealer's own cancellation terms are separate. Here is how to use the 7-day right to cancel a gold IRA in writing.

Gold IRA Custodians vs Depositories, Brokerages and Other Self-Directed IRA Providers#

A gold IRA custodian holds your IRA on paper; a depository stores the metal, a brokerage holds stock and fund IRAs, and all-asset providers add real estate and private deals. Readers often mix up these four kinds of companies. The three comparisons below show where each one ends and the custodian begins.

Custodian vs depository: who holds the gold?#

The custodian holds your gold IRA on paper and the depository holds the metal in its vault as the custodian's agent; the IRS keeps no list of approved vaults. Each custodian contracts with a short list of vaults. Fees, owners and insurance are compared for the main gold IRA depositories.

No IRS ruling addresses offshore IRA storage, so ask before choosing an offshore vault. Who bills storage also differs as of September 29, 2026. Equity Trust, STRATA and GoldStar publish their own storage fees, while NDTCO and Entrust pass the vault's bill through. Who bills what, custodian by custodian, is in gold IRA storage fees.

Self-directed IRA custodians: which ones hold precious metals?#

Any self-directed IRA custodian can hold IRA-eligible metal, but metals-focused schedules start at $215 a year at $50,000, while Madison, built for real estate and private deals, charges $656. Self-directed IRA (SDIRA) custodians fall into three groups.

The account type and the custodian are separate choices. How a self-directed IRA for gold is set up and taxed has its own page. SafeOunce covers self-directed IRAs only for metals; real estate, loans and private businesses are outside this guide.

Can Fidelity, Schwab or Vanguard be your gold IRA custodian?#

Fidelity can hold gold bullion inside its own IRAs; Schwab and Vanguard cannot, so their customers use a separate metals custodian.

Fidelity's fee schedule (FA-FEES-0926, read September 29, 2026) charges 0.99% to 2.90% to buy and 0.75% to 2.00% to sell. Storage is 0.125% a quarter ($3.75 minimum), with a $1,000 minimum purchase in an IRA. On $50,000 of gold, that storage is $250 a year. Fidelity's own fees are on Fidelity gold IRA.

Schwab's brokerage IRAs hold no physical metal, only gold ETFs (exchange-traded funds that trade like stocks), mining stocks and funds. Schwab has owned Forge Trust's parent, Forge Global, since March 2, 2026. The details are in Charles Schwab and gold IRAs.

Vanguard's IRA custodian is Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company. It holds no physical metal and offers only other firms' gold ETFs. If you move a Vanguard IRA to a gold IRA custodian, Vanguard charges $100 to close the account or transfer it out in full. That fee is from its schedule effective July 10, 2026, as explained in Vanguard and gold IRAs.

Gold IRA custodian FAQs#

Who is the custodian of my IRA?#

Your custodian is the company named as custodian or trustee on your statement and on the Form 5498 it sends each year. That may not be the company you talk to. Administrators such as uDirect IRA and Accuplan use American Estate & Trust as the legal custodian.

Does the custodian decide which precious metals you can buy?#

The tax code decides which metals are IRA-eligible, and each custodian adds its own list of products it will accept, which can be stricter. Custodian pages also contain errors (Horizon's January 2025 page; the others read September 29, 2026). Directed lists the modern .9999 British Britannia as "UNACCEPTABLE," though Britannias from 2013 meet the .995 gold floor (fineness is purity: .995 means 99.5% pure). American IRA says gold coins need ".9999"; the floor is .995. Horizon says "there isn't a law that requires" depository storage, which is wrong under 408(m)(3)(B). Accuplan allows in-kind distributions only "After age 59½," a limit no IRS rule sets, though the usual early-withdrawal tax applies before 59½. IRA Financial calls itself "IRS-approved," yet it is a South Dakota trust company, not on the IRS list. The rules on which precious metals the tax code allows list each coin.

Does the custodian report your gold to the IRS?#

Yes: the custodian reports your IRA's year-end value on Form 5498 each year and every withdrawal, in cash or coins, on Form 1099-R. Statements go out by January 31 (26 U.S.C. 408(i)). The year-end value uses the spot or bid basis, explained in how gold IRA metals are valued.

Can a Roth IRA hold gold at these custodians?#

Yes: a Roth IRA can hold the same IRA-eligible metal at the same custodians, and GoldStar's 2026 schedule lists a $100 fee for a Roth conversion. A Roth conversion moves money from a traditional IRA into a Roth, and you pay the tax now. Roth rules follow 26 U.S.C. 408A; see Roth gold IRA.

Which are the largest self-directed IRA custodians?#

Size claims are mostly the custodians' own marketing; the one public filing we found shows Forge Trust with $18.4 billion under custody and 2,703,045 accounts on September 30, 2025. Equity Trust says it has $71 billion (June 30, 2025) and Inspira says $62 to $63 billion (2024). Provident says more than $14 billion, STRATA "$10B+", Madison more than $6.5 billion, NDTCO more than $5.5 billion and Advanta "over $4 billion" (company sites, read September 29, 2026).

Is there a self-directed IRA custodian in Florida?#

Yes: Advanta IRA has its office in Clearwater, Florida, but its custodian, Advanta Trust Company, is chartered in Nevada. Your custodian does not need to be in your state. Midland Trust of Fort Myers, Florida, is now part of Equity Trust.

What was "Self Directed IRA Services, Inc."?#

It was the former name of STRATA Trust Company, a Texas-chartered custodian in Waco, established in 2008 and renamed in 2017. The Texas Department of Banking supervises it.

How do you cash out a gold IRA?#

You sell the metal to a dealer through your custodian and withdraw the cash, or you withdraw the coins themselves at their value that day. A sale inside the IRA is not taxed; a withdrawal from a traditional IRA is taxed as income. Fees apply: Equity Trust's metals-only schedule (Rev. 081726, read September 29, 2026) charges $30 per sale and $125 per in-kind distribution. The steps are in sell gold in your IRA and cash out.

Which company is best for a gold IRA?#

This page names no single best company, because the custodian and the gold company are separate choices. SafeOunce ranks gold IRA companies on published criteria, and no company can pay to change its place. See best gold IRA companies.