Texas Bullion Depository: The State-Run Vault for IRAs, Fees, Insurance and Who Runs It (2026)

The Texas Bullion Depository is a Texas state agency in Leander, run for the Comptroller by Lone Star Tangible Assets, the private company that also owns the dealer U.S. Gold Bureau. It can hold IRA metal, but only through one custodian, and it does not publish what IRA storage costs. So what do you actually pay, and what can you do if something goes wrong?

A depository is a high-security vault business that stores metal for others. A custodian is the trust company that legally holds an IRA and sends your statements. This page covers the operator, the IRA route through Equity Trust and the fee schedule effective April 1, 2026, in dollars. It then covers insurance at metal value, the limits on suing the State, the anti-seizure law, the three Texas vaults and who the vault suits, as of September 29, 2026.

Gold IRA depositories differ in owner, price and contract terms. This vault is one of the gold IRA depositories SafeOunce checks with the same fee, insurance and contract questions. This page covers the state-run vault at texasbulliondepository.gov, not the private Texas Precious Metals Depository in Shiner.

The 13 facts below come from the depository's own pages, Texas law, the IRS, the CME exchange group, the Comptroller and the Texas Tribune, each dated. The last row links to the depository's own site.

Our Verdict on the Texas Bullion Depository#

The Texas Bullion Depository is a real, state-supervised vault with a published price list, but its IRA price is not published and its operator is a dealer group. Texas law also limits what you can recover if metal goes missing. SafeOunce's review is built from the depository's documents and court files, not star ratings. The only editorial review on Google's first page for this vault (September 29, 2026) comes from U.S. Gold Bureau, whose parent runs the vault.

The vault gets three things right. Every account uses segregated storage, which means your metal is kept apart and you get the same pieces back. The Comptroller can audit it at any time, and state law bars it from leasing or hedging your metal.

What should a careful IRA owner confirm before choosing it? This Texas Bullion Depository review points to three answers to get in writing. You need the IRA storage price from Equity Trust, whether a declared value can be recorded for premium coins, and which contract governs your IRA account.

Look elsewhere if your IRA stays at a custodian other than Equity Trust, or if you want full damages in a dispute. A personal account under about $20,408 also pays the $100 yearly minimum, which is more than 0.49% of its value (1% at $10,000).

Who Owns and Runs the Texas Bullion Depository?#

The State of Texas owns the Texas Bullion Depository as an agency of the Comptroller's office, and a private company, Lone Star Tangible Assets, runs it under contract. That company also owns U.S. Gold Bureau, a coin dealer. Why does the difference between owner and operator matter? The State writes the rules and can audit, but the people who handle your metal every day work for a company that also sells metal.

A state agency in the Texas Comptroller's office#

Texas created the depository by law in 2015: "The Texas Bullion Depository is established as an agency of this state in the office of the comptroller" (Gov't Code 2116.002). The law came from H.B. 483, which the Comptroller says was signed on June 12, 2015. The Comptroller chose Lone Star Tangible Assets as its contractor on June 14, 2017, for 5 years plus two 1-year options (Fiscal Notes, September 2017).

The depository opened in June 2018 in a temporary Austin vault, according to the Texas Tribune. Its own Leander building went up from 2018 to January 2020. Comptroller Don Huffines, appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott, has led the office since August 1, 2026. Macy Douglas is the depository administrator.

Lone Star Tangible Assets: the dealer group that runs the vault and owns U.S. Gold Bureau#

Lone Star Tangible Assets, LP (LSTA) is the private contractor that builds and operates the depository, and it also owns the United States Gold Bureau. A contractor is a private company paid to do the work. According to LSTA's own site, it also owns a second seller, Wholesale Coins Direct. What the dealer charges and how it treats customers is in our U.S. Gold Bureau review.

LSTA holds the three roles listed below, as of September 29, 2026.

• Vault operator for the State of Texas, selected in June 2017.
• Nonbank trustee on the IRS list, approved November 30, 2023 (list as of April 1, 2026).
• Owner of a coin dealer, U.S. Gold Bureau. LSTA and the dealer list the same street address: 203 Heritage Grove Road, Leander (IRS list; U.S. Gold Bureau client agreement).

LSTA's chief executive, Christopher Speltz, spoke for the operator in the Comptroller's 2025 article on IRA storage. The depository's IRA page says: "As a state-run entity, we eliminate the financial and operational risks associated with for-profit private depositories." In plain English: the page presents the vault as free of for-profit risk, yet a for-profit dealer group runs it.

Dealer-owned vaults carry one structural risk. When the seller and the vault share an owner, the vault's report is not an independent check on the seller. That was the setup at First State Depository, where a dealer and its vault shared an owner and a building. SafeOunce has found no sign of wrongdoing at this vault. Other dealer-owned vaults for IRA metal are compared on our dealer vault page. State oversight is the check here.

Is the Texas Bullion Depository IRS-approved? Only its operator, as a nonbank trustee#

No: the IRS approves no vault, but the depository's operator, Lone Star Tangible Assets, is on the IRS list of approved nonbank trustees, approved November 30, 2023. A nonbank trustee is a company that is not a bank but may act as an IRA trustee with IRS approval (Treas. Reg. 1.408-2(e)). The list held 73 entities as of April 1, 2026. LSTA is the only precious-metals business on it.

The tax code requires IRA bullion to be "in the physical possession of a trustee described under subsection (a)" (26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(B)). Under 408(n), a state-supervised trust company counts as a "bank". That is why Equity Trust, a South Dakota state-chartered trust company, is not on the nonbank list.

At this vault the operator is itself a trustee, so the metal sits in a trustee's own hands. Delaware Depository's trust company is the only other such setup SafeOunce found. No IRS ruling or court case says storage by a trustee's agent at other vaults fails the rule.

The depository's own IRA page speaks of "IRS-approved physical precious metals". The tax code names which metals qualify, and the IRS keeps no list of approved coins or bars. What the IRS checks before it lists a nonbank trustee is on our glossary page.

How state oversight and audits work at the Texas Bullion Depository#

The depository has three audit layers: the operator's own audit with daily reports, the Comptroller's right to audit "at any time", and an outside accounting firm. An audit is an outside check that the metal on the books is really there.

The table shows who checks the vault, what they check and how often, as described on the depository's oversight page (read September 29, 2026).

Depository audits differ in scope from vault to vault. What each kind of check covers is on our page about depository audits.

The depository calls its vault "Class 3", which it describes as "the highest security rating"; that is its own claim. Customers can view photos of their deposits and withdrawals online. The vault is not on the CME's COMEX gold report (September 28, 2026), so no exchange audit applies.

No audit report is published, and the oversight page does not name the outside firm. SafeOunce also found no SOC 1 report, a formal audit of a service company's controls, in its search on September 29, 2026.

Can You Store IRA Gold at the Texas Bullion Depository?#

Yes: since June 12, 2025, the depository holds IRA metal through Equity Trust Company, the only custodian it names, as of September 29, 2026. Equity Trust lists five vaults: AMGL, Brink's, Delaware Depository, IDS and the Texas Bullion Depository.

What if your IRA is at another custodian? You would first move it to Equity Trust by a direct transfer. STRATA and GoldStar, two other gold IRA custodians, do not list this vault; their Texas choice is TPMD in Shiner, plus IDS in Dallas for GoldStar. Which vaults each of the gold IRA custodians uses is compared on our custodian hub.

How IRA storage works: your dealer, Equity Trust and the depository#

An IRA at the Texas Bullion Depository takes 5 steps, and your dealer and Equity Trust do most of them. A self-directed IRA is an IRA that can hold assets other than funds, such as metal. A direct transfer moves money from custodian to custodian, with no 60-day clock.

The 5 steps are listed below in order.

1. Open a self-directed IRA at Equity Trust. Its precious-metals-only schedule (Rev. 081726) lists a $50 setup fee and $125 a year. Its direct Universal IRA (Rev. 110625) costs $350 to $2,500 a year plus storage, so ask which schedule you are opened under.
2. Move money by a direct transfer or a rollover from your current IRA or plan.
3. Buy IRA-eligible metal from a dealer that works with Equity Trust, and ask for the price per coin and the percent over spot.
4. Choose the Texas Bullion Depository on the Equity Trust storage form, and ask for the storage price in writing.
5. Check that the metal appears on your Equity Trust statement with product, quantity and "segregated" storage.

Expect the first statement to show less than your invoice. Equity Trust values metal at the prior day's metal price, which "does not include any markups, commissions or premiums from the precious metals dealer". That gap is the dealer's premium, not an error.

Equity Trust's schedule bills storage "at the time the metals are received at the elected depository and each January thereafter". Whether its storage prices apply at this vault is not established.

Every line of the Equity Trust fees schedule is explained on our Equity Trust review.

The Comptroller described the same route in August 2025. Its advice: "Consumers wanting to store IRA investments with TxBD should consult their gold dealer and Equity Trust Company to coordinate delivery and storage."

The account agreement discussed later is written for direct accounts, so ask Equity Trust which agreement covers your IRA metal.

Which metals the depository can hold in an IRA#

The depository stores gold, silver, platinum and palladium, but only metal that is IRA-eligible under 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3) can sit in your IRA account there. Fineness is how pure the metal is: .999 means 99.9% pure. The tax code allows named US coins, such as the Gold Eagle, plus bullion at set fineness levels. The full list of precious metals the tax code allows is on our eligibility page.

The table splits what can and cannot go into your IRA at this vault, as of September 29, 2026.

The State also sells a 2026 Lone Star Series of coins. SafeOunce has not established whether Equity Trust accepts them. Ask Equity Trust in writing whether a given State of Texas product is accepted before you buy it for an IRA.

Not every Texas-themed product is a coin you can hold in an IRA. Redbacks join the other coins you cannot hold in an IRA on our ineligible products page.

Texas Bullion Depository Fees in 2026#

The Texas Bullion Depository charges personal accounts 0.49% a year of average daily value below $500,000, with a $25 minimum each quarter, under a schedule effective April 1, 2026. It does not publish what IRA accounts pay. Before April 1, 2026, the old stairstep schedule charged 0.50% on balances up to $2.5 million, plus a $50 setup fee and a $25 withdrawal fee.

The storage fee schedule for personal accounts (effective April 1, 2026)#

The table lists every fee on the depository's schedule effective April 1, 2026, for accounts opened directly with it. Average daily value is the dollar value of your metal each day, averaged over the billing period.

The depository bills at least once a quarter. You pay the quarter's daily fees added up, or $25, whichever is greater.

What storage costs at $25,000 to $500,000#

At the April 2026 rates, storing $100,000 of metal in a personal account costs $490 a year, about $1.34 a day. The $1.34 daily example comes from the depository's own fee page. The table shows the yearly fee at nine balances.

Below about $20,408, the $25-a-quarter minimum sets the price: $100 a year, or 1% on $10,000. Above that line, the fee grows with the value of your metal. A rise in the gold price therefore raises your fee even if you add no coins.

The $500,000 tier cliff#

One rate applies to your whole balance, so an account worth $499,999 pays about $2,450 a year while one worth $500,000 pays $2,200. The schedule says "one rate ... applies to your entire holdings". The same jump happens at $1 million: $999,999.99 pays about $4,400, while $1,000,000 pays $3,900.

Texas Bullion Depository IRA storage fees: not published#

The depository does not publish IRA storage fees: its IRA page says they "are typically negotiated between the custodian, the gold dealer and the depository contractor". The same page adds: "The fees for standard storage shown on this website may not apply." So the 0.49% rate is not your IRA price.

The table shows what an IRA owner can compare today (as of September 29, 2026).

Gold IRA storage fees at Equity Trust's other vaults are flat yearly prices set by the custodian. Every published custodian price is compared on gold IRA storage fees.

Ask Equity Trust and your dealer for the yearly storage price at this vault in writing before you sign. Ask, too, whether it is flat or a percent of value.

Percent-of-value storage vs a flat gold IRA storage fee#

A 0.49% fee costs less than a $285 flat package below $58,163 of metal and more above it. Against a $235 package ($125 account fee plus $110 non-segregated storage), the break-even is $47,959. At $100,000, 0.49% comes to $490, which is $205 more than $285.

These are different accounts. The 0.49% rate is for personal accounts, and the flat packages are IRA fees at Equity Trust's other vaults. Use the comparison to judge any percent-of-value quote you receive for IRA storage.

Run your own balance in the gold IRA fee calculator.

Shipping, pick-up and viewing fees when you take physical gold out#

Shipping $100,000 of metal out of the depository costs $197.95: $17.95 plus 0.18% of the spot value. Spot value is today's market price of the raw metal. The schedule effective April 1, 2026 lists the four exit costs below.

• Shipping: $17.95 plus 0.18% of spot value (or declared value), insured. The formula covers up to 5,000 oz of silver or 100 oz of gold, platinum or palladium, and up to $100,000 per shipment. Larger shipments get a custom quote.
• Pick-up in person or by courier: $35.
• Viewing room: $35 per half hour.
• Withdrawal fee: none since April 1, 2026 (it was $25 before).

For IRA metal, shipping goes through Equity Trust. An in-kind distribution means taking the coins themselves out of the IRA. From a traditional IRA, it is a taxable distribution, valued at the metal's market value on the day it leaves.

The tax and paperwork steps for taking physical gold out of an IRA are on our distributions guide.

Segregated vs Commingled Storage: Texas Bullion Depository Stores Every Account Separately#

The Texas Bullion Depository offers only segregated storage: your metal is "stored separately, never commingled", and you get back the exact pieces you deposited. Commingled storage means your coins sit with identical coins of other owners; you still own your quantity. Silver coins can be segregated here too, which Delaware Depository does not offer through Entrust or STRATA. For direct accounts, the account agreement (effective April 1, 2026) says "legal title ... remains with you".

Segregation helps prove which items are yours, but it is not a shield against fraud. It did not protect customers of First State Depository, the US vault failure that hit IRA owners.

At flat-fee custodians, segregated storage costs $50 to $60 a year more than commingled: Equity Trust charges $160 against $110, and STRATA $175 against $115 (September 29, 2026). Here there is no cheaper commingled option, so the choice between segregated vs commingled storage is made for you. When paying for segregated vs commingled storage makes sense is on our storage-type page.

How the Texas Bullion Depository Insures Your Metal#

The Texas Bullion Depository insures stored metal through the Lloyd's of London market at its metal content value, or at a higher value you declare, and publishes no policy limit. The Lloyd's detail comes from the depository's own insurance page, read September 29, 2026.

Some pages say metal is "covered up to 100% of their replacement value". The depository's own insurance page says metal content value unless a higher value is declared.

FDIC and SIPC never cover IRA metal, so the vault's policy is what covers it. Limits and exclusions at other vaults are on how gold IRA storage is insured.

Metal value, not the price you paid#

"All items are automatically covered to the value of the metal content of the items", so a coin bought at a premium is insured for its gold, not its price. A proof coin is a specially struck collector version. A declared value is a higher value you tell the vault to insure. The account agreement uses the same basis: liability "will be limited to the metal content value of the assets on deposit or, in our sole discretion, replacement".

The table shows the gap on 20 proof coins, using prices from a September 29, 2026 retail snapshot (example only).

If you hold proof or graded coins, ask Equity Trust whether a declared value can be recorded for your IRA account.

When coverage starts, and who insures the trip to the vault#

Coverage starts only after a deposit is "received, inspected, and accepted", and the sender, not the depository, must insure the shipment on its way in. Return shipments are insured: lost items are "replaced ... with like-kind precious metals" or reimbursed "up to the insured value". Ask your dealer in writing who insures the shipment to Leander.

Your Rights If the Texas Bullion Depository Fails or Loses Metal#

You can sue the Texas Bullion Depository only to recover metal it denies holding, and never for more than the amount on deposit, because it is a state agency. Sovereign immunity is the rule that a state can be sued only where its own law allows. Against a private vault you keep ordinary contract rights, usually through arbitration.

Delaware Depository's personal account agreement, for example, sends disputes to AAA arbitration in Wilmington, with the customer paying half the fees.

If a depository fails, your rights depend on who owns it and what its contract says. What happened to IRA owners in the First State Depository failure is on our page about what happens if a depository fails.

What Texas law lets you sue the depository for#

Texas waives its immunity only "for an action brought by a depositor for the denial of deposit liability" (Gov't Code 2116.009(c)). Deposit liability means the vault's duty to hand back your metal. The full text is in Texas Government Code chapter 2116.

The same law also protects you in three ways. The Legislature cannot spend deposits (2116.004), and the depository may not lease, swap or hedge its holdings (2116.022). The account agreement has no arbitration clause, so disputes go to Texas state district courts in Travis County.

That is the depository's personal agreement. An IRA owner also signs Equity Trust's custodial account agreement, which requires individual arbitration and waives class actions unless you opt out within 65 days of opening (Art. XVIII). In Clark v. Equity Trust (D.N.M., October 29, 2024), the court sent the owner's claim to arbitration.

For IRA metal, the depositor of record may be the IRA's trustee side, not you personally. That is SafeOunce's reading, not a settled answer. Ask Equity Trust what its contract with the depository says.

Check every statement within 30 days: the one-year deadline#

The account agreement treats a statement as correct unless you object in writing within 30 days, and gives you one year to sue after a denial. The agreement (effective April 1, 2026) counts the 30 days from "the date we sent you the first account statement on which the problem or error appeared".

A second clause reads: "Provision of a periodic account statement constitutes notice of denial of liability for any transaction that is not reflected on the account statement."

You can check delivery yourself by comparing each statement with your dealer's invoice, line by line. The steps to check delivery of IRA metal are on our delivery checklist.

Unpaid fees: the depository's lien#

The depository can sell part of your metal to cover unpaid fees, "without notice", under the lien in its account agreement. A lien is a legal claim on property until a debt is paid. Texas law also gives the depository a lien on each account "to secure any fees, charges, or other obligations" (Gov't Code 2116.014(a)). Until the fees are paid, the agreement suspends your withdrawals.

IRA owners face a second risk. Equity Trust may liquidate and force-distribute IRA assets for unpaid fees (Disclosure CA_F-0003-05 Rev. 121625). A forced distribution from a traditional IRA is taxable, so unpaid storage can bring a tax bill.

Can the Government Seize Gold at the Texas Bullion Depository?#

Texas law declares an outside seizure of Texas Bullion Depository accounts in a general gold emergency "void ab initio", but that law is untested in court. Void ab initio means treated as if it never happened. The same law also freezes withdrawals when such an order arrives.

Three more rules sit in the same section. Under (b), the depository may not treat the seizing authority as the account holder. Under (c), it "shall suspend withdrawal privileges" until "suitable substitute arrangements may be effected". Under (d), it refers the matter to the Texas attorney general.

The account agreement points the other way. Its force majeure clause, which excuses a party from events beyond its control, covers "acts of any government or any agency or subdivision thereof" and "judicial action". Delaware Depository's insurance, by comparison, excludes government confiscation outright.

No current US law orders gold handed in. The 1933 order and today's law are explained on can the government confiscate your gold. Treat the Texas clause as a promise that is untested in court, not a guarantee.

Court Cases Involving the Texas Bullion Depository, Texas Precious Metals and U.S. Gold Bureau's Parent#

Three federal cases touch the Texas Bullion Depository or its operator, and none is a customer's claim that the vault lost metal.

Texas Precious Metals, LLC v. Hancock and Douglas (W.D. Tex. No. 1:26-cv-00513-DAE). Texas Precious Metals (TPM), a private dealer in Shiner, challenged the depository's commemorative coin program with trademark and state-power claims. The court denied a temporary restraining order on March 20, 2026, and a preliminary injunction on May 26, 2026. It found TPM "not substantially likely to succeed on the merits of any of its claims", and TPM appealed on June 25, 2026.

A related state-court suit, filed in Travis County in February 2026, has been reported. The dealer's side of the dispute is in our Texas Precious Metals review.

The State of Texas, Texas Bullion Depository and Kelly Hancock v. Texas Precious Metals, LLC (N.D. Tex. No. 7:26-cv-00021-O). Filed March 2, 2026, it seeks to cancel TPM's Texas-outline trademarks; Kelly Hancock was then Acting Comptroller. LSTA moved to intervene on May 5, 2026. On August 6, 2026, the court moved the case to the Western District of Texas (No. 1:26-cv-02182, Judge David Ezra), where it is undecided as of September 29, 2026.

The May 26 order recites the state officials' evidence of "the doubling of new precious metals storage accounts at TBD since the launch of the commemorative coins." In plain English: the 2026 cases are a fight over who may put the shape of Texas on coins. They are not about customers' stored metal.

Mugg v. Hutmacher (W.D. Tex. No. 1:18-cv-00732). A customer filed fraud and RICO (federal racketeering law) claims on August 27, 2018, against U.S. Gold Bureau, LSTA and three owners. The court denied a motion to dismiss on August 2, 2019. The case ended by stipulated dismissal on November 7, 2019, and no court found anyone liable.

SafeOunce found no regulator action against the depository or LSTA in its searches on September 29, 2026. Mugg is one of the U.S. Gold Bureau lawsuits on record. The full record is on our page about U.S. Gold Bureau lawsuits and complaints.

How Much Gold Is in the Texas Bullion Depository?#

The Texas Bullion Depository does not publish its gold weight, but in 2025 the Comptroller reported deposits above $400 million and more than 1,700 account holders. The $400 million figure is as of June 6, 2025. The Comptroller counted nearly 1,000 account holders in 2021.

Taken at face value, $400 million across 1,700 account holders is roughly $235,000 each. That is a rough average: both inputs are "more than" figures, and account holders may include institutions. The deposits mix four metals valued at June 2025 prices, so SafeOunce does not convert them into ounces of gold.

Who the Texas Bullion Depository Suits, and Who Should Look Elsewhere#

The Texas Bullion Depository suits an IRA owner who uses Equity Trust, wants segregated storage under state oversight, and gets the IRA storage price in writing first. It does not suit someone who needs full legal remedies or a published IRA price. The table sets out six reader situations, as of September 29, 2026.

Treat each row as a starting point, not a final answer.

6 questions to ask before you store IRA metal at the Texas Bullion Depository#

The 6 questions below get the unpublished facts in writing before your metal moves.

1. Ask Equity Trust the yearly storage price at this vault, and whether it is flat or a percent of value.
2. Ask Equity Trust which contract covers your IRA metal at the depository, and decide within 65 days of opening whether to opt out of its arbitration clause.
3. Ask whether a declared value can be recorded for proof or graded coins.
4. Ask your dealer who insures the shipment to Leander.
5. Ask whether your dealer is affiliated with the vault's operator, Lone Star Tangible Assets.
6. Ask how long an in-kind withdrawal or a sale takes, and what it costs.

Is There Another Gold Depository in Texas?#

Yes: besides the state-run Texas Bullion Depository in Leander, IRA metal is stored at the private Texas Precious Metals Depository in Shiner and at IDS of Texas in Dallas. Each of the three Texas gold IRA depositories works with different custodians. The table compares them as of September 29, 2026.

Vaults across the US are ranked on best gold IRA depositories.

Texas Bullion Depository vs Texas Precious Metals Depository#

They are different vaults: the Texas Bullion Depository is a state agency in Leander, while the Texas Precious Metals Depository is a private dealer's vault in Shiner. TPMD is a division of the dealer Texas Precious Metals and is COMEX-listed. In 2025, its site listed storage at 0.50% up to $100,000 with a $10 monthly minimum, and it said the firm ADKF audits it each year. Fees and custodians for the Texas Precious Metals Depository are on its own page.

The two vaults' parent companies sit on opposite sides of the 2026 trademark cases, with LSTA moving to join the State's side against TPM. The two dealers behind these vaults are compared on U.S. Gold Bureau vs Texas Precious Metals.

Texas Bullion Depository vs Delaware Depository#

Both are state-supervised, but Delaware Depository is a private trust company used by many metals custodians, while the Texas vault takes IRAs through Equity Trust only. Its custodians include Equity Trust, STRATA, GoldStar and Entrust. Delaware Depository stores IRA metal in Wilmington, Delaware, and Boulder City, Nevada. Its insurance is $1 billion all-risk plus $100 million contingent, and it excludes government confiscation (FAQ, September 29, 2026).

Equity Trust charges $110 non-segregated or $160 segregated for IRA storage there (schedule Rev. 081726). Delaware Depository's personal accounts pay 0.50% non-segregated or 1.5% segregated (schedule R220301, as of September 29, 2026), with AAA arbitration in Wilmington. Fees and insurance for the Delaware Depository are on its own page.

Did Texas pass a gold-backed currency? Legal tender and H.B. 1056#

Yes, in part: H.B. 1056, signed June 22, 2025, made qualifying gold and silver specie legal tender in Texas from September 1, 2026. It also authorizes a gold- and silver-backed transactional currency from May 1, 2027 (bill history). Specie means metal coins or pieces, here marked with their weight and purity. Legal tender means money the law recognizes for paying debts.

Section 2116.101 makes qualifying specie legal tender "to the extent authorized by Section 10, Article I, United States Constitution". Section 2116.102 describes a currency "backed by gold and silver bullion held in the depository". It does not change federal IRA rules: IRA metal is still governed by 26 U.S.C. 408(m). What legal tender status does and does not mean for IRA metal is in our glossary.

Where is the Texas Bullion Depository?#

The depository is in Leander, Texas, about 30 miles (48 km) north of Austin, in a 40,000-square-foot facility on 10 acres. That is about 3,716 square meters on about 4 hectares.

Can you visit your gold at the Texas Bullion Depository?#

Personal account holders can book a viewing room at $35 per half hour (schedule effective April 1, 2026); IRA owners arrange any visit through Equity Trust. One directory site says in-person visits are not offered, but the fee schedule lists the room. How to visit your gold IRA metals at any vault is on our visits page.

Do you pay sales tax on gold stored in Texas?#

The Comptroller says: "If you buy and store precious metals in Texas, you won't pay sales tax on the purchase" (Fiscal Notes, August 2025). Sales tax rules differ by the state the metal is delivered to. Every state's rule is on sales tax on gold by state.

Does storing IRA gold in Texas avoid state income tax on withdrawals?#

No: state income tax on IRA withdrawals depends on where you live, not where the vault is. A Texas vault does not change the tax your home state charges. All 50 states are compared on state income tax on gold IRA withdrawals.

Can you keep IRA gold at home instead of a depository?#

No: IRA bullion must be "in the physical possession of a trustee" (26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(B)). The Tax Court treated home-stored IRA coins as a taxable distribution in McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10 (2021). The court case is covered on home storage gold IRA.

Is Texas Bullion Exchange the same as the Texas Bullion Depository?#

No: Texas Bullion Exchange is a different business with a similar name, and SafeOunce has not reviewed it. The state depository's only website is texasbulliondepository.gov.