Precious Metals IRA Glossary: 60 Terms Explained (2026)

This precious metals IRA glossary explains 60 terms you meet when you open, fund, store and cash out a gold IRA, each with a 2026 number. Most of the words come from the tax code and IRS publications, but 6 phrases come only from sales scripts. So which is which?

The IRS keeps no list of approved coins, dealers or vaults. Yet in September 2026, 5 of the 6 glossaries that rank for "gold IRA glossary" called something "IRS-approved" or "IRA approved," and this one explains why that wording is wrong.

The 60 terms follow the account's life in 6 groups; find any word in the A-Z table below.

The table below lists all 60 precious metals IRA terms from A to Z, as of September 29, 2026.

Gold IRA Account Terms: Who Holds the Account and Who Works for You (10 Terms)#

A gold IRA is a normal IRA held by a trustee, and every person around it has a legal label that decides what they may do. Those people include the custodian, the dealer, the salesperson and your own family. Who is on your side, and who is not?

1. Precious metals IRA#

A precious metals IRA is an individual retirement account whose trustee buys and holds gold, silver, platinum or palladium that the tax code allows. So yes, you can put precious metals in an IRA, within 2 rules.

In a gold IRA, the metal must be a coin named in 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(A) or pure bullion under 408(m)(3)(B). It must also stay "in the physical possession of a trustee." Otherwise it is a normal traditional, Roth, SEP or SIMPLE IRA, with the same limits and taxes.

The full precious metals IRA guide covers all four metals.

2. Gold IRA#

A gold IRA is a precious metals IRA that holds mainly gold, such as American Gold Eagles or bars at least 99.5% pure. The Gold Eagle is only 91.67% gold, yet it qualifies because the law names it.

A gold IRA works in 5 steps: open it with a custodian, fund it, buy metal from a dealer, store it in a vault, then sell or withdraw it.

See how a gold IRA works, step by step, with its costs.

3. Self-directed IRA#

A self-directed IRA is an IRA whose custodian lets you choose assets that ordinary brokerages do not hold, such as physical metal.

It is not a separate account type: traditional, Roth, SEP or SIMPLE rules still apply. You pick every purchase and every seller.

An SEC and NASAA investor alert warns: "Self-directed IRA custodians generally do not evaluate the quality or legitimacy of any investment in the self-directed IRA or its promoters." In plain English: nobody checks the deal but you. See what a self-directed IRA for gold costs.

4. Custodian (IRA trustee)#

A custodian is the bank, trust company or IRS-listed nonbank trustee that holds your IRA, keeps its records and reports it to the IRS.

For your IRA, most metals custodians are state-regulated trust companies, which the tax code treats like banks. The custodian buys metal only on your instruction and does not check the dealer's price. The SEC's case against Equity Trust over this role was dismissed (Initial Decision No. 1030, June 27, 2016).

Calling one "IRS-approved" is usually wrong (term 5). Fees and charters are compared in gold IRA custodians.

5. Nonbank trustee#

A nonbank trustee is a company, not a bank, that holds written IRS approval to act as an IRA trustee (Treas. Reg. 1.408-2(e)).

This is the only approval list the IRS keeps. As of April 1, 2026, it names 73 entities, and the only metals business on it is Lone Star Tangible Assets, LP, approved November 30, 2023. An applicant needs at least $250,000 of net worth (assets minus debts).

The list is mostly brokerages (Schwab, Merrill, Morgan Stanley, Robinhood), HSA firms and insurers. Equity Trust, STRATA, GoldStar, Kingdom Trust, Madison, Entrust and Midland are not on it; they are state-supervised trust companies. See the full nonbank trustee rules.

6. Fiduciary#

A fiduciary is someone the law requires to put your interests first, and a gold IRA salesperson almost never is one.

The Labor Department's 1975 test requires advice on a "regular basis" under a "mutual agreement" as a "primary basis" for your decisions. In plain English: a one-time rollover pitch usually fails it. The 2024 rule never took effect, and the 1975 test was restored effective April 20, 2026 (91 FR 13503).

American Hartford Gold's September 2026 agreement says "no fiduciary relationship exists." GoldStar Trust says it "is not a 'fiduciary' with respect to your IRA." In plain English: neither must put you first. When you direct your own self-directed IRA, the law treats you as its fiduciary (Ellis v. Commissioner, 787 F.3d 1213, 8th Cir., 2015). The clauses show why most gold IRA salespeople are not your fiduciary.

7. Disqualified person#

A disqualified person is someone your IRA may not deal with, starting with you and your close family. Dealing means buying, selling, lending or letting them use the metal.

26 U.S.C. 4975(e)(2) lists 9 categories. Family, under 4975(e)(6), means your spouse, ancestors, lineal descendants and their spouses, as mapped below.

• In: your spouse, parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren and their spouses.
• Out: your brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends. Parents-in-law are your spouse's ancestors, not yours.

Selling your own Gold Eagles to your IRA breaks the rule, even at a fair price. Every category of disqualified person has its own page.

8. Prohibited transaction#

A prohibited transaction is a deal between your IRA and a disqualified person, and for the IRA owner it ends the IRA.

The whole IRA is then treated as paid out at its January 1 fair market value (26 U.S.C. 408(e)(2)): all of it taxable, plus a 10% additional tax under 59 1/2.

Buying IRA coins from a shop your son owns 50% or more of is one metals example. The full list of IRA prohibited transactions shows more.

9. Collectible#

A collectible is the tax code's word for items an IRA may not buy, such as art, stamps, coins and metal.

Under 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(1), a collectible your IRA buys counts as a withdrawal of its cost. The rule covers property bought after December 31, 1981. The 2 exceptions are the 2 routes in term 18: named coins, and pure bullion held by the trustee.

Old Morgan silver dollars are collectibles, so $10,000 of them bought by an IRA is taxed as a $10,000 withdrawal. The IRS collectibles rule explains how a wrong purchase is taxed.

10. ERISA#

ERISA is the 1974 federal law that protects workplace retirement plans such as 401(k)s, and it also created the IRA.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (Pub. L. 93-406) became law on September 2, 1974. Its first IRA limit was "15 percent of the compensation ... or $1,500, whichever is less." In plain English: up to $1,500 a year. An IRA without employer money is not an ERISA plan (29 CFR 2510.3-2(d)).

A 401(k) rollover swaps ERISA's anti-alienation rule, which keeps creditors off plan money (29 U.S.C. 1056(d)(1)), for state law outside bankruptcy. In bankruptcy, rollover money stays outside the $1,711,975 IRA cap (from April 1, 2025). Read what ERISA protects in your 401(k).

Funding Terms: How Money Moves Into a Gold IRA (7 Terms)#

Money reaches a gold IRA in 3 ways: a yearly cash contribution, a transfer from another IRA, or a rollover from a workplace plan. Each way has its own limit and clock, as listed below.

1. Contribution: new cash, capped at $7,500 in 2026.
2. Transfer: IRA money moved from custodian to custodian, with no dollar cap.
3. Rollover: money from a 401(k) or similar plan, with no dollar cap.

11. Contribution limit#

The contribution limit is the most new money you can add to all your IRAs in a year: $7,500 in 2026. At 50 or older, a $1,100 catch-up (an extra amount for older savers) raises it to $8,600.

For your IRA, the numbers come from IRS Notice 2025-67. Contributions must be cash (26 U.S.C. 408(a)(1)), so you cannot put in coins you already own. Money over the limit is an excess contribution, taxed 6% a year until you take it out (26 U.S.C. 4973). Transfers and rollovers do not count against the limit.

The 2027 limits are not announced as of September 29, 2026. Limits for SEP, SIMPLE and solo 401(k) accounts are in gold IRA contribution limits.

12. Rollover#

A rollover moves retirement money from one plan or IRA to another without tax when it follows the rules.

In a gold IRA, rollovers usually bring money from a 401(k), 403(b) or similar plan. Withholding is the tax a payer holds back for the IRS. It is 20% on a plan check paid to you (26 U.S.C. 3405(c)), 10% by default on an IRA payout, and zero on a direct rollover.

Every source plan is covered in gold IRA rollover.

13. Trustee-to-trustee transfer#

A trustee-to-trustee transfer moves IRA money straight from one custodian to another, and the tax code does not count it as a rollover.

Under IRS Publication 590-A, a transfer has no 60-day clock, no once-per-year limit and no withholding. It is the usual way to fund a gold IRA from a brokerage IRA.

Ask for an IRA to gold IRA transfer, not a check made out to you.

14. Direct and indirect rollover#

A direct rollover sends plan money straight to the new IRA custodian; an indirect rollover pays you first, and you redeposit it.

Withholding makes the difference.

A direct rollover avoids all of this. The withholding math is in direct vs indirect rollover.

15. 60-day rollover rule#

The 60-day rule gives you 60 days after you receive a payout to deposit it in an IRA or plan, or it becomes taxable.

A deadline on a weekend or holiday moves to the next business day (26 U.S.C. 7503; Estate of Caan, 161 T.C. No. 6, 2023). For gold IRAs, the trap is the same-property rule: an IRA rollover must return the same property that came out.

So you cannot withdraw cash, buy coins and deposit the coins. An RMD can never be rolled over; a rolled RMD is an excess contribution (26 U.S.C. 408(d)(3)(E)).

Missed the deadline? Self-certifying a waiver is free; an IRS private letter ruling costs $3,500 (Rev. Proc. 2026-4, from January 1, 2026), not the $18,500 Publication 590-A prints. The 60-day rollover rule page shows how to count the days.

16. One-rollover-per-year rule#

The one-rollover-per-year rule allows only one IRA-to-IRA 60-day rollover in any 12 months, counting all your IRAs together.

The rule comes from the Bobrow case and IRS Announcement 2014-15, and it applies from January 1, 2015. It does not apply to transfers, Roth conversions or rollovers from a workplace plan.

Break it, and the second payout is taxable (plus 10% under 59 1/2), and its redeposit is an excess contribution taxed 6% a year. The 365-day boundary is not settled, so the safe date for a second rollover is day 366. Read what the one-rollover-per-year rule does and does not count.

17. Revocation period (the 7-day right to cancel)#

The revocation period is your right to cancel a new IRA within at least 7 days and get back every dollar you put in. To revoke means to cancel.

This right runs against the custodian. The dealer's window is separate: 24 hours after the invoice at Lear Capital (December 2025 terms). Learn how to cancel a gold IRA under the 7-day revocation right.

Metal Terms: Which Coins and Bars an IRA Can Hold (11 Terms)#

An IRA can hold gold, silver, platinum or palladium by only 2 legal routes: a coin named in the tax code, or bullion pure enough for futures delivery. Futures are exchange contracts to buy metal later, and the exchange sets the purity of delivered bars. The IRS approves no product, and each custodian adds its own acceptance list.

18. IRA-eligible#

IRA-eligible means a coin or bar meets 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3), either as a named US coin or as pure bullion held by the trustee.

The IRS says "there is no list of approved investments for retirement plans." The .9167 Krugerrand is not eligible. See the full list of IRA-eligible precious metals.

19. Bullion#

Bullion is metal valued by its weight and purity, such as bars, rounds and bullion coins, rather than by rarity. A round is a coin-shaped piece from a private mint, with no face value.

For your IRA, the tax code uses the word without defining it. Section 408(m)(3)(B) simply allows "gold, silver, platinum, or palladium bullion" of the required fineness, held by the trustee.

A dealer's "IRA approved" label does not make a product eligible, and custodians reject items that dealers list that way. Learn what counts as bullion for IRA investors.

20. Fineness (and karat)#

Fineness is the share of pure metal in a coin or bar, written in thousandths, so .995 means 99.5% pure.

Karat is the jewelry scale: karat equals 24 times fineness, so 22 karat is .9167. The table below converts 4 common grades.

Karat and fineness conversions for every metal have their own page.

21. Troy ounce (and fine weight)#

A troy ounce is the unit for precious metals: 31.1034768 grams, about 10% heavier than the ounce on a kitchen scale.

The kitchen ounce, called avoirdupois, is 28.349523125 grams, so a troy ounce is 9.71% heavier (NIST SP 811). Fine weight is the pure metal in a coin; gross weight also counts the alloy, the harder metals mixed in.

The full troy ounce vs ounce conversion table covers grams and kilograms.

22. Named coin (American Eagle)#

A named coin is one the tax code lists by name, so it is IRA-eligible whatever its purity.

Section 408(m)(3)(A) names the American Gold Eagle (1, 1/2, 1/4 and 1/10 oz), the 1-oz Silver Eagle, the Platinum Eagle and coins issued under state law. Platinum Eagle proofs are named too, through 31 U.S.C. 5112(k).

The Gold Buffalo and the Palladium Eagle are not named, so they qualify only as bullion. Compare IRA-eligible gold coins with their premiums.

23. Legal tender#

Legal tender is money a creditor must accept for a debt, and it does not decide IRA eligibility.

A 1-oz Gold Eagle's face value, the stamped dollar amount, is $50: 1.2% of its $4,144.55 metal value (LBMA PM, September 28, 2026). The Palladium Eagle's is $25 and the Silver Eagle's $1. Original Morgan dollars and pre-1933 US gold coins are legal tender, yet not IRA-eligible. Some custodian and media pages (Equity Trust; CBS News, January 2023) still tie eligibility to legal tender. Read why legal tender status does not decide eligibility.

24. Proof coin#

A proof coin is a specially struck coin with a mirror finish, made for collectors and sold at a much higher premium than bullion.

For your IRA, no IRS ruling or court case addresses proof American Eagles, so each custodian decides. Three custodian rules, read in September 2026, are listed below.

• GoldStar Trust: proofs only "ungraded, complete with certificate of authenticity and in original mint packaging."
• STRATA: original mint packaging, excellent condition and a certificate of authenticity.
• Equity Trust: no slabbed coins, meaning coins sealed in a grading case.

GoldStar and Equity Trust also refuse the proof Gold Buffalo.

$50,000 of proofs bought at a 30% premium shows about $38,500 on your statement. Learn what a proof coin costs in an IRA.

25. Numismatic and semi-numismatic coins#

A numismatic coin is valued for rarity and condition, not metal; "semi-numismatic" is a sales label, not a real category.

The CFTC and FINRA wrote on March 20, 2024: "'Semi-numismatic' is a made-up industry term that really has no special meaning. These coins are sold as collectible but typically are not rare and carry no additional value."

The CFTC's 2020 benchmark put bullion at 5%-10% over spot and numismatic coins at 40%-200%. American Hartford Gold's September 2026 agreement allows spreads up to 39.99% on "exclusive" and semi-numismatic coins. Compare the markups on numismatic and semi-numismatic coins.

26. Assay#

An assay is a test that measures how pure a piece of metal is. A small bar "in assay" comes sealed in a card showing its purity and serial number.

London Good Delivery bars carry the refiner's assay stamp and fineness. A serial number is the unique code that ties each bar to its assay record.

Must you keep a small bar sealed in its card inside an IRA? We found no published custodian or depository rule on this (September 2026). See how an assay works and what the card shows.

27. Accredited refiner#

An accredited refiner is a refiner or mint whose bars a market body, such as the LBMA or COMEX, has tested and approved.

For your IRA, 26 U.S.C. 408(m) does not require one; it is custodian policy only. The LBMA lists 67 gold and 86 silver refiners (September 29, 2026), and the US Mint is not on its gold list.

STRATA and GoldStar also accept bars under ISO 9000 (September 2026), a general quality certificate, not a refining accreditation. Check each custodian's accredited refiner list.

28. Good Delivery#

Good Delivery is the London market's standard for large wholesale bars, about 400 troy ounces of gold, traded between banks. Wholesale means sold in bulk between big market players.

A gold Good Delivery bar holds 350-430 fine ounces at 995.0 fineness or better; a silver bar holds 750-1,100 ounces at 999.0 or better. At the LBMA PM price of $4,144.55 on September 28, 2026, a 400-oz gold bar is worth about $1,657,820.

So retail IRA gold bars, from 1 ounce to 1 kilogram, are not Good Delivery bars, even from listed refiners. The full Good Delivery standard has its own page.

Price and Cost Terms: What You Pay Above the Metal (11 Terms)#

Every IRA metal purchase starts at the spot price plus a premium, and every sale starts at the dealer's bid, so the gap is your first cost. The dealer sets that gap, not the custodian or the IRS.

29. Spot price#

The spot price is the current wholesale price of one troy ounce of pure metal; coins and bars always cost more.

For your IRA, no government or exchange sets an official spot price: dealers blend COMEX futures prices with London quotes. A benchmark is an official reference price set at fixed times, such as the LBMA PM gold price.

Gold's record LBMA PM price was $5,405.00 on January 29, 2026, while the COMEX futures record reached $5,586.20 intraday. Learn who sets the spot price of gold and why you pay more.

30. LBMA#

The LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) is the trade body of the London gold and silver market that sets the Good Delivery bar standard.

ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) runs the LBMA gold price twice a day. The gold PM series goes back to April 1, 1968, and the platinum and palladium prices to April 2, 1990. Anyone who republishes the benchmark data needs an IBA licence.

See what the LBMA does for IRA buyers.

31. COMEX#

COMEX is the CME Group exchange where US gold and silver futures trade, and its delivery rules set the IRA purity minimums.

The COMEX gold contract is 100 troy ounces at .995 fineness or better from an approved brand (Rule 113101); silver must be .999 (Rule 112101).

On September 28, 2026, 11 COMEX gold depositories held 23,387,989 ounces. A "COMEX-listed vault" is a quality signal, not IRS approval. Read more on COMEX vaults and contract rules.

32. NYMEX#

NYMEX is the CME Group exchange for platinum and palladium futures, and its 99.95% delivery purity is the IRA minimum for those two metals.

For your IRA, platinum and palladium bars and non-named coins must be at least .9995 fine. London Good Delivery plates of both metals weigh 1-6 kilograms at 99.95% or better (LPPM).

The Palladium Eagle, at .9995, qualifies only through this purity route. Read about NYMEX and platinum purity.

33. Melt value#

Melt value is what a coin is worth as metal alone: its fine troy ounces times the spot price.

Custodian statements value metal near melt, without the dealer's premium. So coins bought at a high premium show a loss on day one.

Learn how to compute melt value for any coin.

34. Premium over spot#

A premium is what you pay above the metal's value, written as a share of the metal or of the price.

At one large online dealer on September 29, 2026, a 1-oz Gold Eagle cost 3.03% over spot (ask $4,280.53, spot $4,154.51). A 1-gram gold bar there cost 22.46% over spot.

A $1,000 coin with $800 of metal is a 25% premium over melt, but only 20% of the price, the CFTC's formula. Learn both ways to write a premium over spot.

35. Bid and ask#

The ask is the dealer's selling price and the bid is its buying price; the gap is your cost of a round trip. A round trip means buying and then selling right away.

The table below shows same-day round trips at one large online dealer on September 29, 2026. Silver and palladium gaps run roughly 3 to 6 times gold's.

Purer is not cheaper: the .9999 Buffalo costs more to round-trip than the .9167 Eagle. The break-even rise equals the spread divided by 1 minus the spread. Read the full bid ask definition with break-even math.

36. Markup and spread#

A markup is the dealer's profit measured against its own cost; a spread is the same profit measured against your price. So a 100% markup equals a 50% spread.

American Hartford Gold's September 2026 agreement allows bullion spreads of 1.00% up to 19.99%. Lear Capital's December 2025 terms allow 2% up to 35%. The CFTC said in 2024 that legitimate spreads run under 20%, and fraud spreads over 300%.

The table below shows one illustrative deal, not a real quote: a $1,000 coin with $800 of metal that cost the dealer $750.

A 25% spread needs a 33.3% rise just to break even. Every disclosed range is in gold IRA markups and spreads.

37. Buyback price#

A buyback price is what a dealer offers for metal you sell back, and dealer contracts say the law bars them from guaranteeing a repurchase. A repurchase means buying the metal back.

Contracts from American Hartford Gold, Lear Capital, Preserve Gold, Goldline and American Bullion (read in September 2026) say so. Ads that promise a "guaranteed buyback" state no price terms.

A sale inside the IRA is not taxed, and you agree the price with the dealer, not the custodian. See how to sell gold in your IRA, with buyback prices and fees.

38. Custodian fees#

Custodian fees are what the IRA's trustee charges to open, keep and close the account, apart from the dealer's price.

Yearly custodian and storage fees on a $50,000 balance run from $215 (GoldStar, commingled storage) to $656 (Madison Trust), as of September 29, 2026. Setup costs $50 at GoldStar and at Equity Trust.

A termination fee is a charge for closing the account: $250 at Equity Trust (schedule FS-0004-05 Rev. 081726) and $150 at GoldStar (Rev. 01/2026). Per-trade and wire charges are listed in gold IRA custodian fees.

39. Storage fee#

A storage fee is the yearly charge for keeping IRA metal in a depository, usually billed by the custodian as a flat amount. A flat fee stays the same whatever your balance.

Equity Trust charges $110 for non-segregated storage and $160 for segregated; STRATA charges $115 and $175, and GoldStar $125 for commingled storage (schedules as of September 29, 2026).

A flat fee weighs more on a small account: $160 is 0.32% of $50,000 but 0.064% of $250,000. Every schedule is compared in gold IRA storage fees.

Storage and Protection Terms: Where the Metal Sits and Who Guards It (9 Terms)#

IRA metal must sit with the trustee in a depository, never at your home, and these terms show whose metal it is, who insures it and who polices sellers. No federal insurance covers IRA metal: the FDIC and SIPC protect cash and securities, not coins.

40. Depository#

A depository is the private or state-run vault where your custodian stores IRA metal, and the IRS approves none of them.

For your IRA, the law requires bullion to be "in the physical possession of a trustee" (26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(B)), so the vault holds it for the custodian. The IRS lists no depositories.

One vault is state-run: the Texas Bullion Depository is a Texas state agency in the Comptroller's office. Compare owners and fees of the main gold IRA depositories.

41. Allocated storage#

Allocated storage means the vault's records assign specific metal to you, but the word does not always mean your own shelf.

A balance sheet is the vault's own list of what it owns and owes, and allocated metal stays off it. No IRA custodian we reviewed offers unallocated metal. The table below compares "allocated" in 4 sources, read on September 29, 2026.

Two written questions settle what you own, as listed below.

1. Will I get back the exact coins I bought?
2. Is my metal off the vault's balance sheet?

All three meanings of allocated storage are explained on one page.

42. Segregated and commingled storage#

Segregated storage keeps your exact coins and bars apart; commingled storage pools them with other owners' metal of the same type.

Equity Trust says (read September 2026) commingled owners receive "the weight and general type of metals you purchased but may not receive the same brand, year, or condition." In plain English: you get equal metal back, not your own coins. Commingled metal is still allocated to you.

Segregation costs $50 a year more at Equity Trust ($160 versus $110, 2026 schedule). Compare the costs of segregated vs commingled gold IRA storage.

43. Home storage#

Home storage of IRA metal is not allowed: taking IRA coins home counts as a taxable withdrawal.

The leading case is McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10 (November 18, 2021). The McNultys bought 320 American Gold Eagles for $374,000 in 2015 through an IRA LLC, a company the IRA owns, and kept them at home.

The Tax Court taxed the coins' cost as a distribution; the LLC changed nothing about who must hold the metal. See every home storage gold IRA pitch checked against McNulty.

44. Actual delivery#

Actual delivery is the CFTC's test for whether metal really reached the buyer, and for financed sales it must happen within 28 days. A financed sale is one where the buyer borrows part of the price.

The rule is 7 U.S.C. 2(c)(2)(D). CFTC v. Monex (9th Cir., July 25, 2019, No. 18-55815) found no delivery while metals "are in the broker's chosen depository" and "subject to the broker's exclusive control." In plain English: metal still under the seller's control has not reached you.

For a cash IRA purchase, 28 days is a yardstick, not a deadline; American Hartford Gold's September 2026 agreement allows 4-8 weeks. The actual delivery rule has its own page.

45. Counterparty risk#

Counterparty risk is the chance that a company you depend on fails to deliver or pay, and a gold IRA has three such companies.

The CFTC glossary calls it "the risk associated with the financial stability of the party with whom one has entered into contract." So the claim that physical metal has no counterparty risk is wrong for IRA metal. Each of the 3 roles, or the firm running it, has failed at least once, as listed below.

• Dealer: Rosland Capital filed a liquidating Chapter 11 case on July 2, 2026 (2:26-bk-16650-BB), owing about $60.8 million to about 617 customers.
• Administrator: American Pension Services, an IRA administrator, misappropriated about $24 million from about 5,500 IRA holders (SEC case filed April 24, 2014).
• Depository: First State Depository held 2,102 accounts (90% IRAs), with $56.8 million to $110.4 million missing. Even intact accounts came back only after a 5.6% surcharge (7.5% if late), by November 30, 2023. Owner Robert Leroy Higgins was sentenced to 65 years on June 17, 2025, with about $76 million in restitution.

Each case of counterparty risk is covered in detail.

46. SIPC#

SIPC protects customers of failed brokerages up to $500,000, but it does not cover gold, silver or any physical metal. SIPC stands for the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.

The $500,000 includes up to $250,000 of cash and covers securities only. The law excludes "any commodity or related contract" (15 U.S.C. 78lll(14)), and a commodity is a raw good such as gold.

The table below shows who covers what in a gold IRA, as of September 2026.

Learn what SIPC covers and what it never covers.

47. Depository insurance#

Depository insurance is the vault's own policy against theft or loss, and it usually pays the metal's market value, not what you paid.

Delaware Depository lists $1 billion of all-risk cover plus $100 million of contingent (backup) cover in its FAQ, read on September 29, 2026. Its policy excludes war, terrorism, cyber events and government confiscation.

Dealer premiums are not covered unless a declared value, a value you register in advance, is on file. So no vault is "fully insured" for everything. See the limits and exclusions in how gold IRA storage is insured.

48. CFTC#

The CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission) is the federal agency that can sue gold dealers for fraud, but it does not license them.

The CFTC and FINRA wrote in 2024: "Retail metal dealers are not regulated at the federal level." In plain English: no federal agency vets a dealer first. The CFTC's anti-fraud power lets it sue afterward (7 U.S.C. 9(1)).

Even that power is disputed in CFTC v. TMTE (Metals.com). A July 21, 2025 ruling found no CFTC authority; an August 3, 2026 ruling reversed that under 1978 precedent. Trial is set for March 1, 2027. Report fraud at cftc.gov/complaint, and read what the CFTC does (and does not do) for gold IRA buyers.

Withdrawal and Tax Terms: Getting Money or Metal Out (12 Terms)#

Money or metal leaving a traditional gold IRA is taxed as ordinary income in the year it leaves, and required withdrawals start at 73 or 75. The numbers come from IRS Publication 590-B and two laws: the SECURE Act of 2019 and SECURE 2.0 of 2022.

49. Distribution#

A distribution is any money or metal that leaves your IRA, and from a traditional IRA it is taxed as ordinary income that year. Ordinary income is taxed at the same rates as wages.

For your IRA, qualified Roth distributions are tax-free. Payouts before 59 1/2 can add a 10% additional tax (term 57). Custodians withhold 10% for federal tax by default unless you choose otherwise on Form W-4R.

To cash out, sell the metal inside the IRA and take cash, or take the coins. See how gold IRA distributions work.

50. In-kind distribution (taking physical gold out)#

An in-kind distribution sends the coins or bars from the IRA to you, taxed at their value on the day they leave.

The custodian reports that fair market value on Form 1099-R. Fees apply: Equity Trust charges $125 per in-kind distribution (FS-0004-05 Rev. 081726), and GoldStar $75 plus $10 plus shipping (Rev. 01/2026).

The default 10% withholding applies here too, so keep some cash in the account to cover it. Read about the tax on taking physical gold out of an IRA.

51. Fair market value#

Fair market value is the price the metal would fetch that day, and your custodian reports the account's year-end value to the IRS.

Box 5 of Form 5498 shows the value on December 31. Custodians value metal near spot or the dealer bid, without the premium you paid; Equity Trust uses the previous day's metal value.

That is why the $100,000 of Gold Eagles in term 33 shows about $97,056 of metal on a statement, not $100,000. See how custodians set year-end fair market value.

52. Required minimum distribution (RMD)#

A required minimum distribution is the yearly amount you must withdraw from a traditional IRA starting at 73 (75 if born 1960 or later).

People born in 1959 face 73 under proposed IRS regulations (REG-103529-23), which are not final. Roth IRA owners have no RMDs during their lifetime. A missed RMD costs a 25% excise tax, a penalty tax on the amount not taken, cut to 10% if corrected in time (26 U.S.C. 4974).

You can take the total RMD from one of your traditional IRAs, so the gold need not be sold. Read the full gold IRA required minimum distributions rules.

53. Required beginning date#

The required beginning date is April 1 of the year after you reach your RMD age, the deadline for your first RMD.

For IRAs, the date depends on age only, not on whether you still work. Waiting has a cost.

Find your required beginning date by birth year.

54. Uniform Lifetime Table (the RMD divisor)#

The Uniform Lifetime Table gives the divisor for your RMD: 26.5 at age 73 and 24.6 at age 75. A divisor is the number you divide last December 31's balance by.

The table is in 26 CFR 1.401(a)(9)-9(c) and has applied since 2022. For example, $100,000 / 24.6 = $4,065 at age 75, close to one troy ounce of gold at the LBMA PM price of $4,144.55 on September 28, 2026.

A different table applies when your spouse is more than 10 years younger and your only beneficiary. Turn the divisor into ounces with the gold IRA RMD calculator.

55. Forms 5498 and 1099-R#

Form 5498 tells the IRS your IRA's year-end value and contributions, and Form 1099-R reports every distribution; your custodian files both.

Box 5 of Form 5498 shows the December 31 value (term 51); box 1 of Form 1099-R includes any coins taken out.

So does the IRS know if you buy silver in an IRA? Yes, every year, through these 2 forms. Read them box by box in Forms 1099-R and 5498.

56. Collectibles tax rate (28%)#

The 28% collectibles rate is the top federal tax rate on long-term gains from metal held outside an IRA. It never applies to IRA withdrawals.

The rate comes from 26 U.S.C. 1(h)(4)-(5). A long-term gain is profit on something held more than a year. IRA distributions are ordinary income instead, and they are not net investment income.

A Gold Eagle sold from a taxable account can face the 28% collectibles rate, while the same coin sold inside an IRA cannot.

57. Early withdrawal penalty (10% additional tax)#

The early withdrawal penalty is a 10% additional tax on taxable IRA withdrawals taken before age 59 1/2, on top of income tax.

The rule is 26 U.S.C. 72(t), and the IRS calls it an "additional tax." Exceptions include death, disability and a series of substantially equal payments under 72(t).

A prohibited transaction or coins kept at home can trigger it too, because both count as withdrawals. Every exception to the gold IRA early withdrawal penalty is on one page.

58. SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0#

The SECURE Act (2019) and SECURE 2.0 (2022) are the laws that set today's RMD ages, the heirs' 10-year rule and the missed-RMD penalty.

The SECURE Act, Pub. L. 116-94, became law on December 20, 2019. It ended the age limit of 70 1/2 for contributions and created the 10-year rule for owners who die after December 31, 2019.

SECURE 2.0, Pub. L. 117-328, became law on December 29, 2022. It set RMD ages of 73 and 75 and cut the missed-RMD excise tax to 25%, or 10% if corrected. Each change is explained in SECURE Act and SECURE 2.0.

59. Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997#

The Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 is the law that let gold, silver, platinum and palladium bullion into IRAs and created the Roth IRA.

Pub. L. 105-34 was approved on August 5, 1997. Section 304, "Certain bullion not treated as collectibles," applies to tax years beginning after December 31, 1997; section 302 created the Roth IRA. Bullion was a late Senate addition: the House bill had "No provision," and the conference "follows the Senate amendment" (H. Rept. 105-220).

Yet section 311 defines collectibles gain using section 408(m) "without regard to paragraph (3) thereof." In plain English: the purity exception works only inside an IRA, so metal you hold yourself still faces the 28% rate. Read the 1997 text in Taxpayer Relief Act.

60. 10-year rule (inherited IRA)#

The 10-year rule requires most non-spouse heirs to empty an inherited IRA, gold included, by the end of the 10th year after the death.

It applies to most designated beneficiaries, the people named on the account to inherit it, when the owner died after December 31, 2019. The heir also takes yearly RMDs in years 1 to 9 when the owner died after the required beginning date (T.D. 10001, 2024).

Spouses and a few other heirs have other options. Learn what heirs of an inherited gold IRA must do under the 10-year rule.

Which Gold IRA Sales Phrases Are Not Legal Terms? 6 Phrases Decoded#

Six phrases in gold IRA sales pitches sound official but appear in no law, so each one needs a question before you sign. We read the 6 glossaries that rank for "gold IRA glossary" in September 2026. Five of them call a product, custodian or vault "IRS-approved" or "IRA approved." None of the 4 we checked for citations cites the tax code, and none of the 6 gives the 2026 contribution limit.

The table below decodes the 6 phrases, with the question to ask each seller.

"IRS-approved"#

The IRS approves no coin, bar, dealer or vault; its only approval list covers 73 nonbank trustees, as of April 1, 2026.

The IRS says so in its Retirement Plan Investments FAQs (term 18). The correct phrase for metal is "IRA-eligible under 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)."

A charter is a company's license from its regulator. Learn how to verify one in "IRS-approved" gold IRA custodians.

"Free silver" and bonus metal#

Free silver is paid for by the premium on the coins you buy: a 30% premium with a 10% bonus is still an 18.2% premium.

Bonus metal is extra metal added to an order. The math: (1 + 0.30) / (1 + 0.10) minus 1 = 18.2%. Under the FTC's "free" guide (16 CFR 251.1), buyers may expect that cost not to be recovered through the price of what they must buy.

Goldco lists bonus silver of up to 5% on $50,000-$99,999 and up to 10% on $100,000 or more of its "premium coins" (goldco.com, September 29, 2026). See how free silver gold IRA promotions are paid for.

"No fees for life"#

A "no fees for life" offer waives the custodian's small yearly fee, not the dealer's price, which is where most of the cost sits.

One 2026 offer from U.S. Money Reserve covers up to $300 a year of Equity Trust fees. It requires a $200,000 minimum rollover and at least 60% proof coins (terms effective April 1, 2026).

A 19.99% spread, American Hartford Gold's September 2026 bullion cap, costs $39,980 on $200,000. The same contract allows up to 59.99% on limited numismatic coins. Learn what no-fee gold IRA offers are worth in dollars.

"Paper gold"#

"Paper gold" is a sales name for gold ETFs, which are allowed in the IRA you already have and hold real bars in a vault. An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a fund you buy and sell like a stock.

IRS private letter ruling 200732026 found that an IRA buying gold trust shares is not buying a collectible. GLDM's expense ratio, its yearly fee, is 0.10% (10-K for the year ended September 30, 2025), and GLD's bars are counted twice a year.

You own fund shares, not specific coins. Compare the costs in gold IRA vs gold ETF.

"Confiscation-proof"#

"Confiscation-proof" is a sales pitch built on a 1933 gold order, and the CFTC lists "the government can't seize collectible coins" as a lie.

Executive Order 6102 of April 5, 1933 exempted "gold coins having a recognized special value to collectors of rare and unusual coins," and paid other holders "an equivalent amount." In plain English: owners were paid, and only rare coins were exempt. Private gold ownership has been legal again since December 31, 1974 (Pub. L. 93-373).

Sellers cite the 1933 exemption to push high-premium collector coins. Read can the government confiscate your gold: the 1933 order in full.

"Safe haven"#

"Safe haven" is a description, not a promise: gold fell 23.3% from its January 2026 record to September 28, 2026 (LBMA PM).

The LBMA PM price went from $5,405.00 on January 29, 2026 to $4,144.55 on September 28, 2026. From 1971 to 2025, gold's yearly volatility, a measure of how much its price swings, was 27.1%, against 16.9% for the S&P 500.

Gold also fell in 19 of the 55 years from 1971 to 2025. See the data behind is gold a safe haven.

Precious metals IRA glossary FAQ#

The precious metals IRA glossary FAQ answers 6 common questions.

Why do gold IRA glossaries disagree?#

Most gold IRA glossaries are written by companies that sell gold, so sales words sit next to legal ones.

In our September 2026 check of 6 ranking glossaries, 2 defined "allocated" in opposite ways. None gave the current RMD ages of 73 and 75 in full.

A glossary tells you what a word means, not how gold for retirement savers behaves in a crash. That is covered in gold for retirement.

Which terms protect you from gold IRA scams?#

Five terms protect you most: spread, buyback price, fiduciary, revocation period and actual delivery. Each one becomes a question a seller should answer in writing, as listed below.

1. Spread: what is my spread, in dollars?
2. Buyback price: what would you pay me today?
3. Fiduciary: are you my fiduciary?
4. Revocation period: when does my right to cancel end?
5. Actual delivery: when will my statement show the metal?

A refusal to answer in writing is a red flag in any gold IRA sale. Read the 11 warning signs of gold IRA scams.

Where do the gold IRA rules behind these terms come from?#

Almost every legal term here comes from one section of the tax code, 26 U.S.C. 408, and from IRS Publications 590-A and 590-B.

You can read section 408 in full. Publication 590-A covers money going in, and Publication 590-B covers money coming out.

Each rule is explained with its citation in gold IRA rules.

When did gold become legal in IRAs?#

American Gold Eagles have been allowed since 1987 and gold bullion since the 1998 tax year, after Congress banned collectibles in IRAs in 1981.

The Eagle exception covers coins bought after December 31, 1986, and the bullion exception covers tax years beginning after December 31, 1997.

Each law is quoted in the history of gold in IRAs.

Is there a gold IRA calculator for these numbers?#

Yes: SafeOunce's free calculators turn the terms above into dollars, from fees over 10 years to your RMD in ounces, with no sign-up.

Three examples are the break-even calculator for spreads, the RMD calculator for terms 52 to 54, and the fee calculator for terms 38 and 39.

All gold IRA calculators and tools are free to use.

How is this glossary checked and updated?#

Each definition is checked against the statute, IRS publications or the regulator's own words, and dated values are rechecked every quarter.

The 2027 IRS limits are expected in October or November 2026. Read how sources are chosen and errors corrected in our editorial policy.