Gold IRA Fees: Every Cost Compared Across Companies, Custodians and Depositories (11 Costs, 2026 Data)

A gold IRA costs $215 to $656 a year in account fees (2026 price lists), plus a one-time dealer spread of 5% to 59.99% that is usually larger. The spread is the dealer's cut of the price you pay: about 5% on bullion coins, and up to 59.99% on collector coins under one dealer's 2026 contract. Bullion coins are common coins valued for their metal, such as the 1 oz American Gold Eagle.

The custodian is the trust company that holds the IRA and bills the yearly fees; the depository is the vault. The fees are printed on the custodian's price list (its fee schedule); the spread usually is not. So which one decides whether your gold IRA is cheap?

The spread decides it. On $100,000 over 10 years, the total runs from $8,580 with bullion coins to $30,171 at a 23.4% spread. That 23.4% is Lear Capital's own 2022 average, stated in its court-filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan; it is not an industry average. The custodian and vault account for only about $3,200 of either total.

This guide covers the 11 separate fees, what companies, custodians and vaults charge, the cheapest setup by account size and 5 numbers to get in writing.

The table below sums up gold IRA fees in 10 rows as of September 29, 2026.

How Much Does a Gold IRA Cost? The 2 Kinds of Cost#

A gold IRA has 2 kinds of cost: yearly custodian and storage fees of about $215 to $656, and a one-time dealer spread, which is usually the bigger number. A flat fee is the same dollar amount whatever your balance, and most custodian fees are flat. The buyback gap is how far below today's gold price a dealer pays when you sell. A round trip means buying coins and selling them back the same day, so its cost is the spread plus the buyback gap.

The table below compares the two kinds of cost as of September 29, 2026.

The same two costs apply to every precious metals IRA, whether it holds gold, silver, platinum or palladium.

What is one percentage point (1%) of spread worth? On $100,000, one point is $1,000: 3.5 years of a $285 yearly fee, or 4.7 years of GoldStar Trust's $215 fee. On $250,000, one point buys 8.8 years of that $285 fee. The table compares two ways to save on $100,000.

One popular website on gold IRA fees says a 1% higher yearly fee on $100,000 costs "more than $20,000" over ten years. The real figure is about $10,000, because 1% of $100,000 is $1,000 a year.

How much does a gold IRA cost per year?#

A gold IRA costs about $215 to $656 a year at four published 2026 price lists, or about $18 to $55 a month. The first year costs $265 to $781, because setup and purchase fees come on top. Commingled storage means your coins sit with other owners' identical coins; segregated storage keeps your exact coins apart.

The table shows four price lists; each version code, such as Rev. 081726, tells you which edition you have.

First year = setup fee plus yearly fees, plus one $75 purchase fee at STRATA and Madison. STRATA waives its $50 setup fee for electronic applications.

As a share of a $50,000 account, the later-year cost runs from 0.43% at GoldStar Trust to 1.31% at Madison Trust.

Some search results put the first year at "$250 to $750." That range leaves out the dealer. On $100,000 of bullion coins, the round trip alone costs about $5,400.

Moving money in adds no custodian fee on these price lists, but your old 401(k) or IRA provider may charge its own exit fee. When your old IRA provider sends the money straight to the new custodian (a direct transfer), you never hold it. So the 60-day deadline and once-a-year limit on rollovers paid to you do not apply (IRS Publication 590-A).

What does a gold IRA cost over 1, 5 and 10 years?#

A $100,000 gold IRA held for 10 years costs about $8,580 with plain bullion coins, but $30,171 to $45,983 if the dealer's spread is 23.4% to 39.99%. Each total assumes you buy on day one, the gold price does not change, and you sell everything at the end. So the dealer's buy-and-sell cost is in every column, with the share of the amount invested in parentheses.

The table rests on the 4 assumptions listed below.

• Fees: Equity Trust's metals-only price list with segregated storage (Rev. 081726): $50 setup, $285 a year and $280 to exit, paid from outside the IRA.
• Bullion coins: a 5.4% round trip, from SD Bullion's Gold Eagle prices on September 29, 2026.
• 23.4% spread: Lear Capital's own 2022 average, stated in its Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan filed in court (Doc 694, June 5, 2023). It is one company's figure, not an industry average. Add the buyback gap when you sell, and the total loss is 27.0%.
• 39.99% spread: the "up to" cap for "exclusive" coins in American Hartford Gold's September 2026 agreement, not what every buyer pays. With the buyback gap, the loss is 42.8%.

At Lear's 23.4% average, gold must rise about 3.5% a year for ten years just to get you back to even. The custodian part differs far less, as 10 years of custodian fees on $100,000 show (setup and exit included).

A widely read fee article puts a $50,000 account at $2,000 to $6,000 over 10 years, counting account fees only; with the spread, it is $5,880 to $24,581. Try your own numbers in the gold IRA fee calculator.

What Fees Come With a Gold IRA? All 11 Costs in One Table#

A gold IRA can carry 11 separate costs, and the two largest, the dealer's spread and the buyback gap, have no exact number in writing before you order. Spot is today's market price for one ounce of pure metal. The ask is what a dealer charges you for a coin, and the bid is what it pays you. Termination means closing the account, transfer-out means moving it to another custodian, and an in-kind distribution means taking the coins themselves out instead of cash.

The 11 costs are listed in the table below, as of September 29, 2026.

Seven of the 11 costs are printed on a custodian's fee schedule, and two more sit in the dealer's contract. Each cost arrives at one step of how a gold IRA works, from opening the account to selling the metal.

Nobody checks the price for you. The custodian pays whatever price you and the dealer agree. In a case against custodian Equity Trust, a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) judge dismissed the charges on June 27, 2016 (Initial Decision No. 1030). The judge noted that making custodians check investments "would require custodians to charge much higher fees."

What Do Gold IRA Companies Charge? Spreads, Minimums and Offers#

Gold IRA companies make their money on the spread in the coins and bars they sell you, while yearly account fees go to the custodian and vault. A dealer is the company that sells you the metal. It does not hold your IRA; the custodian does.

A minimum is the smallest account a company accepts, and the IRS sets none. Published minimums run from $5,000 (Birch Gold Group) to $50,000 (Augusta Precious Metals, according to its FAQ updated September 23, 2026), as the company table below shows. One popular fee table lists Goldco at $0, Birch at $10,000 and Noble at $5,000, but the companies' own pages say $25,000, $5,000 and $20,000.

New money you add each year (contributions) cannot reach most of these minimums in one year: the 2026 limit is $7,500, or $8,600 at 50 or older (IRS Notice 2025-67). So most gold IRAs start with money moved from an existing 401(k) or IRA, called a transfer or rollover. Every company's figure is in how much money you need to start a gold IRA.

How big is the dealer's spread?#

The dealer's spread runs from about 5% on plain bullion coins to as much as 59.99% on collector coins under dealers' own 2026 contracts. Sellers use 3 words for their cut, defined below.

• Premium over spot: the price above the metal's value.
• Spread: the dealer's share of the price you pay. Contracts use this word.
• Markup: the dealer's profit over its own cost.

Numismatic coins, meaning collector coins, carry the widest spreads. American Hartford Gold's Shipping and Transaction Agreement (SafeOunce earns nothing from this link.) (September 2026) allows 1.00% to 19.99% on bullion. It says "The Spread may be negotiable." It also says "applicable laws currently prohibit AHG from guaranteeing to repurchase precious metals it sells."

The table below sets the dealers' written spreads next to the regulators' benchmarks.

Three popular websites put dealer markups at 2% to 10%, or 3% to 5%, far below what the contracts allow. So do not rely on website averages; ask for your own number.

Regulators give ranges, not a fair price. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal commodities regulator, describes a customer who rolled over $300,000 and lost nearly $150,000 to commissions and fees (2020 advisory). Its "10 Things" guide with FINRA, the brokerage industry's regulator (2024), says fraudulent dealers have charged spreads "of more than 300 percent."

Other dealers "may charge less than 20 percent," the same guide says. Every disclosed range is in gold IRA markups and spreads.

How much must gold rise before you break even?#

At a 20% spread, gold must rise about 31% before a buyback gets you back to even, and at 40% it must rise about 75%. Break-even is the price rise you need just to get your money back. The table shows 8 spreads from dealers' contracts and regulators.

The first column is the spread divided by (1 minus the spread): at 20%, 0.20 / 0.80 = 25%. At Lear Capital's 23.4% average, $100,000 of coins would fetch about $73,000 on day one. The last column adds the buyback gap from an example printed word for word in the contracts of Preserve Gold, Lear Capital and Rosland Capital.

To test your own quote, use the gold IRA break-even calculator.

Which gold IRA companies publish their fees and spreads?#

No gold IRA company we checked publishes its exact spread before you order. Of 17 IRA sellers checked in September 2026, 6 publish or published a spread range (4 of the 15 still operating) and 1 publishes live prices. The table shows what 11 of them publish, as of September 29, 2026.

Almost every company shows you only half the price. Sellers that print account fees, such as Goldco, Noble Gold, Birch Gold Group and GoldenCrest Metals, print no spread. Sellers that print a spread range, such as American Hartford Gold, Preserve Gold and Lear Capital, print no account fees.

American Bullion is the only seller still in business that prints both. The other two that printed spreads have failed. Rosland Capital filed a liquidating Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 2, 2026, and a Chapter 7 bankruptcy case was filed against Oxford Gold Group on August 28, 2024.

Goldco's cost page (updated February 2025) says: "$225 in fees works out to an 0.90% annual fee" on $25,000, and 0.23% on $100,000. It compares that with 401(k) fund fees of "0.5% to 0.8% or even over 1%."

The contract matters more than the website. Cancellation windows, spread caps and buyback clauses are set side by side in gold IRA company contracts compared. Ask every company for both halves of the price in writing.

Companies are ranked on published prices and spreads in gold IRA companies with the lowest total cost; no company pays for its place.

Where does the spread money go?#

Most of a large spread pays for sales commissions, advertising, rent and staff, not profit. This is a SafeOunce illustration built from Lear Capital documents from different years; no single company reported this exact deal. Take Lear's average 2015 IRA purchase of $52,100: at a 23.4% spread, the dealer's cut is $12,191.

The $52,100 average deal is from the New York Attorney General's petition against Lear Capital (June 17, 2021). Lear's court-filed Chapter 11 plan (2023) gives the 23.4%, its own 2022 average and not an industry average. It also puts Lear's net profit at 2.51% of revenue in 2020 and 2.77% in 2021. The 15% to 35% sales pay comes from a 2026 court declaration in Rosland Capital's bankruptcy.

A shrinking cut can also signal trouble. The share of each sale Rosland Capital kept after the cost of the metal (its gross margin) fell from 18.4% in 2021 to 8.7% in 2025, before its 2026 bankruptcy.

Is a fee waiver worth more than a lower spread?#

Usually not: ten years of paid custodian and storage fees are worth about $2,400 to $2,900 on published fees, less than a spread 3 percentage points higher on $100,000. The table puts four types of offer in dollars (Goldco page February 2025; Equity Trust Rev. 081726; Augusta FAQ September 2026).

Free silver works the same way: the bonus comes with pricier coins. The table shows a 10% bonus on $100,000: $10,000 of Silver Eagles at retail, holding about $8,613 of metal at their 16.1% premium (September 2026).

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) rule on "free" offers is 16 CFR 251.1. It says the cost of a free item must not be recovered "by marking up the price of the article which must be purchased." In plain English: a real gift does not raise the price of what you buy.

What each offer is worth is in no-fee gold IRA offers, and how each bonus is paid for is in free silver and bonus metal gold IRA promotions.

What does canceling a metals order cost?#

Canceling a metals order after the price is set usually costs any price drop plus a dealer fee. Once you agree to a price by phone, the order is locked. On a $10,000 order after a 2% fall, published dealer order terms (September 2026) put the bill at $225 to $700.

If the price rises instead, the dealer keeps the gain. Advantage Gold's terms say: "Any market gain on order cancellations shall vest in and remain the property of Advantage Gold." These terms mostly describe cash orders, so ask for the IRA order terms in writing.

Windows to cancel are short, as shown below.

The law gives you at least 7 days to cancel a gold IRA with the custodian (Treas. Reg. 1.408-6), but that does not cancel your metal order with the dealer.

What Do Gold IRA Custodians Charge? Setup, Annual, Trade and Exit Fees#

Gold IRA custodians charge $0 to $50 to open, $215 to $656 a year for administration and storage at metals-focused 2026 price lists, and $150 to $250 to close. The custodian is the legal holder of your IRA; the law also calls it the trustee. Every fee sits on a dated schedule, often with a version code.

For those fees, the custodian keeps the records, files IRS forms (Form 5498 each year, Form 1099-R for withdrawals) and buys or sells metal on your instruction. It does not pick your coins or check their price. Each custodian's small charges are in gold IRA custodian fees.

Metals custodians are banks or trust companies licensed by a state (26 U.S.C. 408(n)). The IRS keeps a separate list of approved "nonbank trustees" for firms without such a license; the nonbank trustee list had 73 names on April 1, 2026. No major metals custodian is on it, and that is normal: their bank or state license already lets them hold IRAs.

Which custodian charges the least? 7 schedules compared#

GoldStar Trust has the lowest published yearly cost for shared storage, at $215 (Rev. 01/2026). Equity Trust's metals-only price list is lowest for segregated storage, at $285 at any balance. The full list of gold IRA custodians, with charters and complaints, is on its own page.

A flat price list costs the same at $50,000 and $250,000. A value-based one charges a percentage of what the metal is worth, so the ranking changes as the account grows. Directed IRA, for example, rises from $685 to $895 a year for segregated storage between $100,000 and $250,000.

The table shows the yearly custodian and storage cost at three balances, commingled / segregated, as of September 29, 2026.

Madison Trust lists one storage price. Entrust bills storage separately, and it counts each coin type and year as a separate asset.

Entrust's asset count can raise the bill, as its own example of $62,350 of metal shows.

Frequent buyers should look at trade fees too. GoldStar Trust and Entrust charge $0 per metals trade, while STRATA Trust charges $75 ($40 plus $35 depository handling). Custodians are ranked by use in best gold IRA custodians.

Why can one custodian charge two prices?#

Because one custodian can sell two account types with separate price lists: at $50,000, Equity Trust's metals-only account costs $285 a year and its Universal IRA $660. So ask which account type you are opening. The table compares the two Equity Trust price lists with segregated storage.

Metals-only: FS-0004-05 Rev. 081726. Universal IRA: FS-0001-01 Rev. 110625.

The Universal IRA charges by account value in tiers, so one extra dollar can lift its yearly admin fee by $150. Over 10 years at $250,000, the gap between the two price lists reaches $8,750.

Which price list applies depends on the account type the dealer's paperwork opens. We could not confirm whether customers who open an Equity Trust account on their own, without a dealer, can always get the metals-only price list. Ask which one applies to you, and get its version code, before you sign.

What does it cost to leave a gold IRA?#

Leaving a gold IRA custodian costs about $150 to $375 in fees on 2026 schedules, but selling high-spread coins on the way out can cost far more. Moving your coins to a new custodian without selling them is an in-kind transfer. The table shows the exit fees at four custodians.

Every custodian's exit charges are listed in gold IRA termination and transfer-out fees.

The dealer side of leaving is the bigger cost: plain bullion sells back about 5% below what you paid, and a 20%-spread coin about 23.75% below.

Buyback promises carry conditions. U.S. Gold Bureau's consignment pays the retail ask minus 18%, and only after 60 months; Priority Gold charges the same 18% to consign non-bullion held 60 months or more. U.S. Money Reserve's IRA "Buyback Advantage" covers only proof and exclusive coins, up to your yearly required withdrawal, and can change (company terms, September 2026).

Exits dominate the complaints we sampled. In one-star Trustpilot reviews (read September 29, 2026), exit delays or fees came up in 64% for Equity Trust (22 reviews), 74% for STRATA (19) and 75% for GoldStar (20).

An in-kind move keeps the dealer's buyback gap out of the change; see the steps for switching gold IRA custodians.

Which fees are not on the fee summary?#

Fees missing from most fee summaries include wire charges of $30 to $50, paper statements at $40 to $60 a year and minimum cash balances such as Madison Trust's $500. The 8 extra charges found on 2026 schedules and contracts are listed below.

• Wire fees: $30 to $50 per wire.
• Paper statements: $40 to $60 a year.
• Late fees: $35 to $50.
• Corrected tax forms (Form 5498 or 1099-R): $100.
• Roth conversions (moving money to a Roth IRA and paying the tax now): $50 to $100.
• Per-purchase fees: $75 at STRATA Trust and $75 "per investment" at Madison Trust.
• Minimum cash balance: $500 at Madison Trust.
• Dealer card fee: 3% at American Hartford Gold.

Couples pay twice: a spousal IRA is a separate account, so GoldStar's $215 becomes $430 a year for two. Billing dates are the other trap (2026 schedules).

Equity Trust's disclosure says "Account maintenance fees are not prorated." Storage is "charged at the time the metals are received at the elected depository and each January thereafter." GoldStar bills "on the account opening anniversary date. Annual Fees are not prorated."

Each billing rule is documented in hidden gold IRA fees.

What Do Depositories Charge for Gold IRA Storage?#

IRA storage costs about $100 to $225 a year at flat-fee custodians in 2026, and the custodian, not the vault, sets the price you pay. A depository is the vault that holds the metal. The table shows storage by custodian route as of September 29, 2026.

Each custodian's storage line, with billing dates, is in gold IRA storage fees.

Neither the Texas Bullion Depository nor Delaware Depository posts an IRA price. The Texas Bullion Depository charges retail customers 0.49% a year under $500,000, with a $25 quarterly minimum (from April 1, 2026). Delaware Depository's personal-account rates are not IRA fees either.

Three of the six other fee websites we read call these vaults "IRS-approved" or "approved." The IRS approves no vault; the tax code only says a trustee must hold the bullion (26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(B)).

Custodians pick from a short list of gold IRA depositories, the vault companies that hold IRA metal. Equity Trust uses AMGL, Brink's, Delaware Depository, IDS and the Texas Bullion Depository; GoldStar Trust uses Delaware Depository, IDS, TPMD and AMGL.

Is segregated storage worth the extra $50 to $100 a year?#

Segregated storage is worth the extra $50 to $100 a year only if you want your exact coins back. The trade-off is set out in the 3 points below.

• What you get: your own coins back. With commingled storage, Equity Trust says you "may not receive the same brand, year, or condition of the metals you purchased."
• What you pay: $50 more a year at Equity Trust, $60 at STRATA Trust and $100 or more at GoldStar Trust. Over 10 years at Equity Trust, that is $500, or 0.5% of $100,000.
• Who it suits: owners who plan to take specific coins out later. Silver is harder: STRATA and Entrust segregated storage at Delaware Depository excludes silver, and GoldStar segregates only 1,000 oz silver bars (custodian terms, September 2026).

Commingled metal returns the same weight and type, not the same coins. It is still recorded as belonging to your IRA, not lent to the vault. The full comparison is in segregated vs commingled gold IRA storage.

Flat or percentage storage fees: which costs less?#

It depends on your balance: against a $285 flat fee, a 0.50% yearly fee costs less below about $57,000 and more above it. The crossover is the balance where both fees are equal. A gold ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a fund that owns gold and trades like a stock; its yearly fee is its expense ratio.

The table shows five crossovers from 2026 schedules and fund filings (2025-2026).

Here is the $57,000 crossover at work. On $40,000, a 0.50% fee costs $200 a year, less than $285; on $100,000 it costs $500, so the flat fee saves $215.

Only the Fidelity route makes 0.50% the whole yearly cost, and it adds 0.99% to 2.90% commissions and a short product list. Value-based storage at Madison Trust or Entrust via AMGL comes on top of an admin fee, so it does not create this crossover.

The ETF rows are the whole yearly cost of holding gold through a fund; a $285 flat fee beats GLDM only above $285,000. Two flat price lists never cross: GoldStar's segregated total ($315 or more) always costs at least $30 more than Equity Trust's $285. Every crossover is worked out in flat vs scaled gold IRA fees.

What does the storage fee's insurance cover?#

Depository insurance pays the metal's value, not the premium you paid, and neither the FDIC nor SIPC covers the metal in a gold IRA. What the cover includes and leaves out is listed below.

• Delaware Depository: $1 billion of all-risk cover plus $100 million of backup cover (FAQ, September 29, 2026). It pays the metal's value, not the premium, unless you filed a declared value, a higher value you name in advance.
• Exclusions: war, terror attacks, cyber attacks, chemical or nuclear events and seizure by a government.
• AMGL (owned by Gold.com): $50 million of main cover plus extra cover up to $500 million. All its sites share that sum; it is not per customer.
• FDIC and SIPC: the FDIC, the U.S. bank deposit insurer, covers only cash, up to $250,000. SIPC, which protects customers when a brokerage firm fails, covers stocks and bonds up to $500,000, never metal.

Vaults can fail. First State Depository held 2,102 accounts, 90% of them IRAs, before customer metal went missing; its owner was sentenced to 65 years in prison on June 17, 2025. See how gold IRA storage is insured.

Which Fee Setup Costs Least for Your Account Size?#

Flat custodian fees cost least above about $57,000, while under about $21,500 even the cheapest flat price list takes more than 1% a year, before any spread. Fee drag is the share of your balance that fees take each year. The table shows the drag of four 2026 price lists.

Small accounts pay the most. A $10,000 bullion IRA held 10 years costs about $3,720 (37.2%) in round trip and fees; a $5,000 account costs $3,450 (69.0%), and a $25,000 account $4,530 (18.1%).

Company minimums show the same pattern (company pages, September 29, 2026; Goldco page updated February 2025). Birch Gold Group's fees of about $235 a year equal 4.7% of its $5,000 minimum. Goldco's $275 a year is 1.10% of its $25,000 minimum, and Noble Gold's $275 to $285 is about 1.4% of $20,000.

The $8,600 row, the most you can add in 2026 at 50 or older, matters if you fund the account with yearly contributions only. STRATA's $75 purchase fee is 0.87% of each $8,600 purchase; GoldStar charges $0. A gold ETF such as GLDM (0.10%, fund filings 2025-2026) costs about $100 per $10,000 over 10 years in the IRA you already have.

You should compare your situation with the rows below.

Balances under about $25,000 are often too small for a physical gold IRA, since no company can remove flat fees. Low-minimum options are compared in best gold IRA companies for small investors.

How Do You Check a Gold IRA Quote? 5 Numbers to Get in Writing#

Check a gold IRA quote by getting 5 numbers in writing before you fund: price per coin, dollar spread, buyback price, fee schedule and exit fees. The 5 steps are listed below in order.

1. Get the price per coin and per ounce, with the spot price at the moment of the order. The CFTC (2024) says to get the "agreed retail price in writing BEFORE signing."
2. Ask for the dollar spread on your order, not a range.
3. Ask for today's buyback price for the same coins, or in the CFTC's words, "how much you would receive if you had to sell back the metal tomorrow."
4. Get the custodian's fee schedule, its version code and the account type.
5. Get every exit cost: termination, transfer-out, in-kind and any dealer cancellation fee.

Same-day round trips at SD Bullion (September 29, 2026) show what "about 5% to 7%" looks like.

The full list of 12 questions is in how to choose a gold IRA company. You should treat 5 red flags as a reason to stop, listed below.

• A round trip on 1 oz bullion coins above about 10%, when about 5% to 7% is typical.
• Small coins (1/10, 1/4 or 1/2 oz) sold as an investment. Orion's 1/10 oz Gold Eagle cost 21.95% over spot per ounce, against 5.90% for 1 oz (September 29, 2026).
• Promotions that require "premium," "exclusive" or proof coins.
• A recorded confirmation call with yes-or-no questions about fees; regulators' case files describe such calls putting your agreement on tape.
• A first statement 10% or more below what you paid.

Custodians do not vet dealers or prices (SEC Initial Decision No. 1030, June 27, 2016). The cases behind each red flag are in gold IRA scams.

Gold IRA Fees vs Silver IRAs, Gold ETFs and Fidelity#

Silver IRAs have the same 11 fees as gold IRAs, while a gold ETF or bullion inside a Fidelity IRA replaces most of them with one yearly percentage. Where you buy also changes the spread; see bullion dealer vs gold IRA company.

Silver IRA fees: why silver costs more to buy and hold#

Silver costs more to buy and hold because its coins carry wider dealer spreads and take far more vault space per dollar. A Silver Eagle cost 14.6% round trip against 5.39% for a Gold Eagle at SD Bullion on September 29, 2026. The silver a silver IRA may hold is a named coin (the 1 oz Silver Eagle) or a 99.9% pure bar or coin.

The table uses a flat silver price and Equity Trust's metals-only commingled fees: $50 setup, $235 a year and a $30 sale, or $2,430 over 10 years.

Silver is also bulky. The London benchmark prices (LBMA PM) on September 28, 2026 were $61.33 an ounce for silver and $4,144.55 for gold. The table shows what the premium and the weight mean.

Flat storage bills both the same. Price swings are compared with fees in gold vs silver IRA.

Gold IRA vs a gold ETF: fees over 10 years#

A gold ETF in the IRA you already have costs about $1,035 over 10 years on $100,000, versus about $6,341 for a low-cost gold IRA. The catch is that you own fund shares, not coins. The table uses fees paid from outside and expense ratios from fund filings (2025-2026).

These cheaper assumptions (commingled storage, a 3.03% premium, a sale at 99% of spot) are why the low-cost gold IRA costs $6,341 here instead of $8,580.

The tax code treats most coins and metal an IRA buys as "collectibles" unless they meet the metal rules. In a private letter ruling (No. 200732026, a ruling for one taxpayer), the IRS said an IRA may hold gold ETF shares without breaking that rule. The full math is in gold IRA vs gold ETF.

Buying bullion inside a Fidelity IRA#

Fidelity sells gold inside its own IRAs for a 0.99% to 2.90% commission plus 0.50% a year storage (September 2026). That beats flat custodian fees on small balances but not on large ones. The table sums up Fidelity's commission schedule FA-FEES-0926 (September 2026, read September 29, 2026).

The 3 other points that matter are listed below.

• Minimums: a $1,000 IRA purchase and a $44 minimum commission, so a $1,000 purchase costs 4.4%.
• Products: only Gold Eagles, 1 oz Gold Buffalos, 1 oz Silver Eagles, Platinum Eagles and bullion bars.
• Ten years on $100,000: $6,990 in commissions and storage, before any dealer spread, which Fidelity does not publish. The metal is stored at FideliTrade in Delaware.

A Fidelity IRA suits small, simple holdings best. See fees and products on Fidelity gold IRA.

Gold IRA fees frequently asked questions#

The short answers: fees can be paid from outside the IRA but not deducted, the spread is the part you can negotiate, and unpaid fees can force a taxable sale.

Can you pay gold IRA fees from outside the IRA, and are they deductible?#

Yes for the custodian's yearly fees: the IRS says they do not count toward your contribution limit, but you cannot deduct them. IRS Publication 590-A says "Trustees' administrative fees aren't subject to the contribution limit." Fees billed separately "aren't deductible as IRA contributions. You are also not able to deduct these fees as an itemized deduction."

In plain English: paying from outside keeps more metal in the IRA, with no tax break. Custodians disagree on whether storage fees count as these administrative fees, so follow your custodian's written rule. More in gold IRA taxes.

Are gold IRA fees negotiable?#

The spread can be: American Hartford Gold's September 2026 agreement says "The Spread may be negotiable," while custodian fees are fixed by the published schedule. Ask for a lower spread in writing before you fund.

Contracts also limit what you can win back. American Hartford Gold caps its liability at the amount you paid, with claims due within 1 year and arbitration. GoldenCrest Metals' website terms cap it at the amount paid in the prior month (September 2026). If you think you were overcharged, report a gold IRA company to a regulator.

What happens if you do not pay the custodian's fee?#

The custodian can sell your metal to cover the bill and send you the rest as a taxable distribution. Equity Trust may "liquidate your precious metals assets to pay any fees due and owing ... and force distribute any remaining assets in your account." That payout is taxed as income, plus a 10% additional tax before age 59 1/2 (26 U.S.C. 72(t)); see how gold IRA distributions are taxed.

How much do you lose if you sell gold back right away?#

About 5% to 7% on plain 1 oz bullion coins, and about 24% at a 19.99% spread, because dealers buy back below spot. A Gold Eagle lost 5.39% round trip at SD Bullion on September 29, 2026. The CFTC (2024) puts it plainly: "A dealer will always sell metal above the spot price and buy it back below the spot price." Dealers call the gap between their two prices the bid ask spread; this page calls the selling side of it the buyback gap.

Why does the first statement show less than you paid?#

Because the custodian values your metal near the value of the metal alone (its melt value), while you paid the dealer's price, which includes the spread. Equity Trust says "The value on your quarterly statement does not include any markups, commissions or premiums from the precious metals dealer you chose." At a 33% spread, the statement shows about 67% of what you paid; at 20%, about 80%. Each line of a gold IRA statement is explained on its own page.

Is a gold IRA worth it for $10,000?#

Rarely on cost alone: a $10,000 bullion IRA held 10 years costs about $3,720 in spread and fees, while a gold ETF in an existing IRA costs about $100. That is 37.2% of the account, before any change in the gold price. Fixed fees are the reason: $285 a year is 2.85% of $10,000.

What is the downside of a gold IRA?#

The biggest downsides are the dealer's spread, flat fees on small balances, no income and price swings, such as gold's 23.3% fall from its January 2026 record. The LBMA PM price fell from $5,405.00 on January 29, 2026 to $4,144.55 on September 28, 2026. Fees are the downside you control. Each one is weighed in the real downsides of a gold IRA.

Is it better to have physical gold or a gold IRA?#

For money already in a 401(k) or IRA, a gold IRA keeps it tax-deferred, meaning no tax until you take money out. Coins in your own hands need money you have already paid tax on, and taking the money out first triggers tax on the withdrawal. IRA metal kept at home counts as a taxable distribution (McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10, 2021). The comparison of gold IRA vs physical gold runs the tax math.

What if I invested $10,000 in gold 20 years ago?#

$10,000 of gold bought on September 28, 2006 was worth $68,732 at spot on September 28, 2026, but about $49,929 inside a low-cost gold IRA after its costs. The table uses LBMA PM prices of $603.00 and $4,144.55.

Costs take a steady share over time. See every year in gold IRA returns since 1971.

Why does Dave Ramsey say not to invest in gold?#

Ramsey Solutions says gold and other metals "don't produce anything, they don't pay dividends, and they don't earn interest," so their return is price change minus costs. The page was updated March 19, 2026. That makes fees matter more: every dollar of spread must come back through price alone. More in why Dave Ramsey and Warren Buffett say no to gold.