A free gold IRA kit is a real booklet about gold IRAs, but the request form is a sales lead: your contact details, passed to a salesperson. You give a phone number and, on most forms, permission for calls, texts and recorded messages. So what is inside the kit, who calls you next, and who pays for the "free" part?
The kit is how many sellers start the conversation about opening a gold IRA.
SafeOunce sells no metal and collects no phone numbers, so this page has no kit button.
What Is a Free Gold IRA Kit?#
A free gold IRA kit is a printed or PDF sales guide that a precious metals dealer sends after you fill in a request form. The form asks for your name, email and phone number. Sellers use 4 names for it as of September 2026: "investor kit" (Lear Capital), "information kit" (Birch Gold Group), "Gold & Silver Kit" (Goldco) and "free guide" (Preserve Gold).
The kit comes before any help to open a gold IRA at many companies; the next step is a sales call.
What comes in a gold IRA kit?#
A gold IRA kit usually explains IRA types, rollovers, custodians, depositories and eligible metal, plus the seller's bonus offer. The 6 typical topics are listed below.
- IRA types: traditional, Roth and SEP IRAs.
- Rollovers and transfers: a transfer moves an IRA between custodians; a rollover moves money from a plan such as a 401(k).
- Custodians: the bank or trust company that holds the IRA and reports it to the IRS.
- Depositories: private vaults that store the metal. Birch's page names Delaware Depository, Brink's, IDS and Texas Precious Metals Depository.
- Compliance rules: which coins and bars an IRA may hold.
- The seller's promotion: free silver or fee credits, always tied to a purchase.
Birch Gold Group's kit page (read September 29, 2026) lists the first 5 topics for its "24-page 2026 Information Kit"; the bonus offer is on every seller homepage we read. We have not read other sellers' booklets.
What a gold IRA kit leaves out#
A gold IRA kit leaves out the numbers that decide your cost: the markup, the buyback price and what your first statement will show. The markup is what the dealer adds on top of the metal's value; the spread is the same gap as a share of your price. The 5 missing cost facts (kit pages and offers read September 29, 2026) are listed below.
- The spread or markup on your order, in dollars.
- The buyback bid: what the dealer would pay you today for the same coins.
- The cancellation window: 24 hours after the invoice at Lear Capital (longer in some states) and 24 hours at Preserve Gold. American Hartford Gold allows 7 days, for non-bullion only (contracts as of September 2026).
- Arbitration and a 1-year claim deadline in the American Hartford Gold, Preserve and Lear contracts. Arbitration means a private judge decides disputes instead of a court.
- The custodian's role: it does not check the dealer's price.
Your first gold IRA statement shows less than you paid: custodians value metal at spot (the market price for metal delivered now) or the dealer's bid, without the premium. After a 20% spread it shows about 80% of what you paid; after 33%, about 67%. Why your first gold IRA statement shows less is explained line by line.
A short cancellation window protects only the order you cancel inside it. The court record in Goldco Direct v. Wilson (N.D. Ala. No. 4:18-cv-850) shows 3 orders worth over $400,000 (October 2016 to March 2018). Only the last order ($159,901.72), cancelled within 24 hours, was refunded; the earlier orders were not unwound.
Custodians do not vet the seller either: an SEC and NASAA investor alert says they "generally do not evaluate the quality or legitimacy of any investment ... or its promoters."
Is the Free Gold IRA Kit Legit?#
Yes, the free gold IRA kit is legit as a booklet, but the request starts a real sales process, and "free" metal needs a qualifying purchase. A qualifying purchase is the minimum you must buy to get the bonus. The table below splits the kit into its 3 parts.
| The part | Is it real? | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| The booklet | Yes, free by mail or email | Educational, but written by the seller (Birch's 2026 kit runs 24 pages) |
| The phone call | Yes | The form usually authorizes calls, texts and recorded messages (Birch kit form and Priority Gold terms, September 2026) |
| The free gold bar or silver | Only after you fund a qualifying purchase | Its cost must not be added to the price you pay (FTC rule, 16 CFR 251.1); in Lear's own contract example, bonuses come out of the markup (SafeOunce reading) |
A kit is not a scam by itself. The scam risk starts later, on the phone, when prices and coins are chosen.
Real or fake: a company kit vs a lead-site kit#
Both are real: a gold company mails a real booklet, and a kit button on a "best gold IRA kit" site also gets you one. What differs is who gets your details. A lead site is an affiliate: a website paid for each referral it passes to a company. The 4 signs of a lead site are listed below.
- A redirect link: the kit button passes through the site's own tracking address, such as one containing "/go/".
- The same 5 companies, each with a near-perfect star rating.
- A disclosure that the site "earns referral compensation" or that kit links "are fulfilled by our featured partner".
- An author whose credentials you cannot find at the CFP Board, FINRA BrokerCheck or the SEC's adviser search.
The two top-ranking kit sites (read September 29, 2026) earn money from the ranking and the kit button, like gold IRA review sites. One says its kit links "are fulfilled by our featured partner, Augusta Precious Metals." The other "earns referral compensation," and SafeOunce could not verify its author's CFP credential. How gold IRA review sites are paid is covered separately.
Old kit links can outlive the company. A 2014 press release that still ranks for "free gold IRA kit" sent readers to a kit form at Regal Assets; the link no longer loads (September 29, 2026).
The CFTC sued Regal on September 27, 2023, alleging it misappropriated over $21 million from over 120 customers (CFTC release 8791-23). Default judgments (rulings made when a defendant does not respond) of October 15, 2024 total about $49.2 million.
Regal is one of the precious metals IRA enforcement actions tracked with dates and amounts.
6 kit claims to check against the law#
Six claims appear on kit pages that rank in 2026, and each is wrong or misleading when checked against the tax code, the IRS or a regulator. The tax code allows precious metals by statute, not by IRS approval.
A nonbank trustee is a company that is not a bank but that the IRS lets act as an IRA trustee. A prohibited transaction is a banned deal between an IRA and its owner; a distribution is money or metal paid out of the IRA. The 6 claims are checked below.
| The claim | What the law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| "IRS-approved" coins, custodians or depositories | The IRS publishes no list of approved coins, dealers or depositories: "there is no list of approved investments." The only IRS list covers nonbank trustees (73 as of April 1, 2026). See the precious metals the tax code allows. | IRS Retirement Plan Investments FAQs; Treas. Reg. 1.408-2(e) |
| "The IRS loophole for gold" | The CFTC lists "There are secret tax loopholes" among 5 lies metals sellers tell. IRA metal rests on a written statute, in the law since 1986 for Gold and Silver Eagles, and since 1998 for Platinum Eagles and bullion. | CFTC investor flier; 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3) |
| "2026 IRA limit $7,000 ($8,000 at 50+)" | The 2026 limit is $7,500, plus $1,100 at 50 or older: $8,600. | IRS Notice 2025-67 |
| "Home storage is a prohibited transaction; the whole account is taxed plus 10%" | In McNulty, the Tax Court treated the coins' cost as a taxable distribution. The IRS conceded no prohibited transaction for Mrs. McNulty. The home storage gold IRA ruling is explained in full. | McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10 (November 18, 2021) |
| "Gold coins must be .9999 fine" | Gold bullion must be .995 fine (99.5% pure). The American Gold Eagle is .9167 and is eligible only because the statute names it. | 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(A)-(B) |
| "Guaranteed buyback" | Contracts of American Hartford Gold, Lear Capital, Preserve Gold, Goldline and American Bullion say the law prohibits guaranteeing a repurchase. | Company purchase agreements, read September 2026 (versions dated 2024-2026) |
Who Calls You After You Request a Gold IRA Kit?#
After you request a gold IRA kit, the company that receives your form calls you, and the form usually lets it call, text and leave recorded messages. That permission can reach you even if your number is on the Do Not Call list. That list is the national registry run by the FTC, with 258,515,050 active registrations on September 30, 2025 (FTC report to Congress, December 2025).
A sales call after a kit request is legal on its own. Still, an SEC investor alert says: "be especially wary of an unsolicited investment offer that promotes the use of a self-directed IRA." Unsolicited calls or texts after a free kit request are one of the 11 warning signs of gold IRA scams tied to real cases.
What you agree to when you submit a kit form#
Submitting a kit form usually authorizes the seller to call and text you with autodialers and recorded voices; a later purchase contract can also waive your Do Not Call registration. An autodialer dials numbers automatically; a ringless voicemail lands in your voicemail without the phone ringing. The table below quotes 6 kit forms and contracts word for word.
| Company | Document and date | What you authorize (verbatim) |
|---|---|---|
| Birch Gold Group | Kit request form, read September 29, 2026 | "Phone Number (Required)"; "I authorize Birch Gold to send info and marketing texts to any mobile number I provide (up to 6/month ...)"; "I also authorize the use of pre-recorded/artificial voice communications and messages, ringless voicemails, and auto-dialers" |
| Priority Gold | Marketing consent in its terms, read September 29, 2026 | Contact by "pre-recorded message, ringless voicemail, or automated telephone technology" |
| Lear Capital | Homepage kit form, read September 29, 2026 | "Telephone" and "Best Time to Call: Morning / Afternoon / Evening" |
| Lear Capital | Terms and Conditions, December 2025 | "Customer hereby expressly authorizes LC to telephone Customer ... regardless of whether or not the telephone numbers appear in the 'National Do Not Call Registry'" |
| Preserve Gold | Transaction agreement, June 2025 | Calls "regardless of whether those numbers are listed on any state or federal 'Do Not Call' registry" |
| American Hartford Gold | Transaction agreement, September 2026 | Contains a Do Not Call consent clause |
Ranking kit review pages (read September 29, 2026) print 3 claims about calls that these forms contradict. The claims are quoted below, not stated as fact.
| Claim printed on a kit review page | What the forms and rules show |
|---|---|
| Reputable companies "limit follow-up to one call within 72 hours" | Birch's form takes consent to up to 6 texts a month plus autodialed, prerecorded and ringless-voicemail messages. An inquiry lets that seller call for 90 days (16 CFR 310.2) |
| "No phone number is required by the best companies" | Birch's form marks "Phone Number (Required)"; Lear's form asks for "Telephone" and "Best Time to Call" |
| "No follow-up calls without consent" | Submitting the form is the consent: Birch's form authorizes autodialers, prerecorded voices and ringless voicemails |
47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9) defines "prior express written consent" as a signed written agreement that "clearly authorizes the seller" to use an autodialer or a recorded voice. The agreement must also tell you that you are "not required to sign the agreement ... as a condition of purchasing any property, goods, or services."
Can one form let several gold companies call you?#
No: federal telemarketing rules tie your written consent to one specific seller. One kit form on a review site does not give several gold companies clean permission to robocall you or to call your Do Not Call number. A robocall is a call made with an autodialer or a recorded voice; a lead generator is a business that collects contact details and sells them. The 3 federal texts below say so, word for word.
| Federal text | The rule, word for word | In plain English |
|---|---|---|
| 16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B)(1) | Calls to a Do Not Call number need a written agreement allowing calls "by or on behalf of a specific party" | The consent names one seller, not a list of sellers |
| FTC guide to the TSR | A seller "cannot rely on third-parties to obtain permission," and the agreement must "identify the single 'specific seller'" | A review site cannot collect permission on the seller's behalf |
| FTC report to Congress, December 2025 | "the TSR does not allow lead generators to obtain consent for robocalls and transfer that consent to third-party callers" | A lead generator cannot pass your consent on to other callers |
The FCC's rule matches: permission to call a registered number must say "the consumer agrees to be contacted by this seller" (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)). The Eleventh Circuit vacated a separate 2023 FCC "one-to-one consent" rule on January 24, 2025 (Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, No. 24-10277); the Do Not Call rules above still name one seller.
In FTC v. Response Tree (January 2, 2024), a lead generator ran more than 50 "consent farm" websites that gathered consent for other callers. The order bans it from robocalls and from selling consumer data for lead generation; a $7 million judgment is suspended. Lead sellers can also be liable for "substantial assistance" to a seller breaking the rule (16 CFR 310.3(b)).
Do telemarketing rules apply if you called the company?#
Yes: the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule still covers a call you start by dialing a number in a gold ad. The TSR (16 CFR Part 310) is the FTC's rule for sales by phone. Calls you place are usually exempt, but not for ads about investment opportunities: things sold on the promise that they can grow in value.
Mail works the same way: 310.6(b)(6) keeps calls prompted by direct mail about "investment opportunities" out of the exemption, so calling the number in a mailed kit is covered too (SafeOunce reading).
Before you pay, the seller must disclose "the total costs to purchase ... and the quantity" (16 CFR 310.3(a)(1)(i)). It may not misrepresent "risk, liquidity, earnings potential, or profitability" (310.3(a)(2)(vi)), and it keeps call records for 5 years (310.5). SafeOunce reads these rules to cover gold IRA sales calls; we found no FTC case applying them to a gold IRA dealer.
Does the Do Not Call list still protect you after a kit request?#
Only partly: a kit request lets that one seller call you for 90 days, even on the Do Not Call list, and a purchase extends it to 540 days. The TSR calls this an established business relationship: an inquiry "within the 90 days immediately preceding" the call, or a purchase within 540 days (16 CFR 310.2).
Leads bought from lead generators "generally do not fall within the established business relationship exception," the FTC's 2025 report adds. Telephone solicitations are also limited to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., your local time (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1)), so note the time of each call.
What illegal sales calls can be worth: $500 to $1,500 each#
Federal law lets you sue for $500 for each illegal robocall or repeated Do Not Call violation, and a court can triple that to $1,500 for willful calls. The law is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA, 47 U.S.C. 227).
The table below applies the statute's amounts to 3 cases.
| Case | Unlawful calls | At $500 each | If willful, at $1,500 each |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 unlawful robocalls to you | 10 | $5,000 | $15,000 |
| One number sold to 3 companies, 5 unconsented prerecorded calls each | 15 | $7,500 | $22,500 |
| 1,000 such leads | 15,000 | $7.5 million | $22.5 million |
Illustrations of the statute's amounts (SafeOunce computation). Whether a call is unlawful depends on the consent you gave. Not legal advice.
Two gold sellers have settled TCPA class actions (group lawsuits settled for all members at once) over marketing texts. Summerton v. Goldco Direct (W.D. Wis. No. 3:23-cv-00238) covered texts sent after "STOP" to about 19,280 people; final approval came on March 26, 2026. Pitts v. Bishop Gold Group (N.D. Fla. No. 3:24-cv-00128) settled with a $2,000,000 fund, finally approved on December 2, 2025.
Florida's law (Fla. Stat. 501.059) also requires prior express written consent for automated sales calls. For texts, the sender has 15 days after your "STOP" to fix it before you can sue for "$500 or actual damages, whichever is greater."
Report robocalls or texts after STOP at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, donotcall.gov or the FCC; a private TCPA lawyer handles damages. Which agency handles which problem when you report a gold IRA company is set out in one table.
How do you stop the calls after requesting a gold IRA kit?#
Say or text "stop", or write to the company that you revoke (take back) your consent; callers must honor it within 10 business days. Any reasonable method counts, including "quit", "cancel" or "unsubscribe," and callers "may not designate an exclusive means" (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10)). Keep a log of gold IRA cold calls and robocalls: date, time, number and caller's name.
Step-by-step scripts for gold IRA cold calls and robocalls and your Do Not Call rights are on their own page.
What Does a Free Gold IRA Kit Really Cost?#
A free gold IRA kit costs you nothing to request, but the company pays hundreds of dollars for your phone number. It recovers that cost in the markup on the metal you buy later, which, unlike the custodian's gold IRA fees, never arrives as a bill.
The markup is one of 5 cost layers in gold IRA fees (markup, buyback gap, custodian, storage and exit), and usually the largest.
Why a gold company can pay $200 for your phone number#
A gold company can pay $200 for your phone number because one IRA customer brings thousands in gross profit: about $12,191 on an average Lear Capital IRA deal. One sale in 61 leads covers the cost. Gross profit is what the dealer keeps before paying salespeople, ads, rent and staff.
Three sellers publish what they pay websites. A qualified lead is one that meets the seller's test; a revenue share is a cut of each sale. Their terms, as of September 29, 2026, are compared below.
| Seller | Document | What the website is paid |
|---|---|---|
| Augusta Precious Metals | Affiliate agreement (no revision date printed) | $200 per "Qualified Lead": new, with "a valid U.S. phone number, valid email address" and at least $50,000 in an IRA or 401(k) that can be rolled over. Plus 8% of "Premium Trade Value" and 0% on bullion (Prime tier). Augusta may "use, exploit, and sell" consumer data |
| Lear Capital | Affiliate terms, updated August 1, 2025 | $175, $200 or $225 per qualified lead, plus a revenue share whose words and figures conflict inside the contract. A lead counts only after it "Has spoken to a Lear Capital sales representative." Affiliates must say they are "not neutral or independent" |
| Birch Gold Group | Affiliate page | "We pay for every qualified lead and offer commissions on every sale throughout the customer's lifetime." Amounts not published |
Put plainly, the website is paid when you pick up the phone, and all 3 programs also pay on sales. SafeOunce takes no money from any company named on this page. See who pays SafeOunce and what money cannot buy here.
What advertisers pay when you click a gold IRA kit ad#
Advertisers pay about $76 to $83 per click on a "free gold IRA kit" search ad, and about $128 on "request free gold IRA kit" (DataForSEO estimates, September 2026). The cost per click (CPC) is what an advertiser pays each time someone clicks its paid search result.
| Search query | Cost per click |
|---|---|
| free gold ira kit | $75.86 |
| gold ira kit | $77.54 |
| gold ira kit free | $82.78 |
| request free gold ira kit | $127.70 |
SafeOunce keyword data from DataForSEO, September 29, 2026.
At $77.54 a click, the $12,191 gross profit from one average IRA deal covers about 157 clicks; at $127.70, about 95 (SafeOunce computation).
Assume, for illustration only, that 1 click in 10 becomes a kit request and 1 request in 10 becomes a customer (assumed rates, not measured). Each lead would then cost $760 to $1,280 in ads, and each customer $7,600 to $12,800.
That is close to what Lear's figures show going to selling costs. Lear's net profit was 2.51% to 2.77% of revenue (2020 and 2021, per its Chapter 11 plan). So of the $12,191 gross, about $10,750 to $10,880 paid for commissions, advertising, rent and staff.
Where the money comes from: the markup on the metal#
The money for the kit, the ads and the salesperson comes from the markup on the metal. The CFTC put typical markups at 5% to 10% over spot for bullion and 40% to 200% for numismatic coins (CFTC advisory 8215-20, August 4, 2020). Bullion is bars and coins priced mainly on their metal; numismatic coins are collector coins priced above their metal.
These gold IRA markups never appear in the kit. The CFTC and FINRA "10 Things to Know" (2024) gives a red-flag line. "Some fraudulent dealers have charged spreads of more than 300 percent," it says, while others "may charge less than 20 percent." A retail 1 oz bullion coin's round trip (buy, then sell straight back) cost about 5% to 7% (SD Bullion Gold Eagle 5.39%, snapshot of September 29, 2026).
How dealers set gold IRA markups decides most of what the kit really costs.
Break-even is the rise you need to sell back without a loss; the bid gap, the dealer's buy price below metal value, raises it. The table shows the rise needed.
| Spread on your purchase | Rise needed to sell back without a loss |
|---|---|
| 5% | 10.4% |
| 20% | 31.1% |
| 33% | 56.6% |
SafeOunce computation, including the dealer's bid gap; custodian and storage fees excluded.
To test a quote, work out how much metal must rise to cover the markup and fees.
Free Gold Bar and Free Silver Offers: How the "Free" Metal Is Paid For#
A free gold bar or free silver from a gold IRA kit comes only with a qualifying purchase, and the dealer pays for it from its margin on that purchase. Lear's contract example above documents this; SafeOunce reads the other offers the same way. The 4 kit offers below were on company homepages on September 29, 2026.
- Lear Capital: "up to $15,000 in Free Coins", with "qualifying purchase required".
- American Hartford Gold: "Up To $15,000 in FREE Silver On Qualifying Purchases".
- Goldco: 5% free silver on $50,000 to $99,999 and 10% on $100,000 or more "in Goldco premium coins". Premium coins is a seller's term for coins priced above plain bullion.
- Preserve Gold: free insured shipping, a $200 account credit and a home safe "by requesting the free guide ... with a qualified purchase".
The second-ranked kit site's gold bar works the same way: it is "credited to your IRA only after you fund a qualifying account."
Federal rules cover free silver and bonus metal promotions. A seller may not recover the cost of a "free" item "by marking up the price of the article which must be purchased" (16 CFR 251.1(b)(1)). It must also state the conditions "at the outset." Every one of the free silver and bonus metal promotions we found is tied to a purchase.
Fee waivers are the second kind of kit bonus: the seller pays your custodian and storage fees for a time. Preserve Gold waives them "for up to 5 years depending on your starting investment size" (September 29, 2026).
What no-fee gold IRA offers are worth in dollars is worked out separately.
The free-silver math in dollars#
A 10% free-silver bonus beats plain bullion only when the coins you must buy carry a low spread: about 13% or less in the hypothetical below. The effective premium is what you really pay over the metal's value once the bonus is counted.
Effective premium = (1 + markup) / (1 + bonus) - 1
By this formula, a 10% bonus equals a 5.9% bullion premium at a coin markup of 16.5%, and a 5% bonus at 11.2% (SafeOunce computation). A 16.5% markup equals about a 14.2% spread. The hypothetical's line is lower, about 13%, mainly because its bonus silver carries its own 20% spread.
| Route ($100,000 hypothetical) | What you buy | Sale value on day one |
|---|---|---|
| Premium coins + 10% bonus silver | $100,000 of coins at a 30% spread, plus $10,000 of silver at a 20% spread | $66,719 + $7,625 = $74,344 |
| Plain bullion, no bonus | $100,000 of bullion at a 5% spread | $90,547 |
SafeOunce illustration; the dealer bids about 4.7% below metal value. Goldco does not publish premium-coin spreads, so the 30% is an assumed figure, not Goldco's.
Plain bullion is worth $16,203 more on day one than the "free" offer. Ask for the markup on the required coins in writing before you accept any bonus.
Is bonus metal in an IRA a gift the IRS allows?#
SafeOunce found no IRS rule on dealer bonus metal. Its only stated limit covers small gifts from the IRA trustee for opening an account: $10 for deposits under $5,000 and $20 for $5,000 or more (IRS Publication 590-A). How the IRS would treat a $10,000 dealer bonus is unsettled, so ask a tax professional first.
How to Request a Gold IRA Kit Without Paying for It Later: 7 Steps#
You can read a gold IRA kit without paying for it later by controlling 3 things: the form, the calls and the numbers. The 7 steps are listed below.
- Read the consent box before you press submit. Leave optional consent boxes unchecked; consent is not a condition of buying (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9)).
- Request the kit from the company's own website, not from a ranking site's button, so only one seller has your details.
- Use an email address you keep for sales mail.
- Keep a call log: the date, time, number and caller's name.
- Ask for the 5 numbers below in writing, and agree to nothing on a recorded call that you do not understand. New York's Attorney General, suing Lear Capital, cited a recorded confirmation call: "ask to cost fee is 33 percent."
- Check a gold IRA company before you fund it: court cases, regulator orders and complaints. How to check a gold IRA company is covered step by step.
- Revoke consent in writing when you are done. Text or say "stop"; callers must honor it within 10 business days (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10)).
5 numbers to get in writing before you fund#
Get five numbers in writing before any money moves: the price per coin, the dollar spread, today's buyback price, the custodian's fee schedule and every exit cost. A termination fee is the charge to close the account; an in-kind distribution means taking the coins themselves out of the IRA. The 5 numbers are set out below.
| # | The number | Why it matters | What regulators say |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Price per coin and per ounce vs spot at order time | Shows the markup | The TSR requires total cost and quantity before you pay (16 CFR 310.3(a)(1)(i)) |
| 2 | Dollar spread on your order | Turns a percentage into dollars | CFTC: bullion 5%-10% over spot, numismatic 40%-200% (2020). CFTC and FINRA: some fraudulent dealers charged spreads "of more than 300 percent" (2024) |
| 3 | Today's buyback price for the same coins | Shows what you would get back | CFTC: ask "how much you would receive if you had to sell back the metal tomorrow" |
| 4 | Custodian fee schedule, with its revision code and account type | Fees differ by schedule and version | CFTC and FINRA: get "all fees" in writing |
| 5 | Exit costs: termination, transfer-out, in-kind and the dealer's cancellation fee | Leaving an IRA costs money | CFTC and FINRA: get them "BEFORE signing" |
The CFTC and FINRA "10 Things to Know" (March 20, 2024) ask for "all fees, costs, commissions, and agreed retail price in writing BEFORE signing." These numbers help you choose a gold IRA company on cost, not on the kit. The 12 questions to ask when you choose a gold IRA company build on them.
Free Gold IRA Guides That Sell Nothing: Where the Official Rules Are#
The rules in every gold IRA kit come from free public sources that ask for no phone number, such as IRS Publications 590-A and 590-B and CFTC alerts. The 5 free sources are listed below.
- IRS Publication 590-A: contributions, rollovers and transfers.
- IRS Publication 590-B: withdrawals, including the yearly ones required from 73 or 75.
- IRS Retirement Plan Investments FAQs: the page that says "there is no list of approved investments."
- 26 U.S.C. 408(m): the statute on which metal an IRA may hold.
- CFTC and FINRA "10 Things to Know" (2024) and CFTC advisory 8215-20 (2020): markups and fraud warning signs.
A gold ETF (exchange-traded fund, a fund that trades like a stock) gives you gold's price inside an IRA you already have. A gold ETF such as GLDM costs 0.10% a year (fund 10-K, 2026), with no kit and no sales call.
Whether a kit is worth requesting depends on your account size and goal. The table below sets out 5 situations using published figures as of September 2026 (SafeOunce reading, not personal advice).
| Your situation | What the published numbers show | What it means for the kit |
|---|---|---|
| Under $5,000 to invest | Birch Gold Group publishes a $5,000 minimum; Goldco $25,000 | The kit mostly starts a sales call for an account the seller may not open |
| About $10,000 | A flat $235 a year (Equity Trust metals-only schedule) is 2.35% of the balance; GLDM costs 0.10% | Flat fees weigh heavily; compare a gold ETF first |
| Under $50,000 to roll over | Augusta's affiliate contract counts a "Qualified Lead" only at $50,000 or more; its FAQ minimum is $50,000 (updated September 23, 2026) | Kit buttons routed to Augusta are built for larger accounts |
| $50,000 or more | Custodian and storage cost $215 to $656 a year; a 20% spread is $10,000 on day one | The markup, not the fees, decides the cost: get the 5 numbers in writing |
| You only want gold's price | A gold ETF inside your existing IRA holds no coins | No kit and no sales call needed |
What Should You Check Before Opening a Gold IRA After the Kit Arrives?#
Check 3 things the kit does not cover before you open a gold IRA: the company's record, its minimum and what the whole account will cost. Gold IRA companies differ on all 3.
- The record: every one of the gold IRA companies, including those that failed, is rated on the same criteria.
- The minimum: as of September 2026, Birch Gold Group asks for $5,000, Goldco $25,000 and Augusta Precious Metals $50,000 (per its FAQ, last updated September 23, 2026). See how much money you need to start a gold IRA company by company.
- The ranking by cost: the best gold IRA companies are ranked by real cost, contract terms and legal record, not by kit.
Questions readers ask about gold IRA kits#
Six questions readers ask after a gold IRA kit request are answered below.
Got a gold IRA kit in the mail: how much of it is true?#
A mailed gold IRA kit's tax rules should match public IRS sources; check the 3 parts where kit pages we read went wrong. They are "IRS-approved" wording, the year of the contribution limits, and every fee or buyback number (see the 6 kit claims table). Calling the number in a mailed kit is still covered by the Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR 310.6(b)(6), SafeOunce reading).
What if you invested $10,000 in gold 20 years ago?#
$10,000 of gold bought at $603.00 (LBMA PM, the London afternoon price) on September 28, 2006 was worth about $68,732 on September 28, 2026, before costs (10.1% a year). After IRA costs (a 5% premium plus $250 a year), it was about $49,929 (8.4% a year); with a 30% premium, about $37,529 (SafeOunce computation). Past returns do not predict future ones; see what $10,000 became after IRA costs year by year.
Does the IRS know if you buy gold?#
Yes, for gold in an IRA: the custodian reports the account's year-end value on Form 5498 and withdrawals on Form 1099-R. Outside an IRA, a dealer files Form 8300 when it receives more than $10,000 in cash, and the sale of a single gold coin is not reportable on Form 1099-B. Does the IRS know about your gold in other cases? Each form is decoded box by box.
What is the downside of a gold IRA?#
A gold IRA has 3 main downsides: metal pays no interest or dividends, markups and flat fees eat into small accounts, and traditional withdrawals are taxed as income. Gold also fell 26.1% from its LBMA PM record of $5,405.00 (January 29, 2026) to $3,993.55 (July 16, 2026). The pros, cons and the real downsides are weighed with 55 years of data.
How do you get a gold IRA?#
You get a gold IRA by opening a self-directed IRA with a custodian that allows metal and funding it by transfer, rollover or contribution. The custodian buys IRA-eligible metal from the dealer you pick and stores it at a depository; home storage counts as a taxable distribution (McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10, 2021). No step requires a kit.
How do you cash out a gold IRA?#
You cash out a gold IRA by having the custodian sell the metal to a dealer and pay you, or by taking the coins themselves (an in-kind distribution). Traditional IRA withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income either way. How to sell gold in your IRA and cash out, with buyback prices and fees, is covered step by step.