Gold IRA vs Taxable Gold: The 28% Collectibles Rate Explained (2026 Tax Brackets)

The collectibles tax rate on gold is your ordinary US income tax rate, capped at 28%, on profit from gold you held more than one year outside a retirement account. Inside a gold IRA the 28% rate never applies: traditional IRA withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, and qualified Roth withdrawals are not taxed. So which leaves you more after tax, and when does the 28% cap actually matter?

A capital gain is your profit on a sale. A collectible is the tax code's word for art, coins, metals and similar items. Your ordinary income rate is your rate on wages or a pension.

This page is the capital gains part of our guide to gold IRA taxes. It gives the 2026 rates, 4 dollar examples, the IRA comparison, gold ETFs and 6 legal ways to lower the tax.

SafeOunce sells no metal, and every rule below is linked to the tax code or the IRS.

How Is Gold Taxed When You Sell It?#

US federal tax treats profit on gold sold outside an IRA as a capital gain, taxed at your ordinary rate but never above 28% if held over a year. Gold is a capital asset, which IRS Topic 409 defines as "almost everything you own and use for personal or investment purposes."

The 3 things that decide the tax on a gold sale are listed below.

1. The gain: the sale price minus your cost basis (what you paid, including buying costs).
2. How long you held it: more than one year is long-term; one year or less is short-term (IRS Topic 409).
3. Your other taxable income: it sets the tax bracket your gain falls into.

Short-term gains are ordinary income, taxed at up to 37% in 2026. So do you pay taxes on gold? Yes: a profit on gold is taxable income in the year you sell, whether or not the dealer reports the sale (IRS Form 1099-B instructions, 2026).

Why gold is a collectible for tax, even IRA-eligible coins#

Gold is a collectible for capital gains tax because the tax code borrows the IRA list of collectibles, which names "any metal or gem" and "any stamp or coin". It then drops the exception that lets Gold Eagles and bullion into IRAs. The list, which also names art, rugs, antiques and alcoholic beverages, sits in 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(2), the IRS collectibles rule for retirement accounts.

The bullion exception and this clause come from the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 (Pub. L. 105-34, sections 304 and 311). So is gold taxed as a collectible? Yes, in every form: coins, bars, rounds and physically backed ETFs. Bullion means bars, rounds and coins valued for their metal.

Inside an IRA, the IRS collectibles rule treats a non-eligible coin bought by the IRA as a withdrawal of its cost.

Is the 28% rate a flat tax on gold?#

No: 28% is a cap, not a flat rate, so most people pay their own lower bracket rate on a long-term gold gain.

A tax bracket is a band of income taxed at one rate.

Is gold taxable if you only buy and hold it?#

No: buying gold and holding it creates no federal income tax; the tax comes only when you sell or exchange it for more than your cost. IRS Topic 409 ties a capital gain to the moment "you sell a capital asset." Sales tax when you buy is a separate state question. A dealer paid over $10,000 in cash files Form 8300, but that is a report, not a tax.

What Is the Collectibles Tax Rate on Gold in 2026?#

For 2026, the collectibles tax rate on a long-term gold gain is 10%, 12%, 22% or 24% for most filers, the same as their income tax bracket. It reaches 28% only on taxable income above $201,775 single or $403,550 for a married couple filing jointly (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). Your marginal rate, the rate on your last dollar of income, is the rate your gain meets.

The two tables below show the federal rate on each dollar of long-term gain, by where it lands on top of your other 2026 taxable income. The first is for single filers.

The second table is for married couples filing jointly.

Source: Rev. Proc. 2025-32 brackets and capital gains breakpoints for 2026; SafeOunce table. Add the 3.8% tax explained below when modified adjusted gross income passes $200,000 single or $250,000 joint. Short-term gains use the ordinary-rate column for both.

Your gain is added on top of your other taxable income, so a large gain can spread across two or three rows. In one narrow band, gold pays 12% while stocks pay 15%: $49,450 to $50,400 single, or $98,900 to $100,800 joint.

When the 28% cap actually lowers your tax#

The 28% cap lowers your tax only on the part of a long-term gold gain above $201,775 of 2026 taxable income for a single filer. For a couple filing jointly, the line is $403,550 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).

Below those lines the cap never touches you, yet gold still pays more than stocks, because collectibles never get the 0% or 15% rates.

For most retirees the headline 28% overstates their rate, but understates the gap with stocks. A couple with $150,000 of taxable income pays 22% on a gold gain and 15% on a stock gain.

The 3.8% net investment income tax on gold gains#

A gold gain can also owe the 3.8% net investment income tax (NIIT) once your modified adjusted gross income passes $200,000 single or $250,000 joint. That puts the top federal rate on a long-term gold gain at 31.8%. Modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is, for most people, total income before the standard or itemized deduction.

Short-term vs long-term: does holding gold a year lower the tax?#

Holding gold more than one year lowers the tax only if your bracket is above 28%. For most filers, a short-term and a long-term gold gain are taxed at exactly the same rate. The table below compares a single filer's $20,000 gain in 2026.

2026 brackets; SafeOunce computation. At $150,000, waiting saves a gold seller nothing but saves a stock investor $1,800. At $250,000, waiting saves the gold seller $1,213.

How Much Tax Do You Pay on Gold? 4 Worked Examples for 2026#

The federal tax on a gold gain in 2026 runs from about 15% of the gain for a retired couple to 31.8% for high earners. The 4 examples below set each one next to the same gain on stocks.

All 4 assume gold held more than one year outside an IRA, 2026 federal brackets, no other capital gains or losses, and the gold gain as the only investment income for NIIT. State tax is extra.

Example 1: retired couple, $30,000 gain on gold coins#

A retired married couple, both under 65, with $80,000 of 2026 taxable income who sell gold coins for a $30,000 long-term gain owe about $4,520 of federal tax. The same stock gain would cost them $1,665. Married filing jointly means a couple files one return together.

At 65 or older, the same gain could also shrink their temporary $6,000-per-person senior deduction and raise the tax slightly above $4,520 (see way 3).

Example 2: single filer, $20,000 gain on gold vs stocks#

A single filer with $80,000 of taxable income who sells gold for a $20,000 long-term gain pays $4,400 (22%), while the same gain on stocks costs $3,000 (15%). The total of $100,000 stays below the 22% bracket's top of $105,700. The stock gain sits above the $49,450 line for 0%, so it pays 15% (Rev. Proc. 2025-32).

Taxes are one reason the long-run comparison of gold vs the S&P 500 looks different after tax than before it.

Example 3: couple earning $300,000, $50,000 gain#

A married couple with $300,000 of taxable income who sell gold for a $50,000 long-term gain owe about $13,900: $12,000 at their 24% rate plus $1,900 of NIIT. Their total of $350,000 stays below $403,550, so the 28% cap does not apply.

If the same $50,000 of growth came out of a traditional IRA, it would be ordinary income with no NIIT (26 U.S.C. 1411(c)(5)).

Example 4: couple earning $500,000, $100,000 gain#

At $500,000 of joint taxable income, a $100,000 long-term gold gain is taxed at the 28% cap plus 3.8% NIIT: $31,800, against $18,800 on the same stock gain. Their income already sits in the 32% bracket, above $403,550, so the whole gain is capped at 28%: $28,000, plus $3,800 of NIIT. The stock gain stays below $613,700 and pays 15% plus 3.8%.

The table below sums up all 4 examples.

How Do You Figure the Taxable Gain on Gold?#

Your taxable gain on gold is what you receive when you sell, minus your cost basis: what you paid for the gold, including the costs of buying it. IRS Topic 409 defines the gain as "the difference between the adjusted basis in the asset and the amount you realized from the sale."

Gain = sale proceeds - cost basis

What goes into your cost basis#

Your cost basis in gold is the full price you paid the dealer, including its premium over the spot price, plus costs such as sales tax and shipping. The spot price is the market price of raw metal for immediate delivery. The premium is the dealer's charge above it.

The 4 costs that belong in the basis of a gold purchase are listed below.

• The invoice price, including the dealer's premium.
• Sales tax, where your state charges it.
• Shipping and insurance on delivery.
• Other purchase charges on the invoice.

Inherited and gifted gold follow other basis rules (ways 5 and 6).

Why the dealer's spread delays any taxable gain#

You buy gold at the dealer's asking price and sell at its lower bid, so the price must close that gap before you have any taxable gain. The ask is the dealer's selling price; the bid is its buying price. The spread is the gap between them, and the round trip is what you lose buying and selling straight back.

The spread works against you twice: it raises your basis and lowers your sale price. Inside or outside an IRA, markups and spreads are usually the largest cost of owning gold.

Records to keep for every gold purchase#

Keep the dealer invoice for every gold purchase for as long as you own the metal, because without it you cannot prove your cost basis or your holding period. Your holding period is the time between purchase and sale. The 5 records to keep are listed below.

• The purchase invoice: date, items, price and premium.
• Proof of payment.
• Shipping and insurance receipts.
• The sale confirmation, plus any Form 1099-B the dealer sends.
• For inherited gold, a dated valuation at the date of death (26 U.S.C. 1014).

Gold IRA vs Taxable Gold: Which Leaves More After Tax?#

A gold IRA usually leaves more after tax than gold held outside it when your tax rate is the same or lower at withdrawal. Its growth is never taxed as a capital gain and never owes the 3.8% NIIT.

Taxes are one row of the full gold IRA vs physical gold comparison, which also covers costs, control and access.

Why the 28% rate never applies inside a gold IRA#

The 28% rate never applies inside a gold IRA because the IRA pays no tax when it sells metal, and every traditional IRA withdrawal is taxed as ordinary income. A traditional IRA is tax-deferred: the tax is postponed, not cancelled.

A qualified Roth withdrawal is not taxed at all (26 U.S.C. 408A). It needs a 5-year period plus age 59 1/2, death, disability or a first home.

Selling metal inside the IRA is not a taxable event, so a sale at a gain owes nothing. The flip side: a sale at a loss inside the IRA is not reported on your return either. Miscellaneous itemized deductions, where an IRA loss could once be claimed, are not allowed for tax years after 2017 (26 U.S.C. 67).

How to sell gold in your IRA, and what the custodian charges, is covered step by step.

Same $100,000, gold doubles: taxable coins vs traditional vs Roth gold IRA#

If $100,000 of after-tax money goes into gold that doubles, and you pay 24% now and later, you keep about $176,000 from coins held outside an IRA. From a traditional or Roth gold IRA you keep about $200,000, before fees. After-tax money is money already taxed.

SafeOunce computation; spreads and fees excluded, same tax rate before and after. Pre-tax money earns a deduction, which lowers your taxable income: $131,579 going in costs $100,000 after a 24% deduction.

A traditional gold IRA matches the Roth here only because the tax rate is the same at both ends. A lower rate in retirement favors traditional; a higher one favors Roth.

Yearly contributions are capped at $7,500, or $8,600 at 50 or older, for 2026 (IRS Notice 2025-67). So amounts this large usually arrive by rollover.

Fees cut into the IRA's lead. As of September 2026, custodian and storage fees run $235 to $315 a year under Equity Trust's metals-only schedule (FS-0004-05 Rev. 081726) and GoldStar's segregated option (Rev. 01/2026). That is 1.18% to 1.58% a year on $20,000. On $250,000, Equity Trust's flat $235 to $285 is only 0.09% to 0.11%.

To run your own numbers with fees and markups, use the gold IRA calculator.

When taxable gold comes out ahead of a gold IRA#

Taxable gold can beat a gold IRA after tax when your withdrawal rate tops 28%, when heirs will inherit it, or when the account is too small for yearly fees. The 5 situations are listed below.

• A high bracket at withdrawal: traditional IRA withdrawals pay up to 37% (above $640,600 single or $768,700 joint in 2026); taxable gold stops at 28%.
• Heirs: the step-up in basis wipes out the gain on inherited coins, but not on an inherited IRA (way 5).
• Losses: a loss outside an IRA is a capital loss you can use (way 4); a loss inside an IRA is not reported on your return.
• Fees: IRA fees of $235 to $315 a year under the two schedules above (Equity Trust metals-only, GoldStar segregated, as of September 2026) weigh most on small balances.
• No required withdrawals: required minimum distributions (RMDs), the yearly amounts you must take out, start at 73, or 75 if born in 1960 or later.

Withdrawals before 59 1/2 usually add a 10% additional tax (26 U.S.C. 72(t)), and the exceptions to the gold IRA early withdrawal penalty are listed with the rules for each.

The table below pulls the IRA-vs-taxable conclusions on this page into one view.

SafeOunce summary of the tables above; federal tax only, before spreads.

What happens to the tax when gold leaves the IRA#

When you take coins out of a traditional gold IRA, their fair market value that day is ordinary income. If you later sell them outside the IRA, any further gain falls under the capital gains rules on this page. Taking coins out is an in-kind distribution. Fair market value is what the coins would sell for that day, shown in box 1 of Form 1099-R, the form that reports IRA withdrawals.

Pub 590-B states the basis rule only for Roth IRAs. Keep the 1099-R showing the value that was taxed.

Valuation, the 1099-R and the later sale are worked through in taxes on taking physical gold out of an IRA.

How Are Gold ETFs Taxed? GLD, IAU, SLV and Mining Funds#

Physically backed gold ETFs such as GLD and IAU are taxed like the gold they hold: as collectibles, with a 28% cap. Funds that own mining companies are taxed like stocks. An ETF (exchange-traded fund) trades like a stock, and its expense ratio is its yearly fee as a share of your investment. The table below compares 4 cases.

Expense ratios come from fund filings, 2025-2026.

Physically backed gold ETFs are taxed as collectibles#

Yes, GLD is taxed as a collectible: the SPDR Gold Trust says gains on shares held over a year are taxed at up to 28%. It is a grantor trust, whose income and expenses pass straight through to its owners.

The trust also sells small amounts of gold to pay its fee, and those sales flow through to taxable holders. The FAQ says brokers need not report these "de minimis" sales on Form 1099-B.

Gold funds that are not taxed as collectibles#

Two kinds of gold funds escape the collectibles rate when you sell: mining-company funds such as GDX, and the Sprott physical trusts with a QEF election. Mining funds are taxed like stocks. They hold company shares, not metal.

The Sprott trusts are foreign, so US law treats them as a PFIC (passive foreign investment company). A QEF (qualified electing fund) election, made on Form 8621, gets you 15% or 20% when you sell units. The catch: your share of the trust's gains on bullion it sells is taxed each year at up to 28%. Without the election, harsher default rules apply (Form 8621 instructions).

Every physical metal fund, with its fee and structure, is compared in gold and silver ETFs for your IRA.

Gold ETFs inside an IRA#

Inside an IRA, shares of a physically backed gold ETF are not treated as a collectible. Private letter rulings obtained for metal trusts say an IRA buying trust shares is not buying a collectible, and fund filings such as the SLV 10-K repeat it. A gold ETF in an IRA avoids depository storage fees, but its expense ratio (0.10% to 0.40% for GLDM, IAU and GLD) still applies.

IRS private letter ruling 200732026, released August 10, 2007, is one such ruling, with the same caveat: "except to the extent section 408(m)(3) of the Code is satisfied." A private letter ruling is not precedent (26 U.S.C. 6110(k)(3)).

Which is cheaper over time, a gold IRA vs gold ETF, depends mostly on balance and fees.

How Can You Lower the Tax on Gold? 6 Legal Ways#

Six legal choices can defer, lower or erase the tax on gold: a traditional gold IRA, a Roth gold IRA, a low-income sale year, capital losses, leaving gold to heirs, and gifts to family in a lower bracket. A qualified Roth withdrawal lets gold growth out with no federal tax ever owed on it. Outside a Roth, a gain can still end at $0 through the step-up at death or offsetting losses.

1. Hold gold in a traditional gold IRA#

Holding gold in a traditional gold IRA defers all tax until you withdraw and replaces the capital gains rules with ordinary income tax. Withdrawals owe no 28% rate and no NIIT (26 U.S.C. 1411(c)(5)).

The trade-off is the rate: withdrawals are ordinary income at up to 37% for 2026, plus the 10% additional tax before 59 1/2 (26 U.S.C. 72(t)) and RMDs from 73 or 75.

A gold IRA is an ordinary traditional or Roth IRA whose custodian allows vaulted metal.

The metal must be IRA-eligible and held by the trustee. Keeping IRA gold at home is a taxable distribution of its cost (McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10, 2021), so home storage fails.

From age 70 1/2, a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) sends up to $111,000 in 2026 from a traditional IRA straight to a charity, is excluded from income and counts toward the RMD (26 U.S.C. 408(d)(8)). The simpler route is to sell the metal inside the IRA and send cash, because the charity must agree to accept metal for an in-kind QCD.

2. Hold gold in a Roth gold IRA#

A Roth gold IRA lets gold growth come out with no federal tax ever owed on it. Qualified Roth withdrawals, after the 5-year period and age 59 1/2, are not taxed at all. Contributions are after-tax and never deductible, and there are no RMDs while you live (26 U.S.C. 408A). The 2026 limit of $7,500, or $8,600 at 50 or older, is shared with traditional IRAs.

You can also convert traditional money, but the conversion is taxable in the year you make it. How a Roth gold IRA handles contributions, conversions and the 5-year clock is explained separately.

3. Sell in a lower-income year#

Selling gold in a year when your other income is low keeps more of the gain in the 10% and 12% brackets. Early retirement, before Social Security and RMDs, is often such a year. In Example 1, a $30,000 gain costs $4,520 at $80,000 of other income; above $211,400 of joint taxable income, every dollar of it would pay 24% or more.

A big gain also raises your MAGI, which can shrink the temporary $6,000 senior deduction for people 65 and older (2025-2028). It falls by 6% of MAGI above $75,000 single or $150,000 joint (26 U.S.C. 151(d)(5)(C)(iii)). Spreading sales over 2 tax years can keep each year's gain in a lower row of the 2026 table.

4. Offset gold gains with capital losses#

Capital losses from any investment reduce a gold gain dollar for dollar, and a net loss on gold itself can cut other income by up to $3,000 a year. Any unused loss moves to later years, which is called a carryforward.

Losses on personal-use property, such as jewelry you wear, are not deductible (IRS Topic 409), so this applies only to investment gold.

5. Leave gold to your heirs (the step-up in basis)#

Gold you own outside an IRA gets a new cost basis equal to its value on the day you die, so heirs can sell it with little or no tax. Gold inside a traditional IRA gets no such reset. This new basis is the step-up in basis; a beneficiary is the person who inherits.

Income in respect of a decedent is income the person had not yet paid tax on, and IRS Publication 559 (2025) lists inherited IRAs under it. Inherited metal also counts as held more than one year, however soon the heir sells (26 U.S.C. 1223(9)). The table below prices 20 one-ounce Gold Eagles bought for $30,000 and worth $83,100 at the $4,155 worked-example price of September 29, 2026.

SafeOunce example, federal only. The IRA owner deducted the money going in and never paid tax on its growth, so the heir does.

Most non-spouse heirs of an inherited gold IRA must empty it within 10 years, paying ordinary income tax but no 10% additional tax. The 10-year rule and yearly minimums for an inherited gold IRA are covered step by step.

6. Give gold to family in a lower tax bracket#

Giving gold to a family member moves the future tax to them rather than removing it. They keep your cost basis and holding period, and pay at their own rate when they sell. This is called carryover basis.

What does not lower the tax: 1031 exchanges, "tax-free" claims and skipping the report#

Four popular ideas do not lower the tax on gold: a 1031 exchange, a swap into another metal, an ETF to escape the 28% rate, and sales too small for the dealer to report. A 1031 exchange, or like-kind exchange, swaps one property for a similar one and delays the tax. The 4 myths are listed below.

• 1031 exchanges: only "real property ... exchanged solely for real property of like kind" qualifies (26 U.S.C. 1031(a)(1)). That limit covers exchanges completed after December 31, 2017 (Pub. L. 115-97 sec. 13303), and gold is not real property.
• Metal swaps: trading Gold Eagles for Maple Leafs, or gold for silver, is a sale plus a purchase. Any gain on the metal you give up is taxed that year, because 1031 no longer covers personal property.
• ETFs to "avoid the 28% rate": physically backed ETFs such as GLD are collectibles too (SPDR Gold Trust tax FAQ, January 2026).
• Unreported sales: a dealer files Form 1099-B, a sales report to the IRS, only for certain metal forms and amounts, but your gain is taxable either way. Splitting sales to avoid reporting is called structuring, and it voids the dealer's exception (Form 1099-B instructions, 2026).

"Tax-free gold IRA" marketing is a fifth trap. Only qualified Roth withdrawals are tax-free; a traditional gold IRA is tax-deferred (26 U.S.C. 408(d)(1), 408A).

Does the 28% Rate Apply to Silver, Platinum and Palladium?#

Yes: silver, platinum and palladium are collectibles for capital gains in every form, because the tax code's list covers "any metal or gem" and "any stamp or coin". Silver Eagles, silver bars and 90% silver coins are all collectibles when sold outside an IRA (26 U.S.C. 408(m)(2)(C)-(D), read with 1(h)(5)(A)).

A silver gain is taxed exactly like a gold gain: your ordinary rate, up to 28% if held over a year.

Inside an IRA the rules differ by metal. Exactly which gold, silver, platinum and palladium the tax code allows in an IRA is listed coin by coin.

Fineness, the share of pure metal, is the main test. It must be at least .999 for silver bullion and .9995 for platinum and palladium (26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(B)).

How Do You Report a Gold Sale to the IRS?#

You report a gold sale on Form 8949 and carry the total to Schedule D of your Form 1040, marking the long-term gain as a collectibles gain. You do this whether or not the dealer sent a Form 1099-B. Form 8949 lists each sale; Schedule D adds up your capital gains and losses (IRS Topic 409).

A dealer's 1099-B duty is narrow, and cash over $10,000 triggers the dealer's Form 8300, a report rather than a tax. For each form a dealer or custodian files, see does the IRS know about your gold.

The checklist below sums up the page.

What Else Changes the Tax Bill on Your Gold?#

Beyond the federal capital gains rules, your state's income tax, sales tax at purchase and the history behind the 28% rate also shape what you keep from gold.

State income tax on gold gains#

States set their own income tax on gold gains, and Missouri shows how far they can differ. A subtraction lowers the income your state return taxes. Missouri's new subtraction for specie, an old word for gold and silver coins, is "Effective for the 2026 tax year" for corporate, fiduciary and pass-through filers. For individuals, the Department of Revenue says it is "already fully encompassed by the 100% capital gains subtraction" (Section 143.121 RSMo; Missouri DOR FAQ, as of September 2026).

IRA withdrawals follow different state rules, compared in state income tax on gold IRA withdrawals.

Sales tax when you buy gold#

Sales tax on gold is a separate state tax charged when you buy, not when you sell, and some states changed their bullion rules in 2025 and 2026. Washington, for example, began taxing bullion on January 1, 2026 (ESSB 5794). Sales tax you pay is part of your cost basis. State sales tax on gold is tracked state by state.

Why is gold taxed at 28% when stocks top out at 20%? The 1997 law behind the rate#

Gold is capped at 28% because the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 cut the top rate on most long-term gains to 20% but kept a separate 28% group for collectibles. The law, Pub. L. 105-34, was approved August 5, 1997. Section 311 set the 20% maximum and defined "collectibles gain" "without regard to paragraph (3)". Section 304 let bullion into IRAs for tax years beginning after December 31, 1997, and section 302 created the Roth IRA.

The 1997 bullion rule is one step in the longer history of gold in IRAs.

Questions readers ask about gold taxes#

Five reader questions are answered below.

How does the IRS know if you sell gold?#

The IRS learns of some gold sales from dealers' Forms 1099-B and of large cash purchases from Forms 8300. You owe tax on a gain whether or not any form is filed. Each form behind how the IRS knows about your gold is decoded separately.

How much gold can you sell without reporting it?#

You must report every gold sale with a gain on your own return; the only threshold is the dealer's. A dealer files Form 1099-B only for certain metal forms in amounts that meet a CFTC futures contract minimum. In the IRS example, a single gold coin needs no 1099-B when coin contracts call for at least 25 coins, and sales within 24 hours count together. Form 8300 is about cash over $10,000, not amounts of gold.

How much do you lose when you sell gold?#

Selling gold back the day you buy it loses the dealer's spread: 5.39% on a one-ounce Gold Eagle at one online dealer on September 29, 2026, before any tax. Here the price must climb about 5.7% just to break even. To test your own quote, work out how much metal must rise to cover the markup.

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

$10,000 of gold bought at the LBMA PM price of $603.00 on September 28, 2006 was worth about $68,732 on September 28, 2026, before costs and taxes. The LBMA PM price is the London afternoon benchmark for gold. Sold outside an IRA, the $58,732 gain would cost about $12,921 at a 22% rate, or $16,445 at the 28% cap (SafeOunce computation). Year-by-year returns and what $10,000 became after IRA costs are in the returns table.

What is the downside of buying gold?#

The tax downside of buying gold outside an IRA is that its gains never get the 0% or 15% stock rates. The investment downsides are that gold pays no income and its price can fall sharply. It fell 26.1% from its LBMA PM record of $5,405.00 on January 29, 2026 to $3,993.55 on July 16, 2026. Inside an IRA, the real downsides are weighed with 55 years of data.