Types of Gold IRAs: Traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, Solo 401(k) and Which Accounts Can Hold Metal (2026 Guide)

The main types of gold IRA are traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE and solo 401(k) accounts, and in every one a custodian keeps the gold in a vault, never you. An IRA is an individual retirement account. The custodian is the bank or trust company that legally holds it for you. Inherited and spousal IRAs bring the total to 7 types.

A gold IRA is not a separate kind of account. It is one of these accounts, held at a custodian that lets it buy IRA-eligible metal: coins and bars that meet the federal tax code's rules (26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)). So which of the accounts you already have can hold gold, and which cannot?

This guide checks 16 common accounts: 8 can hold vaulted metal and 8 cannot, including 403(b) plans and children's Trump accounts. It compares the 7 types and matches them to your situation. It also gives the 2026 limits ($7,500, or $8,600 at 50 or older), the costs and the rules for moving money in.

The table below answers 9 common questions about gold IRA types as of September 29, 2026.

What Are the Types of Gold IRAs?#

There are 7 types of gold IRA: traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, solo 401(k), inherited and spousal, and the type changes the tax rules, not which gold qualifies. The 7 types are listed below.

• Traditional gold IRA: pre-tax money (not yet taxed) goes in; withdrawals are taxed as income.
• Roth gold IRA: taxed money goes in; withdrawals that meet the Roth rules are tax-free.
• SEP gold IRA: the business pays in, for self-employed people and small employers.
• SIMPLE IRA with gold: paycheck savings plus employer money, at a company with 100 or fewer workers.
• Solo 401(k) with gold: a 401(k) for an owner with no staff, if its plan allows metal.
• Inherited gold IRA: an IRA an heir receives, with no new money allowed.
• Spousal gold IRA: an IRA a working spouse funds for a spouse with low or no pay.

Each type can also hold silver, platinum and palladium, which is why the umbrella term is precious metals IRA.

If the gold rules are the same in every type, what does the type change? It sets when you pay tax, how much you can add each year, and whether you must take yearly withdrawals. A traditional IRA is tax-deferred: you pay no tax until you withdraw. A required minimum distribution (RMD) is the yearly withdrawal the law forces from age 73, or 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. The type never changes which coins qualify, where they are stored, or what the custodian charges.

Is a gold IRA its own kind of account?#

No: a gold IRA is a normal IRA at a custodian that allows metal, so the usual IRA limits and tax rules apply. This kind of IRA is called self-directed: you choose the assets.

A gold IRA adds no extra room: one 2026 limit of $7,500 ($8,600 at 50 or older) covers all your traditional and Roth IRAs (IRS Publication 590-A). Three parties run every gold IRA, as the table below shows.

Nobody checks the dealer's price for you. An SEC and state regulator alert says these custodians "generally do not evaluate the quality or legitimacy of any investment in the self-directed IRA or its promoters." The IRS adds that "there is no list of approved investments" (FAQs updated April 8, 2026).

The IRS approves only nonbank trustees, companies allowed to hold IRAs without being banks. Its April 1, 2026 list has 73 names. The only metals business on it is Lone Star Tangible Assets, LP (approved November 30, 2023); no large metals custodian is listed. Yet one custodian's gold page still says it was "IRS approved" in 1983 (read September 29, 2026). What a custodian checks, and never checks, is covered in self-directed IRA for gold.

Which Accounts Can Hold Physical Gold? 16 Accounts Checked#

Eight of 16 common retirement accounts can own physical gold: traditional, Roth, SEP, SIMPLE, spousal and inherited IRAs, solo 401(k)s that allow it, and IRAs at Fidelity. The other 8 cannot. Two are barred by law: the 403(b), and a child's Trump account until January 1 of the year the child turns 18. Fidelity is on the list as a place, not a type: it is the only big broker that stores metal inside its own IRAs.

Bullion means bars and coins valued for their metal. A plan document is the written rulebook of a 401(k) plan, and it decides what the plan may buy. The table below checks all 16 accounts as of September 29, 2026.

Checked against the statutes and plan rules on September 29, 2026. "Yes" means the account can own coins or bars that meet 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3), held in a depository, never at home.

The last column shows who decides. For IRAs it is the tax code, and the answer is yes.

For workplace plans such as a 401(k), 457(b) or the TSP, the plan menu decides, and menus hold funds, not coins. Congress wrote the 403(b) limit into its own statute, and the Trump account limit into 530A.

Once your account can hold metal, the next question is how a gold IRA works. The six steps are in how a gold IRA works.

Why can an IRA hold gold when most accounts cannot?#

An IRA can hold gold because the tax code makes two exceptions to its ban on collectibles: US coins the law names, and pure bullion held by the trustee. A collectible is the tax code's word for coins, metals, art, gems and stamps. The trustee is the bank, trust company or IRS-listed nonbank trustee that holds the account, the same party as the custodian.

At least two popular gold IRA guides give 99.5% purity as the whole IRS collectibles rule (read September 29, 2026). Yet the Gold Eagle is only 91.67% gold and qualifies because the law names it. The Krugerrand, South Africa's coin of the same purity, is not named and fails. The penalty math for a wrong coin is in the IRS collectibles rule.

Custody is the second half of the rule: in McNulty v. Commissioner (2021), the Tax Court taxed IRA coins kept at home.

Can a regular brokerage IRA hold gold?#

Only at Fidelity: among the big brokers, it alone buys and stores bullion inside its own IRAs. Fidelity does this in traditional, Roth, rollover, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs. Schwab and Vanguard offer gold funds but no physical metal (fee schedules read September 2026). A brokerage IRA is an IRA at a big investment firm.

One widely read guide said, in its August 2025 version, that traditional brokers do not offer gold IRAs. Fidelity does, as the tables below show.

Fidelity's storage is a percentage, while metals custodians charge flat yearly fees. Commingled storage means your coins sit with other customers' identical coins. Segregated storage keeps your own coins apart, for a higher fee. The table below shows where the two kinds of fee meet.

SafeOunce computation. Yearly holding fees only; buying and selling costs differ and are not included. Schedules: GoldStar GTC Rev. 01/2026; Equity Trust FS-0004-05 Rev. 081726; Fidelity FA-FEES-0926.

A Fidelity gold IRA limits you to the products above. Fees, eligible coins and the phone-only ordering are on Fidelity gold IRA.

The 7 Types of Gold IRAs Compared#

The 7 types of gold IRA differ in three things: when you pay tax, who is allowed to open one, and how much new money can go in each year. Four terms in the table below are explained first.

• Phase-out: the income range in which a deduction or a Roth contribution shrinks to zero.
• Catch-up: the extra amount you can add from age 50.
• Additional tax: the IRS name for the early-withdrawal penalty on money taken out before 59 1/2, usually 10%.
• Required beginning date: April 1 of the year after the owner reaches RMD age.

The metal rules are the same in every row. Unless you are self-employed, an heir or a non-working spouse, you choose between the first two rows: traditional or Roth.

1. Traditional gold IRA#

A traditional gold IRA is an ordinary pre-tax IRA (26 U.S.C. 408) that holds metal in a vault, and most 401(k) rollover money lands in this type. Deductible means you subtract the contribution from your taxable income. You can deduct it in full when neither spouse has a retirement plan at work. Otherwise the deduction phases out inside the 2026 income bands below (IRS Publication 590-A).

Withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income, like wages; coins you take out are taxed at their value that day. The 28% collectibles rate, the higher tax on gains from metal held outside an IRA, never applies inside one.

RMDs start at 73, or at 75 if you were born in 1960 or later. If you were born in 1959, proposed IRS rules (REG-103529-23, not final) set your start at 73. Deduction bands and RMDs are on traditional gold IRA.

2. Roth gold IRA#

A Roth gold IRA (26 U.S.C. 408A) is funded with money you already paid tax on, and qualified withdrawals, including coins you take out, are tax-free. Roth contributions are never deductible (408A(c)(1)). You need work income, and the 2026 contribution phases out at $153,000 to $168,000 single or $242,000 to $252,000 joint.

A withdrawal is qualified, meaning tax-free, once the Roth five-year period has passed. You must also be 59 1/2, disabled or buying a first home, or the money is paid after your death. The period starts January 1 of the first tax year you contributed for. A first contribution for 2026, paid in by April 15, 2027, starts the clock on January 1, 2026.

For metal, the Roth's big plus is that a Roth owner has no required withdrawals (408A(c)(4)), so you are never forced to sell coins. Coins you take out get a tax basis, the starting value for a later gain, equal to their value that day (IRS Publication 590-B). The five-year clock is explained on Roth gold IRA.

3. SEP gold IRA#

A SEP gold IRA (26 U.S.C. 408(k)) lets a self-employed person put in up to 20% of net self-employment earnings, capped at $72,000 for 2026. Net self-employment earnings are business profit minus half of the self-employment tax, the Social Security and Medicare tax self-employed people pay. For employees the cap is 25% of pay, counting pay up to $360,000.

A SEP has no catch-up. You can open and fund it until your tax return due date, including extensions (IRS Publication 560). For a sole owner on extension, that is October 15, 2027 for tax year 2026. One popular guide still prints the older $70,000 limit (read September 29, 2026).

Every eligible employee (age 21, 3 of the last 5 years worked, $800 of pay in 2026) gets the same percentage in their own SEP IRA. You choose metal only for your own. A Roth SEP is allowed for tax years after 2022 (SECURE 2.0 Act, section 601); ask the custodian in writing whether it offers one for metal. Employee rules for a SEP gold IRA are covered separately.

4. SIMPLE IRA with gold#

A SIMPLE IRA (26 U.S.C. 408(p)) is a small-employer paycheck plan that can hold gold only at a custodian that offers self-directed SIMPLE IRAs. Moving it elsewhere in your first 2 years can cost a 25% additional tax if you are under 59 1/2.

Employers with 100 or fewer employees earning $5,000 or more can offer one. In 2026 you can defer $17,000 of pay, plus $4,000 at 50 or older or $5,250 at 60 to 63 (certain plans: $18,100 plus $3,850).

The employer either matches up to 3% of your pay or puts in 2% whether or not you save, called a nonelective contribution. It is not a "2% match," as one popular guide says (408(p)(2)).

The 2-year rule is the trap. In your first 2 years, money can move only to another SIMPLE IRA (408(d)(3)(G)), and withdrawals before 59 1/2 cost 25%, not 10% (72(t)(6)). Move $20,000 out at 52 in that window and the additional tax is $5,000, not $2,000, plus income tax either way.

Two routes connect a SIMPLE IRA and gold: a self-directed SIMPLE IRA (listed in GoldStar's GTC Rev. 01/2026) or a transfer after 2 years. Both are covered in SIMPLE IRA and gold.

5. Solo 401(k) with gold#

A solo 401(k) can hold gold only if its plan document allows metal and a bank or approved nonbank trustee, not you, holds the bullion. A solo 401(k) is a 401(k) for a business owner with no employees except a spouse.

In 2026 you can defer $24,500 of your own earnings, plus $8,000 at 50 to 59 or 64 and older, or $11,250 at 60 to 63. The business adds up to 20% of net self-employment earnings, to $72,000 in total before catch-ups.

Custody is the open question. The tax code requires a bank or approved nonbank trustee to hold bullion (408(m)(3)), and no IRS ruling addresses an owner acting as plan trustee. Coins you hold yourself risk being taxed as a distribution, so ask the custodian in writing whether it supports metals in a solo 401(k).

Form 5500-EZ, a yearly plan report to the IRS, is due for any year the plan's assets exceed $250,000 at year-end. Custody and plan rules for a solo 401(k) for gold are covered in detail.

6. Inherited gold IRA#

An inherited gold IRA lets an heir keep the coins in the vault, but no new money can go in, and most non-spouse heirs must empty it within 10 years. A beneficiary is the person named to receive the account. Contributions are barred (219(d)(4)), and beneficiaries pay no 10% additional tax.

A non-spouse heir can move the account only by trustee-to-trustee transfer, custodian to custodian; a surviving spouse may roll it into their own IRA. Under the 10-year rule, the heir of an owner who died in 2025 must empty the account by December 31, 2035.

Five kinds of heirs get longer rules: a spouse, the owner's own minor child, a disabled or chronically ill person, and anyone not more than 10 years younger than the owner. Other heirs also owe yearly RMDs in years 1 to 9 if the owner died on or after the required beginning date (enforced from 2025). What heirs must do with an inherited gold IRA is covered step by step.

7. Spousal gold IRA#

A spousal gold IRA lets one spouse's pay fund an IRA for a spouse with low or no pay: up to $17,200 for a couple 50 or older in 2026. The rule is 26 U.S.C. 219(c), and you must file a joint return, one tax return for both spouses.

Each spouse has a separate account: "You can't both participate in the same IRA" (IRS Publication 590-A). The combined limit cannot exceed your joint work income, so the $17,200 needs at least $17,200 of pay.

Two accounts mean two sets of fees: $215 a year each at GoldStar with commingled storage, or $430 per couple (GTC Rev. 01/2026). A seller's minimum purchase applies to each account, not to the couple. The joint-return math for a spousal gold IRA is worked through in detail.

Which Accounts Cannot Hold Gold? 403(b)s, Trump Accounts and 6 Others#

Eight common accounts cannot hold physical gold, and two of them are barred by law: 403(b) plans and a child's Trump account before the year the child turns 18. The 8 are listed below with their rules.

• 403(b) plan: only mutual funds or certain pooled trusts (26 U.S.C. 403(b)(7)(A)).
• Trump account: only low-cost US stock index funds before the year the child turns 18 (26 U.S.C. 530A).
• Employer 401(k): the plan menu offers funds, not coins.
• Governmental 457(b): the same fund menus, for state and local government workers.
• Thrift Savings Plan (TSP): TSP funds only, for federal workers (5 CFR 1650).
• Traditional pension: the plan invests for you.
• 529 college plan: no metal; a limited amount can move to a Roth IRA.
• IRAs at Schwab and Vanguard: gold funds only, no physical metal (2026 schedules).

If your savings sit in one of these, how do you get to metal? A brokerage window lets some plans buy funds beyond the menu, and an in-service rollover moves money out while you still work there. The three paths are listed below.

1. Pick a gold fund in the plan or its brokerage window, if offered.
2. Ask for an in-service rollover to a gold IRA from age 59 1/2, if the plan allows it.
3. Roll the money over to a gold IRA after you leave the job.

Plans that allow it are explained in in-service rollover rules for 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) and TSP money.

Why can't a 403(b) hold gold?#

A 403(b) cannot hold gold coins or bars because the tax code limits it to mutual funds, certain pooled trusts or an annuity contract. A 403(b) is the retirement plan of public schools, hospitals and nonprofits, and an annuity is a contract with an insurance company.

Your paycheck money can be paid out only at 59 1/2 (403(b)(11)), when you leave the job, or at death, disability or hardship. Hardship payments cannot be rolled over, and an annuity can charge a surrender fee for leaving early.

A 403(b) to gold IRA rollover into a traditional IRA is allowed after one of those events. The steps are in 403(b) to gold IRA rollover.

Can a 401(k), 457(b) or TSP hold gold?#

No, not in practice: a 401(k), a government 457(b) and the TSP offer funds, not coins, so people reach physical gold by rolling the money into an IRA.

A brokerage window can offer gold ETFs (exchange-traded funds that trade like stocks) but never coins. To hold gold in a 401(k), you need a gold fund on the menu or a window, as hold gold in a 401(k) explains.

Executive Order 14330 (signed August 7, 2025) lists "direct and indirect investments in commodities" as alternative assets. A Department of Labor proposed rule followed (FR Doc. 2026-06178, published March 31, 2026; public comments ended June 1, 2026). It is not final as of September 29, 2026, and it could add gold funds, not coins in a vault.

A governmental 457(b) has no 10% additional tax on withdrawals before 59 1/2, but that protection ends once the money is rolled into an IRA (72(t)(9)). A non-governmental 457(b) cannot go to an IRA at all. The table below shows how each plan reaches metal.

A TSP to gold IRA move while still working is possible from 59 1/2. The four-a-year limit is in TSP to gold IRA rules.

Can a child's Trump account buy gold?#

No: a child's Trump account cannot buy gold coins, bars, a gold ETF or a gold miners fund before January 1 of the year the child turns 18. The reason is 26 U.S.C. 530A, which allows only low-cost funds that track the S&P 500 or a broad US stock index. The years before that date are called the growth period.

IRS Notice 2025-68 fills in the details, summarized in the table below.

The notice gives its own example: a child born October 1, 2025 has a growth period that ends December 31, 2042. After that, "most of these special rules cease to apply," and the traditional IRA rules generally apply. The account's terms may then move it automatically into a regular traditional IRA at the same trustee (A-10). No IRS guidance so far addresses metals in a Trump account after the child turns 18.

A grandparent can add cash to a grandchild's Trump account within the $5,000 yearly total, but it buys index funds, not gold, and gives no tax deduction. Gold for your own retirement stays in your own gold IRA.

Two gold sellers, Goldco and Birch Gold Group, publish pages tying gold to Trump accounts (seen September 29, 2026). The statute does not allow gold in the account before the year the child turns 18. A Trump account is also not the "Trump Gold Card," a residency program with no link to retirement accounts.

Can 529 college money become a gold IRA?#

Only slowly: a 529 plan cannot hold metal, but up to $35,000 over a lifetime can move to the beneficiary's Roth IRA, which can then buy gold. A 529 plan is a college savings account; the beneficiary is the student. Three rules apply to each 529 to Roth gold IRA move, listed below.

• The 529 must have been open more than 15 years.
• Each year's move is capped at that year's Roth limit.
• The money must go by direct transfer.

So the full $35,000 takes at least 5 years at 2026 limits ($7,500 x 4 + $5,000). The 15-year rule is on 529 to Roth gold IRA.

Which Type of Gold IRA Fits Your Situation?#

Most readers move an old 401(k) or IRA, so the usual fit is a traditional gold IRA for pre-tax money and a Roth gold IRA for Roth money. The right type depends on where your money sits today and whether you still earn a paycheck. The table below matches 11 situations to the usual fit, based on the rules as of September 29, 2026, not on personal advice.

Two rows carry a trap. Row 9 is the rule of 55: leaving a job at 55 or older lets you draw from that 401(k) before 59 1/2 without the 10% additional tax. An IRA loses that exception (72(t)(3)(A)).

Row 10 is about size: a flat $215 yearly fee (GoldStar, GTC Rev. 01/2026) is 1.1% of $20,000.

Before you move any money, you should ask the custodian in writing which types it offers. Under 59 1/2, check row 9 before any 401(k) to gold IRA rollover. The age-55 trap and the paperwork are in 401(k) to gold IRA rollover.

Can you open a gold IRA if you are retired?#

Yes: you can open a gold IRA at any age with IRA or 401(k) money, but you can add new money only while you or your spouse has work income. No maximum contribution age has applied since tax year 2020 (SECURE Act, section 107). The catch is the word compensation, the tax code's term for work income such as wages or self-employment profit.

A working spouse's pay can fund both IRAs on a joint return. The table below shows three retired couples in 2026.

So a "gold IRA for seniors" pitch is almost always a rollover pitch, meaning a move of money you already have. The gold IRA age rules change the math at 50, 59 1/2 and 73 (75 if born in 1960 or later), not your right to open an account. What changes at each birthday is in gold IRA age rules.

SEP or solo 401(k) if you are self-employed?#

A solo 401(k) usually lets a self-employed person put in far more than a SEP: $51,087 against $18,587 at $100,000 of profit, age 55, in 2026. Schedule C profit is the net profit a sole owner reports on the tax form of that name. The table below runs four profit levels with 2026 limits.

SafeOunce computation, 2026 limits (IRS Notice 2025-67, IRS Publication 560). Sole owner, no employees.

The 12.4% Social Security part stops at the 2026 wage base of $184,500; the 2.9% Medicare part has no cap.

The SEP needs $376,480 of profit to reach its $72,000 maximum. It is simpler and can be opened as late as your extended filing deadline, but it must cover eligible employees at the same percentage. The solo 401(k) adds three requirements, listed below.

• A plan document that allows metal.
• A bank or approved nonbank trustee to hold the bullion.
• Form 5500-EZ for any year the plan's assets exceed $250,000.

Traditional or Roth for gold?#

Traditional wins when you expect a lower tax rate in retirement, and Roth wins when you expect the same or a higher rate. Gold tilts the choice toward Roth, because a Roth owner never has to sell coins for required withdrawals.

A tax bracket is the rate on your top dollars of income. In 2026 the 12% bracket runs to $50,400 of taxable income for a single filer, and 22% to $105,700 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). The table below runs $8,600 of pay four ways, assuming the gold doubles.

SafeOunce computation, 2026 brackets; dealer costs and fees are left out.

Traditional wins by $1,720 if your rate falls to 12%, and the two tie at an unchanged 22%. Outside an IRA, gains on metal face the collectibles rate, up to 28% (IRS Topic 409).

The second reason is forced sales. A traditional gold IRA must pay out RMDs from 73 or 75; the IRS example divides $100,000 by 24.6 for a $4,065 RMD at 75 (IRS Publication 590-B). To pay it, you sell coins at the dealer's buy price, which is below its selling price. That gap is called the spread.

You can also take coins out and pay tax on their value, or take the total RMD for all your traditional IRAs from a cash IRA. A Roth owner never faces that choice.

Readers often weigh a gold IRA vs Roth IRA as if they were rivals. A gold IRA can be a Roth, so the real choice is traditional vs Roth, as gold IRA vs Roth IRA explains.

How Much Can You Put In, and What Does Each Type Cost?#

In 2026 you can add $7,500 a year across all your traditional and Roth IRAs, or $8,600 at 50 or older, and custodian fees stay the same whatever the type. SEP, SIMPLE and solo 401(k) accounts allow more (IRS Notice 2025-67). A catch-up is the extra amount allowed from age 50, and the super catch-up is a bigger one at ages 60 to 63. The table below lists the 2026 limits by type.

Gold IRA contribution limits follow the account type, not the metal, and the super catch-up never applies to traditional or Roth IRAs. One popular guide still gives only the 2025 figures ($7,000 and $8,000) as current, on an undated page (read September 29, 2026). Every limit and deadline is on gold IRA contribution limits.

Contributions must be cash (26 U.S.C. 408(a)(1)). IRS Publication 590-A says "Property can't be contributed," so coins you already own cannot go in. IRA and workplace-plan rollovers do not count against any limit (529-to-Roth moves excepted), and the 2027 limits are not announced as of September 29, 2026.

Flat fees hit small, contribution-only accounts hardest. The table below adds $8,600 a year at a flat metal price, with commingled storage and a one-time $50 setup fee in year 1. It leaves out dealer spreads and assumes you pay the fees with other money.

SafeOunce computation; percentages are fees as a share of the money put in. Schedules read September 29, 2026: GoldStar GTC Rev. 01/2026; Equity Trust metals-only FS-0004-05 and retail FS-0001-03, both Rev. 081726.

In year 1, fees take 3.08% to 4.48% of the money put in. Which Equity Trust schedule a new customer gets is not established, so ask in writing. Gold IRA custodian fees are charged per account, whatever its type. Every schedule is compared in gold IRA custodian fees.

Seller minimums explain why sellers push rollovers: how much money you need to start a gold IRA is often more than a year of contributions.

Goldco's IRA minimum is $25,000 (goldco.com FAQ, September 29, 2026). At the $8,600 maximum, that is 2.9 years of contributions, or 3.3 years at $7,500.

Minimums differ by seller, so check them before you sign. The list, company by company, is in how much money you need to start a gold IRA.

How Do You Move Money Into Each Type of Gold IRA?#

Have your old account send the money straight to your new gold IRA custodian; done this way, no tax is held back and no yearly limit applies. From another IRA, this is a trustee-to-trustee transfer, which is not a rollover (IRS Publication 590-A). From a workplace plan such as a 401(k), it is a direct rollover. Withholding is tax the payer holds back and sends to the IRS.

In the table below, FBO means "for the benefit of." Spousal consent is your spouse's signed, witnessed waiver of the lifetime pension (26 U.S.C. 417(a)(2)). The PBGC is the federal agency that insures private pensions, and an ABLE account is a savings account for people with disabilities.

Every gold IRA rollover works best this way, custodian to custodian. Every source account is covered in gold IRA rollover.

A check paid to you starts the 60-day rule: deposit the money in the new IRA within 60 days, or it is taxed as a withdrawal.

A plan check also loses 20% to withholding (26 U.S.C. 3405(c)), so a $10,000 check pays you $8,000. An IRA check has 10% withheld by default.

Only one IRA-to-IRA 60-day rollover is allowed in any 12 months, across all your IRAs. A transfer never counts, so ask for an IRA to gold IRA transfer, not a check. The details are in IRA to gold IRA transfer.

A pension lump sum gives up insured lifetime income: the PBGC covers up to $7,789.77 a month at 65 in 2026, for a pension paid for your life only.

Open the new gold IRA first, because no money can move into it until it exists. Each opening step, with its cost, is on how to open a gold IRA.

Gold IRA Types vs Other Ways to Hold Gold for Retirement#

Beyond the 7 account types, savers reach gold in three other ways: an IRA-owned LLC, a gold fund in a normal account, or coins bought outside any IRA. An LLC is a limited liability company. Gold IRA custodians still hold the metal on that route: IRA metal stays with one of the gold IRA custodians and their vaults.

Checkbook IRAs and home storage#

A checkbook IRA (an IRA that owns an LLC you manage) does not change the custody rule: IRA gold kept at home is taxed as withdrawn. In McNulty v. Commissioner (157 T.C. No. 10, November 18, 2021), an IRA LLC bought 320 Gold Eagles for $374,000, and the owner kept them at home. The Tax Court taxed their cost as a distribution.

The court said IRA assets "must be held by a trustee," and an owner "who takes possession of IRA assets receives a taxable distribution." So a checkbook IRA for gold still needs a custodian.

A home storage gold IRA pitch skips that ruling. The ruling and the red flags are in home storage gold IRA.

A gold ETF in the account you already have#

A gold ETF lets almost any IRA, and some 401(k) brokerage windows, track gold for 0.10% to 0.40% a year, but you own fund shares, not coins. An IRA that buys shares of a gold trust is not buying a collectible (IRS private letter ruling 200732026, a 2007 ruling issued to one taxpayer).

Yearly fees are 0.10% for GLDM, 0.25% for IAU and 0.40% for GLD, three US gold ETFs (fund 10-K filings, 2025-2026). The route works in a Schwab or Vanguard IRA, but not in a Trump account. The cost math of a gold IRA vs gold ETF is in gold IRA vs gold ETF.

Backdoor Roth with a gold IRA#

A large traditional gold IRA makes a later backdoor Roth mostly taxable, because the IRS counts all your pre-tax IRAs together when you convert. A backdoor Roth is a nondeductible traditional IRA contribution that you then convert, or move, into a Roth. The pro-rata rule (26 U.S.C. 408(d)(2)) treats all your traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs as one account at year-end value.

Silver, platinum and palladium in the same account types#

Every type that can hold gold can also hold silver, platinum and palladium under the same rules: .999 purity for silver and .9995 for platinum and palladium. The law names the 1 oz Silver Eagle and the Platinum Eagle, including proof coins, which are special collector strikes. The Palladium Eagle is not named, so it must pass the bullion test. One account can hold all four metals; the coins for a silver IRA are listed separately.

Types of gold IRAs: frequently asked questions#

The 9 questions below are the ones readers ask most about gold IRA types.

What are the three types of IRA?#

Most guides name traditional, Roth and SEP IRAs, and all three can hold gold at a custodian that offers metals, as can a SIMPLE IRA. No official IRS list of "three types" exists; Publications 590-A and 560 cover all four.

Can you have more than one type of gold IRA?#

Yes: you can hold a traditional and a Roth gold IRA at the same time, but they share one $7,500 yearly limit ($8,600 at 50 or older) in 2026. Each account pays its own flat fees: two accounts at GoldStar cost $430 a year instead of $215 (GTC Rev. 01/2026).

Can you convert a traditional gold IRA to a Roth?#

Yes: you can convert the coins themselves, and their value on the conversion date is added to your taxable income. A conversion moves money from a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA, and since 2018 it cannot be undone; see Roth conversion of a gold IRA.

Are contributions to every type tax deductible?#

No: traditional, SEP and SIMPLE contributions can be deducted, Roth contributions never are, and rollovers give no deduction. Employers deduct the SEP and SIMPLE money they put in. The full deduction math is in are gold IRA contributions tax deductible.

What happens to each type of gold IRA when you die?#

The account passes to the beneficiaries named on the custodian's form; a spouse can treat it as their own, and most other heirs must empty it within 10 years. Roth heirs follow the same 10-year rule. Naming and updating gold IRA beneficiaries is covered in gold IRA beneficiaries.

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

A gold IRA keeps retirement money sheltered, while coins you hold yourself must be bought outside any IRA with after-tax money. The full tax math is in gold IRA vs physical gold.

What is the best gold IRA to invest in?#

No account type is best for everyone: the type follows your situation, and the seller and custodian decide most of the cost. Sellers are ranked on published criteria in best gold IRA companies; no company pays for its place.

Does the age 60-63 super catch-up apply to a gold IRA?#

No: the larger catch-up for ages 60 to 63 applies only to workplace plans ($11,250) and SIMPLE IRAs ($5,250) in 2026, not to traditional or Roth IRAs. Your IRA catch-up at 50 or older is $1,100 for 2026 (IRS catch-up contributions page, updated May 7, 2026).

What do custodian, depository and self-directed mean?#

The custodian is the trust company or bank that holds your IRA, the depository is the vault that stores the metal, and self-directed means you choose the assets. Sixty terms like these are explained in the precious metals IRA glossary.