IRA-Approved Silver: Every Eligible Coin, Bar and Round (2026 List)

IRA-approved silver is the 1 oz American Silver Eagle, which the law names, or silver bullion at least 99.9% pure that your IRA custodian holds. Either one lets your IRA buy silver without the purchase counting as a withdrawal. A custodian is the trust company that holds your IRA's assets. That leaves the question dealer lists never answer: which products will your custodian actually take, and what does each one cost you?

Spot is today's market price of 1 troy ounce of pure silver. On September 29, 2026, equally eligible 1 oz silver bullion coins cost from 3.1% to 16.1% over spot at SD Bullion, a large online dealer. Silver is one of 4 IRA-eligible precious metals we check coin by coin, next to gold, platinum and palladium.

Below: the 2 legal routes, 21 products priced, the best fit by reader, a 4-question check and the pitches that misuse the label.

What Does "IRA-Approved Silver" Mean?#

"IRA-approved silver" means silver that is not a collectible under the tax code: the 1 oz American Silver Eagle, or .999 fine silver bullion held by your custodian. It does not mean the IRS approved any product. The legal wording is "IRA-eligible under 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)".

A collectible is the tax code's word for things an IRA may not buy, including "any metal or gem" and "any stamp or coin" (26 U.S.C. 408(m)(2)). When an IRA buys one, the IRS treats the price as money you took out that year (408(m)(1)). Under age 59 1/2, the 10% additional tax on early withdrawals can apply too (IRS Publication 590-A, 2025).

Congress carved 2 exceptions out of that rule. SafeOunce calls them Route A (coins the law names) and Route B (bullion that passes a purity test). Fineness is the share of pure metal, so .999 means 99.9% pure. The law says "trustee"; for your IRA, that is your custodian.

The table compares the 2 legal routes for silver.

Sources: 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3); COMEX Rule 112101 (CFTC filing 24-283, effective August 27, 2024). Law as of September 29, 2026.

Sellers call both routes "IRA-approved". The same 2 routes decide all IRA-approved precious metals, gold and platinum included.

Route A: The 1 oz American Silver Eagle Is the Only Silver Coin Named in the Law#

The law names exactly 1 silver coin: the 1 oz American Silver Eagle, described in 31 U.S.C. 5112(e) and exempted by 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3)(A)(ii). A named coin is one Congress wrote into the exception.

The coin is a $1 coin inscribed "1 Oz. Fine Silver", with a reeded (ridged) edge. IRS Publication 590-A (2025) agrees: it names "one-ounce silver coins minted by the Treasury Department."

The Mint's own law calls Silver Eagles "numismatic items" (31 U.S.C. 5112(f)(3) and (g)). Numismatic means valued by collectors, but this label only serves the Mint's sales rules, not IRA status. Proofs, versions and the Eagle's resale price are covered on American Silver Eagle in an IRA.

Route B: Why Every Other Silver Product Must Be .999 Fine#

Every other silver product must be .999 fine because it counts as bullion, and the law admits bullion only at that purity, held by a trustee. Bullion is metal priced by its weight and purity, not by its design. That covers foreign coins such as the Canadian Maple Leaf, plus bars and rounds. A round is a coin-shaped piece from a private mint, with no face value.

Custodians word the law as ".9990" silver (GoldStar Trust), "99.9%" (STRATA Trust) and ".999+" (Equity Trust), pages read September 29, 2026. Each also adds a rule about who made the metal.

Gold's .995, .999 silver and platinum's .9995 purity floors are compared on one page.

Where the .999 Number Comes From#

The .999 figure comes from a futures exchange, not from the IRS. COMEX requires silver delivered on its contract to be at least 999 fine, and the tax code borrows that number. A futures exchange (a "contract market" in the law's words) is a regulated market for metal delivered later.

The statute refers to metal "which may be delivered", so in SafeOunce's reading a cash-settled contract sets no fineness. Dealer pages that say "the IRS states" a .999 minimum have the source wrong; the IRS publishes no purity number.

Since When Can an IRA Hold Silver Bars and Foreign Coins?#

Silver Eagles have been allowed since January 1, 1987, but silver bars and foreign silver coins only since 1998. Three federal laws set the dates, listed below.

• 1981 law: the collectibles rule (Pub. L. 97-34). Collectibles an account bought before January 1, 1982 are grandfathered.
• 1986 law: Silver Eagles allowed for purchases after December 31, 1986 (Pub. L. 99-514, sec. 1144).
• 1997 law: bullion allowed, including Maple Leafs, Britannias, bars and rounds, for tax years beginning after December 31, 1997 (Pub. L. 105-34, sec. 304).

An IRA that bought Maple Leafs in 1995 bought collectibles. The IRS tells examiners to "consider the six-year statute of limitation" for such missed distributions (IRS "Investments in collectibles" page, reviewed July 3, 2026). The full history of gold in IRAs also dates each silver change.

Is Any Silver "IRS-Approved"?#

No: the IRS keeps no list of approved silver products, so "IRA-approved" is a dealer label; the tax code sets categories, and your custodian picks brands.

IRS Publication 590-A names silver only by type: "one-ounce silver coins minted by the Treasury Department" and "certain ... silver ... bullion". The only list the IRS keeps is of nonbank trustees: companies other than banks allowed to hold IRA assets. It had 73 names as of April 1, 2026.

Metal that fits neither route stays a collectible under the IRS collectibles rule in 408(m).

The IRA-Approved Silver List: 21 Coins, Bars and Rounds Checked#

Of 21 silver products checked September 29, 2026, 13 are IRA-eligible by name or custodian list, 3 look eligible but appear on no list, and 5 fail the law or custodian rules. The 3 custodians, STRATA Trust, GoldStar Trust and Equity Trust, each publish a product list; they are data sources, not recommendations.

A custodian list is the set of products a custodian says it will accept. The lists are examples, not the law. A troy ounce, the unit for precious metals, is 31.1035 grams. The premium is the price above the silver's value, as a percent of that value. The table lists all 21 products.

Custodian lists read September 29, 2026 (STRATA Trust, GoldStar Trust, Equity Trust). Premiums: SD Bullion check/wire prices, 05:47-05:55 EDT, spot $61.34; one dealer, one morning. "Not in our sources" means we found no mint or custodian figure; it does not mean the product fails. Morgan premiums are over melt value.

Silver Coins All 3 Custodians Name#

Six silver coins appear on all 3 custodian lists we read: the American Silver Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf, Austrian Philharmonic, Australian Kookaburra, Mexican Libertad and Chinese Panda. The 3 are specialist gold IRA custodians that also hold silver. STRATA names "American Eagle bullion and/or proof coins" and "Mexican Libertad bullion coins", so its Libertad entry covers bullion only.

The Maple Leaf is .9999 fine, 31.11 g and 38 mm, with a C$5 face value (Royal Canadian Mint). The Philharmonic is .999 fine, 31.103 g and 37 mm, with a EUR 1.50 face value. The Kookaburra was .999 through 2017 and .9999 from 2018 (Perth Mint). The Panda has weighed 30 g (0.9645 troy oz) since 2016, so compare its price per troy ounce.

The table shows how each custodian words its silver list.

Lists are examples each custodian publishes; a product not named may still be accepted, and a named one can be refused for its condition. Equity Trust also lists "Royal Canadian Mint Eagle coins". Get the answer in writing for the exact product. Pages read September 29, 2026; none shows a revision date (STRATA's page shows © 2025).

Being named by all 3 custodians does not make a coin cheap. On September 29, 2026, 1,000 oz of 2026 Silver Eagles cost $8,000 more than 1,000 oz of 2026 Britannias at SD Bullion. Random-year Eagles cost $2,000 more per 1,000 oz than random-year Maple Leafs. Order size mattered as much: the same 2026 Eagle cost $71.22 (16.1%) for 1-19 coins but $69.22 (12.8%) for 500 or more, another $2,000 per 1,000 oz.

Fees and product rules at all the gold IRA custodians we profile are compared side by side.

Silver Coins Only Some Custodians Name#

Four eligible silver coins are named by only 1 or 2 of the 3 custodians, so your custodian's own list decides whether you can buy them. They fall into 3 groups, listed below.

• British Britannia, 2013 and newer: STRATA and GoldStar name it as "British Britannia (2013 and newer)"; Equity Trust does not. Coins dated 1997-2012 are only .958 fine, weigh 32.45 g and fail. Eligible coins are .999, weigh 31.21 g, measure 38.61 mm and carry a GBP 2 face value.
• America the Beautiful 5 oz: 5.0 oz of .999 silver, 3.0 inches (76.2 mm) across, from the 31 U.S.C. 5112(u) program (2010-2021) and its current successor. The IRA exception does not name it, so it passes only as bullion (Route B). STRATA and GoldStar name it.
• British Lunar series and Australian Silver Koala: each is named by one custodian only. GoldStar lists "British Lunar Series bullion coins", and Equity Trust lists "Australian Kookaburra and Koala coins".

Random-year orders do not fix the date, so write "2013 or later" on any Britannia order and check the weight on delivery.

IRA-Eligible Silver Bars and Rounds#

Silver bars and rounds are IRA-eligible when they are at least .999 fine and made by a maker your custodian accepts. On September 29, 2026, kilo (32.15 troy oz) and 100 oz generic bars carried the lowest bar premiums, 6.3% over spot at SD Bullion.

A 10 oz generic bar cost 7.1% and a 1 oz bar 8.0%. Brand names cost more (16.1% for a 10 oz Royal Canadian Mint bar, 25.9% for a 10 oz Engelhard), yet a custodian values all bars at the same silver price. Sizes, refiners and bids are compared on IRA-eligible silver bars.

Accepted makers include national mints and refiners approved by COMEX or the LBMA (the London bullion market's trade body).

The law never mentions rounds: a .999 round is bullion. A generic 1 oz round cost 4.7% over spot on September 29, 2026. STRATA refuses one maker by name, "LBMA Germania Mint". Makers, premiums and bids are compared on silver rounds in an IRA.

Silver That Passes the Law but No Custodian Names#

Three silver products look eligible on purity but appear on none of the 3 custodian lists, so ask your custodian in writing before the dealer invoices you. The 3 products are listed below.

• Australian Silver Kangaroo: sold in SD Bullion's "IRA-approved silver" category at 9.3% over spot on September 29, 2026. None of the 3 custodians names it, and its fineness is not in our sources.
• Silver Krugerrand: .999 per the dealer's listing, at 8.0% over spot. STRATA's and GoldStar's do-not-accept lists name "South African Krugerrand" without a metal (GoldStar's sits with its gold rules).
• Morgan dollars, 2021 and later: .999 silver holding 0.8585 oz, sold as US Mint collector coins. A boxed 2023 Morgan cost 89.9% over its silver value.

If a custodian refuses a product after the purchase, you are left arranging a sale or a swap through the dealer.

Which Silver Is Not IRA-Eligible?#

Four kinds of silver can never go in an IRA: Britannias dated before 2013, pre-1965 "junk" silver, the classic Morgan and Peace dollars, and .925 silver such as the Mexican Onza. Junk silver is the trade name for 90% silver US coins valued for their metal. The 4 groups of coins you cannot hold in an IRA are listed below.

• Pre-2013 Britannias: .958 fine. STRATA and GoldStar list "British Britannia (pre-2013)" as unacceptable.
• Junk silver: pre-1965 US dimes, quarters and half dollars, 90% silver. $1 of face value holds 0.7234 oz when unworn (SafeOunce computation).
• Classic Morgan and Peace dollars: 90% silver. A 1921 Morgan weighs 26.73 g and holds 0.7734 oz.
• Mexican Onza and sterling silver: .925 fine. STRATA refuses "Mexican Peso and Onza".

The full list of coins you cannot hold in an IRA groups them by reason.

Graded, Proof and Fractional Silver Eagles#

A Silver Eagle can still fail at the custodian, even though the law names it. Graded coins are refused at 2 of the 3 custodians we checked, proofs pass only in their original box with the certificate, and "fractional Silver Eagles" do not exist.

A graded (or "slabbed") coin is sealed in a plastic holder by a grading service such as NGC or PCGS, with a score such as MS-70. GoldStar refuses "certified or 'graded' coins".

A proof is a mirror-finish collector version, sold in a box with a certificate of authenticity (COA). GoldStar accepts proofs "ungraded, complete with certificate of authenticity and in original mint packaging"; STRATA also requires the original packaging and certificate. No IRS ruling or court case has addressed proof Eagles; custodians accept them by policy.

On September 29, 2026, a random-year proof Eagle cost 32.4% over spot at SD Bullion, and a 2025-W Army privy proof 356.5%. A privy is a small extra mark that makes a coin a collector item. Custodian statements value both at the silver price.

Fractional Silver Eagles do not exist, yet Equity Trust's own FAQ lists "American Silver Eagles (1 oz, ½ oz, ¼ oz, and ⅒ oz)". Why most of a proof's price is lost at resale is covered on proof coins in an IRA.

How Much Does IRA-Eligible Silver Cost Over Spot in 2026?#

On September 29, 2026, 1 oz IRA-eligible silver bullion coins cost 3.1% to 16.1% over spot at SD Bullion, big generic bars 6.3%, and collector Silver Eagles 32.4% to 356.5%. These are check/wire prices from one dealer on one morning (05:47-05:55 EDT).

SD Bullion showed spot at $61.34 that morning. Melt value is what the silver in a coin or bar is worth at spot.

The CFTC put bullion at 5% to 10% over spot and collector coins at 40% to 200% (advisory 8215-20, August 4, 2020). The 2026 Silver Eagle, at 16.1%, sat above that bullion range; the 2026 Britannia sat below it. How much comes back when you sell?

The premium is only one of the gold IRA markups and spreads a buyer pays; the seller's spread can be far larger.

What $10,000 Buys: 11 Silver Products Compared#

On September 29, 2026, $10,000 bought $9,703 worth of silver in 2026 Britannias but only $8,613 in 2026 Silver Eagles, although both are equally IRA-eligible. The table prices 11 silver products on the same morning. Silver value is the ounces bought times the $61.34 spot.

SD Bullion check/wire prices, September 29, 2026, 05:47-05:55 EDT; spot $61.34. One dealer, one morning; prices move daily. Values computed by SafeOunce. Not a ranking of products or dealers.

Premiums rise with collector features. The same $10,000 held $7,552 of silver in proof Eagles and $6,309 in MS-70 Eagles, which Equity Trust and GoldStar refuse anyway. Your custodian's statement values each coin at the silver price.

Equity Trust's disclosure (CA_F-0003-05 Rev. 121625) says its value "does not include any markups, commissions or premiums from the precious metals dealer". Why a gold IRA statement shows less than you paid is explained there, and the same logic holds for silver.

Round-Trip Cost and Break-Even: What You Lose Selling Back the Same Day#

Buying IRA-eligible silver and selling it back the same day cost 14.6% to 19.6% on September 29, 2026. Even the cheapest silver round trip was about 2.7 times the 5.39% on a 1 oz Gold Eagle at the same dealer.

The bid is what the dealer pays you. The round trip is what you lose if you buy and sell back at once. Break-even is how far the silver price must rise before you get your money back. The table compares 11 products bought and sold at SD Bullion that morning.

SD Bullion ask (product pages) and bid (sell page), September 29, 2026. Bids may lag the live quote. Round trip = (ask - bid) / ask; break-even = ask / bid - 1.

The dearest common coin was not the costliest to own. The random-year Silver Eagle, the Maple Leaf and the big bars each lost $9.95 an ounce, because the dealer also paid the most for Eagles ($58.27). The Philharmonic's lower price came with a lower bid, so it lost $11.94.

Silver had to rise 17.1% before an Eagle bought that morning was back to even at the dealer's bid. Compare that with how far silver moves. The LBMA silver price was $61.33 on September 28, 2026, down 48.2% from its record fix of $118.45 on January 29, 2026. Bids came from the dealer's sell page and may lag; check today's bid in writing.

The gold IRA break-even calculator works for silver too: enter your price and the dealer's bid.

Why Fractional Silver Is the Costliest Silver You Can Buy#

Small silver pieces carry the largest premiums: on September 29, 2026, a 1/10 oz Britannia cost 138.2% over spot. Fractional silver pieces ran 97% to 138% over spot at SD Bullion that morning.

The low price per piece hides the cost per ounce. Fractional silver was the product in both enforcement cases below.

Silver Eagle, Maple Leaf, Bars or Rounds: Which Fits Your IRA?#

For most IRA buyers, 1 oz bullion coins or large generic bars fit best, because they buy the most silver per dollar. On September 29, 2026, the 2013-and-newer Britannia and big bars led on price. The Silver Eagle cost more but fetched the highest bid.

The table matches 7 reader situations to the better fit, with the dated reason.

Verdict by situation, not a ranking of products or dealers.

An RMD (required minimum distribution) is the yearly minimum a traditional IRA must pay out. It starts at age 73 if you were born 1951-1958, or 75 if you were born 1960 or later (1959: 73 under proposed IRS regulations). You can take it in kind, meaning the metal itself, taxed as ordinary income at its fair market value.

How to Check Whether Silver Is IRA-Eligible: 4 Questions#

Four questions settle whether a silver product can go in your IRA, and the last one (your custodian's written yes) is the one sellers skip. Ask them in the order below; a "no" at any step ends the eligibility check.

1. Is it gold, silver, platinum or palladium? Other metals are collectibles in any form, because 408(m)(3)(B) names only these 4.
2. Is it a 1 oz American Silver Eagle? Then the law names it, but it must sit with the custodian, and 2 of 3 custodians refuse it graded.
3. If not, is it at least .999 silver? Pre-2013 Britannias, junk silver and classic Morgans stop here.
4. Has your custodian said yes in writing? The maker must be accredited, proofs need the original box and certificate, and the coin must be in top condition. Get the yes before the dealer invoices you.

Condition can sink a listed coin. GoldStar requires that "Bullion coins must be uncirculated in excellent condition", and STRATA asks for "brilliant uncirculated condition and free from damage". A scratched or worn Maple Leaf can be refused, even though Maple Leafs are on every list.

The IRA eligibility checker runs the same 4 questions for any coin or bar.

Why Dealer "IRA-Approved" Categories Are Not a Custodian's Yes#

A dealer's "IRA-approved" category is a sales filter, not a custodian's decision, and on September 29, 2026 those categories included products custodians refuse. Three pages that rank for "IRA-approved silver" showed this that day, as listed below.

• A 1 gram bar and 1/10 oz pieces: SD Bullion's 489-item "IRA-approved silver" category, sorted by price, opened with a 1 gram bar at $5.47 (about $170 per ounce) and 1/10 oz coins and rounds (read that afternoon).
• Graded Silver Eagles: APMEX's "IRA approved silver" category listed PCGS-graded Silver Eagles and Krugerrands, which Equity Trust and GoldStar refuse.
• Old dollars: an IRA guide that ranks for this query lists "Silver Morgan Dollar" and "Silver Peace Dollar" as IRA-approved, with no dates. Classic Morgans and Peace dollars are 90% silver and fail both routes.

How Silver Sales Pitches Misuse "IRA-Approved"#

Sellers use the "IRA-approved" label to sell high-margin silver, because a coin can be IRA-eligible and still cost more than 4.5 times its silver value. A 2025-W privy proof Eagle did on September 29, 2026 (356.5% over spot).

Numismatic coin upsells follow one script: an eligible coin, a collector story and a price far above the silver, documented case by case under numismatic coin upsells.

Four sales lines recur, and each is answered by a fact below.

• "IRS-approved silver": the IRS itself says "there is no list of approved investments".
• "Exclusive" or "premium" coins: eligibility says nothing about price. The CFTC calls "semi-numismatic" "a made-up industry term that really has no special meaning".
• "Bonus silver": free or bonus silver is paid for by the markup. A 130% markup with a 15% bonus is still (2.30 / 1.15) - 1 = 100% over the seller's cost. How free silver offers are paid for is shown case by case.
• "Your custodian underreports the value": custodians value metal at the market price, without dealer premiums. Red Rock's staff told clients that custodians "underreported" the coins' value, according to the SEC's complaint.

What Enforcement Cases Show About Eligible Silver Coins#

Two silver IRA cases with court records involved coins sold for IRAs as eligible bullion; the harm came from the price, with markups of 130% to 312% alleged in court filings. The markup hid inside a small price per coin. Our tracker of precious metals IRA enforcement actions dates every case.

In CFTC and 30 states v. TMTE, Inc. (Metals.com, N.D. Tex. No. 3:20-cv-02910, filed September 22, 2020), the CFTC alleges a 213% markup over market price on 1/2 oz silver Royal Canadian Mint Polar Bear coins. It alleges at least 4.1 million were sold for over $102.4 million, 58% of sales.

For the Barrick Capital brand, it alleges 312% on at least 567,800 1/10 oz Silver Spade Guineas (over $3.8 million) and 287% on at least 93,000 1/10 oz Silver Britannias (over $611,600). As of September 29, 2026, the case is pending, with the civil trial set for March 1, 2027.

Red Rock Secured, now operating as American Coin Co., sold 1/2 oz silver Red-Tailed Hawk coins. The SEC's complaint (C.D. Cal. No. 2:23-cv-03682, filed May 15, 2023) describes the Hawk as Red Rock's "highest markup (130%)" and "highest sales commission rate (8%)". It says Red Rock sold more than 1.3 million Hawks, and that Hawks took over $40 million of the more than $50 million clients spent on "premium" coins.

A CFTC consent order of April 23, 2024 found markups of 91.89% to 129.97% over Red Rock's cost.

The table turns each case into a price per ounce and compares it with the silver's value on September 29, 2026.

Allegations are marked. TMTE prices per ounce are approximate, computed from the complaint's "at least" unit and "over" dollar figures. Silver spot on September 29, 2026: $61.34. The Polar Bear shows a gain only because silver rose after the sales; the markup was still paid.

What Red Rock Secured customers can still recover is tracked on its case page.

How Does Eligible Silver Fit Into the Rest of a Silver IRA?#

Picking eligible silver settles only what your IRA may own; custody, storage, withdrawals and taxes decide what that silver is worth to you. A silver IRA is an IRA that holds real silver through a custodian. How a silver IRA works from start to finish has its own guide.

Four account rules touch silver products directly: storage, home storage, coins you already own and Fidelity's short list. Four short tax answers follow.

Custody, withdrawals and taxes rest on 26 U.S.C. 408, the same IRS rulebook for precious metals IRAs for every metal.

Where IRA Silver Is Stored, and Why Segregated Silver Is Hard to Get#

IRA silver sits in a depository your custodian uses, usually commingled, because the custodians we checked offer segregated storage mainly for gold, platinum and palladium. Segregated means your exact bars and coins sit on their own shelf. Commingled means they are stored with other owners' identical products, and you get back the same type and weight. Three documents show the limit, listed below.

• STRATA Trust: "Segregated Storage: $175 (applies to gold, platinum, and palladium; depository exceptions may apply)" (fee page modified August 31, 2026).
• GoldStar Trust at Delaware Depository: "Segregated storage is not available for Silver products smaller than 1000 oz. bars."
• Entrust at Delaware Depository: its segregated storage form reads "Gold/Platinum/Palladium Only" (Rev. 3/7/2024).

Commingled silver is still allocated to you. Which option suits silver is explained under segregated vs commingled storage.

Silver is bulky: $100,000 of it at $61.34 weighs 1,630.3 oz, or 50.71 kg (111.8 lb).

These storage fees are flat a year, as of September 29, 2026: Equity Trust $110 non-segregated or $160 segregated (FS-0004-05 Rev. 081726), STRATA $115 commingled or $175 segregated, GoldStar $125 commingled (its segregated fee rises with value). So commingled silver's bulk costs nothing extra in the vault, only more to ship out.

Every custodian's gold IRA storage fees are listed with their schedule dates.

Can You Keep IRA Silver at Home? The McNulty Silver Eagles#

No: in McNulty v. Commissioner (2021), the Tax Court treated 2,000 Silver Eagles an IRA owner kept in her home safe as a taxable distribution of their $37,380 cost.

The coins cost $18.69 each in 2016, and the 2016 Form 5498 left them out. Every home storage gold IRA pitch fails the same custody test, silver included.

The facts of McNulty v. Commissioner are explained step by step.

Can You Put Silver You Already Own Into an IRA?#

No: IRA contributions must be cash under 26 U.S.C. 408(a)(1), so silver you already own cannot be moved in, and selling it to your own IRA is a prohibited transaction. A prohibited transaction is a deal between you and your IRA that the tax law forbids; all IRA prohibited transactions are listed on their own page.

The statute reads: "no contribution will be accepted unless it is in cash" (rollovers excepted).

You can deposit cash instead, within the yearly gold IRA contribution limits given below.

Buying Silver in a Fidelity IRA: Only Silver Eagles and Bars#

Fidelity lets its IRAs buy just 1 silver coin, the 1 oz Silver Eagle, plus silver bars; Maple Leafs, Britannias and Philharmonics are not on its list.

Silver bars come in 1,000, 100, 10 and 1 oz sizes at .999, traded whole only. The buy commission runs from 2.90% under $10,000 to 0.99% at $100,000 or more, with a $44 minimum per trade and a $1,000 IRA minimum. The sell commission runs from 2.00% to 0.75%. Under $10,000, buying and selling cost 4.90% in commissions, before a dealer spread Fidelity does not publish. Storage at FideliTrade in Delaware costs 0.125% a quarter ($3.75 minimum).

Fees and limits for silver in a Fidelity IRA are compared with a specialist custodian.

Does the IRS Know If You Buy Silver in an IRA?#

Yes: your custodian reports the IRA's year-end value to the IRS on Form 5498 and every distribution, in cash or in silver, on Form 1099-R (26 U.S.C. 408(i)).

Form 5498 is the yearly value report, and Form 1099-R reports money or metal leaving the IRA. What Forms 1099-R, 5498 and 1099-B show has its own page.

What Silver Coins Are Tax-Exempt?#

None: IRA eligibility only stops a coin from being taxed as a withdrawal when the IRA buys it. Traditional IRA withdrawals are taxed as ordinary income. Qualified Roth IRA withdrawals are untaxed (26 U.S.C. 408A).

The 28% collectibles rate caps the tax on gains from metal held outside an IRA (26 U.S.C. 1(h)(4)-(5)), never the tax on IRA withdrawals.

How Much Silver Can an IRA Hold?#

No law caps the ounces of silver an IRA can own; the limit is on the dollars you put in each year. For 2026, that is $7,500, plus $1,100 if you are 50 or older (IRS Notice 2025-67). Money rolled over or transferred from other retirement accounts does not count against that limit.

Do Gold, Platinum and Palladium Follow the Same Rules?#

Yes, with different numbers: gold bullion must be .995 fine, platinum and palladium .9995, and the law names a gold and a platinum Eagle but no palladium coin. The table compares all 4 metals.

Sources: 26 U.S.C. 408(m)(3); CFTC filing 24-283; archived NYMEX contract sheets (current CME text for platinum and palladium not retrieved; custodian lists confirm .9995).