A gold IRA often has higher fees than a traditional IRA or Roth IRA, which invests exclusively in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Proponents of gold IRAs argue that these costs are worth the peace of mind of being protected from a potential financial apocalypse. But let’s assume that a disaster really does occur. How would you redeem your gold if it’s in a deposit at the other end of the country?
Gold IRAs are a special type of self-directed IRA that allows you to invest in physical gold and other precious metals, such as silver, platinum, and palladium. Investing in a gold IRA requires the services of a custodian bank, a broker to purchase gold, and an approved depositary to store gold. Like other self-directed IRAs, Gold IRAs can be Traditional or Roth. Augusta’s two major drawbacks are its limited selection of metals and the high minimum investment requirements for setting up a gold IRA.
The tax code also states that the gold or silver must be held by an IRS-approved custodian or trustee, although some gold IRA marketers claim that there is a loophole in this law (more on that later). The traditional IRA account, which can be easily set up and managed by a custodian bank, requires a few more steps to set up and manage a Gold IRA. In addition, although the IRS allows gold coins such as the American Gold Eagle, the American Buffalo, the Canadian Maple Leaf and the Australian Gold Nugget, it does not allow investments in South African Krugerrand or British state gold coins. The job of a gold IRA company is to make it easier to set up the IRA and buy the gold coins or gold bars.
In addition, the IRS only allows certain gold coins, such as the American Gold Eagle or the Canadian Maple Leaf. I believe the idea behind storing gold or silver in a Roth IRA is to create a tax haven against such an egregious move by the government. Many Gold IRA companies work with a custodian, and either the custodian or the Gold IRA company may select a custodian bank. Gold has proven to be a source of steady and stable growth compared to the more volatile stock market, which is why more and more retirement investors are turning to gold IRAs.
The gold must be purchased and transferred to the custodian bank in such a way that the custodian bank can take care of it. Therefore, investors must work with a reliable and reputable Gold IRA company to facilitate the process. You must store the gold in a gold IRA in an IRS-approved depot. You can’t store it in a safe, a house safe, or under your mattress. We’ve researched 18 reputable companies that offer Gold IRA services and searched them for the highest consumer ratings from the Business Consumer Alliance (BCA). The rules for withdrawals (selling the gold for cash) depend on whether the gold IRA is a traditional or a Roth IRA.
A first-class IRA Gold company only works with carefully vetted, reputable external storage companies or secured depositories.