Questions to Ask Gold IRA Companies Before You Sign Anything

If you're searching questions to ask gold IRA companies, you're probably about to get on a sales call — or you just got off one and something didn't feel right. Maybe the rep pushed "free silver." Maybe they said the price was locked in only today. Maybe they steered you toward "exclusive" coins instead of plain bullion. You're not paranoid for pausing. Federal regulators have warned that gold and silver IRA frauds often target older workers and retirees, and the CFTC says it has charged numerous companies with selling overpriced precious metals — for an alleged total of more than $500 million in fraudulent sales. Almost every public case involves the same pattern: undisclosed markups, urgency, and confusion about who you're actually paying.

One thing to keep in mind before you keep reading: physical gold and silver can fall in price, and they don't pay interest or dividends. A gold IRA isn't a "safe haven." It's a non-correlated asset some investors want a slice of inside a retirement account — period. The questions below help you buy it without getting fleeced. They don't make it a guaranteed-anything.

Below are 23 specific questions with the answer ranges that should pass, the red-flag phrases salespeople use, and the public records you can use to verify everything yourself. Print it. Pin it. Use it during the call.

What we verified for this guide. Internal Revenue Code Section 408 and IRC 408(m); IRS Publication 590-A and 590-B; IRS retirement-plan guidance on collectibles; McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10 (2021); CFTC Customer Advisory "10 Things to Ask Before Buying Physical Gold, Silver, or Other Metals" and the CFTC's COVID-era precious-metals advisory (the source for the 5–10% bullion premium range and the 40–200% numismatic range); FINRA Investor Alert on physical precious metals; SEC litigation release in SEC v. Red Rock Secured (the source for the alleged 130% markup); FTC press materials on FTC v. American Precious Metals LLC / Tanner. Provider information was checked from public pages on May 21, 2026. This is general education, not personalized investment, tax, or legal advice.

How to read the answer you just got — in 5 seconds

If a sales rep says something during the call, this table tells you whether to keep going, slow down, or hang up.

Why we built a 23-question checklist instead of a 5-question one

Most articles on this topic give you five generic questions: ask about fees, ask about storage, ask about reputation. That covers maybe 30% of what actually goes wrong on a gold IRA sales call. It doesn't cover sales tactics. It doesn't cover IRC 408(m)(3) edge cases like the Krugerrand. It doesn't cover the McNulty home-storage trap. It doesn't cover proof-coin markup patterns documented in SEC enforcement actions. It doesn't cover the difference between a buyback "guarantee" and a buyback policy. It doesn't cover RMD mechanics or in-kind beneficiary transfers.

The people who search this query are usually in their 50s, 60s, or 70s, rolling over a 401(k) or considering whether to move part of an IRA into physical metal. You've worked your whole life for that money. You can spot a thin article in five seconds. You don't need motivational language. You need a tool.

The 23 questions below were pulled from three sources we trust: the CFTC's customer advisories, FINRA's investor bulletins, and the actual fact patterns in federal enforcement actions against precious metals dealers — including SEC v. Red Rock Secured (which alleged markups as high as 130% after the dealer told investors they would pay only 1–5%) and FTC v. American Precious Metals LLC / Tanner (a telemarketing precious metals matter the FTC said took in more than $37 million from consumers, later settled for more than $24 million). We added the answer ranges, the red-flag phrases, and the verification methods ourselves.

First, understand who you're actually paying

A gold IRA is not a single product sold by a single company. It's a self-directed IRA that holds permitted coins or bullion, and it involves three separate entities that each charge fees and have different jobs. If you don't know which party does what, you can't ask intelligent questions, and you can't tell whether the "all-in price" you're being quoted is actually the all-in price.

The dealer — companies like Augusta Precious Metals, Goldco, Birch Gold Group, or American Hartford Gold — is who you talk to. They sell you the gold or silver. Their compensation is built into the dealer markup (also called the spread or premium) above the spot price of the metal. This is almost always the largest single cost of a gold IRA, and it's the cost that gets disclosed last, if at all.

The IRA trustee or custodian is who legally holds the account. Under IRC Section 408, that role can be filled by a bank, an insured credit union, a state-supervised trust company, or an IRS-approved nonbank trustee or custodian. The custodian files IRS Form 5498 every year, issues Form 1099-R for distributions, and enforces eligibility rules. Common gold IRA custodians include Equity Trust Company, STRATA Trust Company, GoldStar Trust, Kingdom Trust, Madison Trust, and The Entrust Group. The custodian usually charges a setup fee ($0–$100) and an annual administration fee ($75–$300).

The depository physically stores the metal. In practice, gold IRA custodians work with a small group of established depositories: Delaware Depository, Brink's Global Services, International Depository Services (IDS), Texas Precious Metals Depository, and CNT Depository. Storage runs $100–$300 per year depending on whether it's commingled (your metal sits in a pool labeled for IRA holders generally) or segregated (your specific coins and bars sit on a labeled shelf as yours). Segregated typically costs $50–$150 more per year.

Add it up. On a $50,000 account in 2026, fixed recurring fees usually total $200–$600 per year. The dealer markup is on top of that, paid one time at purchase. The companies that get sued for fraud aren't usually lying about the custodian or the depository. They're hiding the spread.

Questions to ask gold IRA companies: the 23-question vetting matrix

We grouped these into five categories. Ask them in order. The order is intentional — company-structure questions surface red flags fastest, fee questions surface the rest, and the IRS-compliance questions catch the dangerous edge cases.

Category 1 — Company structure and licensing

Category 2 — Fees, markups, and the three-entity cost stack (this is where the money is)

Category 3 — IRS compliance and eligibility (this is where you get taxed for someone else's mistake)

Category 4 — Sales tactics and process

Category 5 — Liquidation, RMDs, and the back end

The fees a gold IRA company must put in writing — and what they actually look like

A clean gold IRA quote separates dealer markup, custodian setup fee, annual custodian administration fee, depository storage and insurance, wire and transaction fees, and any closing or transfer-out fees. If a single number gets quoted to you without that breakdown, you're not looking at a real quote. You're looking at a marketing document.

Here's a realistic first-year cost picture on a $50,000 rollover into standard bullion in 2026:

On a $25,000 account, the fixed fees stay roughly the same — meaning the percentage drag is higher. That's why most reputable gold IRA companies set minimums between $10,000 and $25,000, and why Augusta Precious Metals sets theirs at $50,000 (the fixed-fee drag at $50K is roughly half what it is at $25K). It's not gatekeeping. It's math.

The single number to fight for in writing is the dealer markup as a percentage above spot, product by product. If they give you something in the 5–10% range on standard bullion, you're in the CFTC's described territory for that product. If they refuse to quote standard bullion and steer you toward "exclusive" or "proof" coins, that's the documented pattern in nearly every federal enforcement case in this space — and the CFTC has separately said collectible coin premiums can run 40% to 200%.

The spread is the most important number in the entire decision

Spot price is what an ounce of investment-grade gold trades for on the global market right now. It changes by the minute. You can see it on Kitco, APMEX, JM Bullion, or Bloomberg. The dealer's job is to sell you metal above spot. That's how the business model works. There's nothing wrong with a spread — there's something wrong with a spread that doesn't get disclosed.

The CFTC's customer advisory puts it plainly: precious metals dealers sell above spot and buy below spot. For bullion, the agency describes typical premiums at roughly 5–10% over spot. For numismatic or "collectible" coins, the agency says premiums can run 40% to 200% above melt value. On a $50,000 rollover, that difference is the difference between paying $2,500 in markup and paying $25,000 or more — for the same retirement decision.

If standard 1-oz American Gold Eagles trade at $2,400 spot and the dealer quotes you $2,520, that's a 5% premium — in the CFTC's described bullion range. If they quote you $3,120, that's a 30% premium and you should ask why. If they quote you a "special" or "exclusive" coin at $4,000 and refuse to tell you the spot equivalent, you have your answer.

The starkest example is a 2023 SEC complaint against Red Rock Secured. The SEC alleged the company told investors they would pay markups of 1% to 5% over spot — and then actually charged markups as high as 130%. That's a $115,000 cost on a $50,000 purchase to get roughly $22,000 worth of actual metal. The 23-question matrix above is built to make you the kind of customer that gap is hardest to charge.

Where your gold actually lives — and the home-storage trap that wrecks retirements

Under IRC Section 408, bullion held in an IRA must be in the physical possession of the IRA trustee — not the IRA owner. That rules out home safes, personal safe deposit boxes, and "checkbook LLC" structures, no matter how a dealer markets them.

The case most often cited on this issue is McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10 (2021). A Rhode Island couple, Andrew and Donna McNulty, set up an LLC inside a self-directed IRA, used the LLC to buy roughly $411,000 in American Eagle gold and silver coins, and stored the coins in a safe at home. The IRS challenged the arrangement. The U.S. Tax Court rejected the home-possession/checkbook-LLC structure, ruling that the LLC wrapper provided no protection and that the McNultys' personal control over the coins constituted a taxable distribution. Judge Joseph Robert Goeke ordered the couple to pay approximately $270,000 in taxes plus more than $50,000 in penalties.

This is the most important sentence in this entire article: any gold IRA company that pitches you home storage, "checkbook LLC" storage, or any structure where you take personal possession of IRA metal is selling you something the Tax Court has already rejected. End the call.

What does legitimate storage look like? An established depository working with your IRA custodian — most commonly Delaware Depository (the largest), Brink's Global Services, International Depository Services (IDS), Texas Precious Metals Depository, or CNT Depository. The depository physically holds the metal. You receive periodic statements from your custodian. You can take an in-kind distribution later — the depository ships the actual coins or bars to your home when you're ready to take possession legally — but only at distribution time, and only with the tax consequences that come with any IRA distribution.

Segregated storage means your specific coins and bars sit on a labeled shelf as yours. Commingled storage means your metal pools with other IRA holders' metal of the same type — when you take a distribution, you get the right amount but not necessarily the exact same bars. Segregated typically costs $50–$150 more per year. For most retail accounts, commingled is fine. For larger accounts or for buyers who want the option to take their original coins back, segregated is worth the upcharge.

What counts as "IRA-eligible" gold (and the Krugerrand trap)

Under Internal Revenue Code Section 408(m), the default rule is that "collectibles" are prohibited inside an IRA. If you put a non-eligible coin into your IRA, the IRS treats the purchase as an immediate taxable distribution. Section 408(m)(3) carves out two exceptions: a short list of specific U.S. coins (the American Gold Eagle, American Silver Eagle, American Platinum Eagle, and certain others), and bullion that meets fineness standards and is held by the IRA trustee.

The bullion fineness rules:

The American Gold Eagle is a statutory exception. It's only 91.67% pure (.9167 fine) because of its 22-karat alloy, which would technically fail the .995 bullion standard. But Congress specifically authorized it in the tax code — it's listed by name in 408(m)(3). The Gold Eagle is the most popular IRA gold coin in the country for exactly this reason.

Here's the trap: the South African Krugerrand is also .9167 fine, but it is NOT one of the specifically listed U.S. coins, and it fails the .995 bullion standard. It is not IRA-eligible. Some custodians will catch this and refuse to fund it. Others may not. If a dealer offers you a Krugerrand for an IRA, that's an automatic question about whether the rest of their product knowledge can be trusted.

Three other red-flag categories worth naming:

• Pre-1933 U.S. gold coins (Saint-Gaudens, Liberty Heads) — these are collectibles by IRS definition. Not eligible.
• "Proof" coins that meet the fineness standard can be eligible, but they carry materially higher premiums (often 20–35%) and lower liquidity. Heavy proof-coin pressure is the most common pattern in CFTC and SEC enforcement actions. Ask for the premium over spot specifically.
• "Semi-numismatic" or "exclusive" or "rare" coins — the CFTC has explicitly called "semi-numismatic" a made-up industry term. If a dealer uses it, ask them to define it. They can't.

When in doubt, default to plain bullion: American Gold Eagles, Canadian Gold Maple Leafs, or recognized 1-oz or 10-oz bars from accredited refiners (PAMP Suisse, Credit Suisse, Valcambi, Royal Canadian Mint). These have the tightest spreads, the most liquid buyback market, and the least room for the dealer to play games.

The buyback "guarantee" that almost never is one

Almost every major gold IRA company markets a "buyback program" or a "highest buyback guarantee in the industry." Some of these are useful and reasonable. Almost none of them are true contractual guarantees, and most don't say what they actually mean.

The legal reality: a precious metals dealer generally cannot legally guarantee in advance that it will repurchase metal at a specific price at some unspecified future date — that would be a futures contract with regulatory implications. So when a company markets a "buyback guarantee," what they typically mean is "we have a buyback program, and we historically have not declined." Augusta Precious Metals, to its credit, is explicit in its own disclosures that it cannot legally guarantee repurchase even though it says it has never declined a buyback.

What you actually want to know — put in your Buyback Proof Checklist before funding:

• Do they offer a buyback? Almost always yes.
• Same-day bid in writing on the specific products you'd buy. This is the number that matters. Compare the bid against APMEX or JM Bullion on the same product.
• The written buyback formula. Is it spot-based? Bid-based? Discretionary?
• Liquidation, shipping, wire, or closing fees on the way out.
• Whether the policy can change without notice. Almost always yes — get the language in writing so you know.
• Rep name and quote timestamp.

The other thing to know: standard bullion (American Gold Eagles, Canadian Maple Leafs, recognized bars) liquidates anywhere — APMEX, JM Bullion, SD Bullion, local coin shops. You are never locked into selling back to the original dealer for standard bullion. Proof and "exclusive" coins are a different story. They often trade at a meaningful discount on the secondary market because there's a thinner buyer pool, which is one of several reasons not to load up on them.

The honest part: a gold IRA is not the cheapest way to own gold

Here's where we'll get blunt with you. If your priority is the lowest-cost, simplest, most liquid way to own gold inside a tax-advantaged retirement account, a gold IRA is probably not your vehicle. A gold ETF like IAUM (iShares Gold Trust Micro, with a 0.09% sponsor fee) or GLDM (SPDR Gold MiniShares, with a 0.10% expense ratio) held inside a regular brokerage IRA carries no physical-metals dealer markup, no custodian fees, and no storage fees. You'll still pay an ETF bid-ask spread and brokerage mechanics, and you don't get personal physical custody. But you also don't pay $200–$600 per year in custodian and storage fees on top of a 5–10% bullion spread to get in.

A gold IRA may be worth considering if you specifically want physical custody of real metal as part of your retirement allocation, held in an established depository, with the option to take in-kind delivery later. Some readers want that. Some don't. Both are reasonable positions.

So here's the disqualification: if you don't care about physical custody and you're just trying to add gold exposure to a retirement portfolio for the lowest possible cost, close this tab and look at gold ETFs in a regular IRA. We'll lose you as a reader on this page, and we'd rather lose you here than waste your time pretending physical gold and a paper ETF are the same product.

For everyone else — readers who want the physical metal, who understand the costs, and who just want to make sure they don't get fleeced on the way in — keep reading.

Five red flags that mean hang up the phone

Five tactics show up in nearly every CFTC, SEC, and FTC enforcement action against precious metals dealers over the past decade. None of them, by itself, proves wrongdoing. But each one is a documented pattern. If two or more appear in a single conversation, the call is over.

What each major gold IRA company actually publishes — before you call

One of the cleanest ways to filter gold IRA companies is to see what they're willing to publish on their own website before any sales call. Companies that publish their minimums, fee schedules, custodian relationships, depository partners, and buyback policies before you talk to them are signaling they're comfortable being compared. Companies that hide all of that behind a "call us for pricing" wall are signaling something else.

This isn't a ranking. It's a transparency snapshot — and it tells you what to verify in writing during your call.

A note on missing public information: missing public information is not automatically a dealbreaker, but it's a signal. It means you need to request that answer in writing before funding. If a company publishes a $50,000 minimum on its website but won't put the dealer spread in writing on your call, that asymmetry tells you which number they're comfortable being judged on.

Who passes our matrix — and which company fits which buyer

We reviewed each major dealer's public materials — fees, minimums, storage language, buyback language, promotional terms, custodian relationships, and any open or settled regulatory matters — and matched them against the 23-question matrix. No company is perfect, and reader fit depends on your account size and how much help you want along the way. The shortlist below reflects companies whose public practices align with the matrix's acceptable-answer ranges. Always run the full 23 questions on your specific call — public practices are not a substitute for what they tell you in writing.

A note on the companies we did not shortlist: we did not include companies with active legal investigations, undisclosed fee schedules, or complaint patterns that fell outside the acceptable-answer thresholds in our matrix. This is not a claim of wrongdoing — it's a statement that our standard is stricter than industry-standard rankings. Some frequently-advertised companies in this space don't publish fee schedules online. If you're considering a company not on our shortlist, that's not automatically a dealbreaker — but run the full 23 questions and require everything in writing before funding. The matrix works on any dealer.

How to compare two or three gold IRA quotes side by side

If you do nothing else from this guide, do this: get a written quote from at least two companies on the same products at the same account size before you fund either one. You cannot compare a bullion quote from one dealer to a "proof coin special" quote from another — that's not a comparison, that's a confused conversation. You also can't compare a quote that includes "free silver" to a quote that doesn't, unless you've calculated the all-in cost-per-ounce after the bonus.

The three-quote method:

1. Ask each company to quote the same account size. $25,000 from all three. $50,000 from all three. Pick one number.
2. Ask each company to quote standard bullion first — American Gold Eagles, Canadian Gold Maple Leafs, or recognized 1-oz bars. Refuse to engage with proof or exclusive coins in this round.
3. Ask for product-level premium over spot for each product, in writing.
4. Ask for the same storage type from all three — either all commingled or all segregated. Don't compare apples to oranges.
5. Ask for first-year all-in cost in dollars — setup + annual admin + annual storage + spread on the metal purchase.
6. Ask for a same-day buyback bid on the products you'd be buying. The spread between purchase and same-day buyback tells you the round-trip cost.
7. Save every email. Written records are how you protect yourself if anything goes sideways later.

Comparison worksheet — fill in for each company before funding:

The company with the cleanest quote — itemized, written, willing to be compared — is the company you can compare most fairly. Final fit still depends on fees, products, storage, liquidity, your tax situation, and how the gold IRA fits inside your broader retirement plan. But a dealer that hides numbers in round one will hide more numbers in round two.

Who shouldn't open a gold IRA at all

After all this, a gold IRA still isn't the right move for everyone. We'd rather tell you that now than have you convert into a customer who later regrets it. A few honest disqualifications:

The email you should send before any sales call

You don't have to take a phone call to get a gold IRA quote. You can send an email first. This protects you from real-time pressure, creates a written record, and forces the company to put answers on paper. Any company that won't respond to a written inquiry with written answers is telling you something.

Copy-paste this:

Subject: Written quote and fee details before scheduling a call

Hi [Company Name],

I'm comparing gold IRA companies and would like written answers
before I schedule a call.

Please send the following:

1. Your minimum investment for a gold IRA.
2. All one-time fees: setup, application, wire, transfer.
3. All recurring annual fees: custodian administration, depository
   storage, insurance.
4. The name of the IRA trustee or custodian you use.
5. The name and location of the depository you use, and whether
   storage is segregated or commingled.
6. The exact coins or bars you would recommend for a $[amount]
   account, with each product's mint or refiner, weight, and fineness.
7. For each recommended product: the current spot price at quote
   time, the purchase price per ounce/unit, and the premium over
   spot in both dollars and percentage.
8. The same-day buyback bid or buyback formula for each
   recommended product.
9. Whether any promotional offer (free silver, fee waivers, bonus
   coins) applies, and what products are required to qualify.
10. Whether your sales representatives are licensed financial
    advisors, and if so, their FINRA CRD or SEC IAPD identifier.
11. The full custodian fee schedule and the depository storage
    agreement as attachments.
12. The written buyback policy, including any conditions under
    which the policy could change.

I'd appreciate full written answers before any call. Thank you.

[Your name]

If the response is "we'll explain that on the call," respond once with:

I appreciate the offer, but I prefer to compare written answers
across multiple companies before any call. If a phone conversation
is the only way to get this information, I'll proceed with the
companies that have already provided written details.

Thanks,
[Your name]

And if you do take a phone call, open with this:

Before we discuss specific products, I'd like to understand the
structure. Can you walk me through the dealer markup over spot, the
custodian, the depository, the storage type, and your buyback policy?
And after the call, please email me those same details in writing.

If they pivot to "let me tell you about our special opportunity instead" — that's the answer.

What we actually verified for this guide

For your-money-or-your-life content, the bar is higher. Here's what was verified, how, and what still requires your own follow-up.

Verified by primary source:

• Internal Revenue Code Section 408 and 408(m) (Cornell Legal Information Institute and IRS.gov)
• IRS Publication 590-A and 590-B (current editions) and IRS retirement-plan guidance on collectibles
• McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10 (2021) — published opinion text
• CFTC Customer Advisory "10 Things to Ask Before Buying Physical Gold, Silver, or Other Metals" (cftc.gov)
• CFTC Customer Advisory on COVID-era precious metals schemes — the source for the 5–10% bullion-premium range and the 40–200% numismatic premium range
• FINRA Investor Alert on physical precious metals (finra.org)
• SEC litigation release referencing SEC v. Red Rock Secured — the source for the alleged 130% markup
• FTC press materials referencing FTC v. American Precious Metals LLC / Tanner — the source for the $37M+ alleged take and the $24M+ later settlement
• 2026 IRA contribution limit ($7,500) and catch-up contribution ($1,100 for age 50+) — IRS announcement
• IRS RMD guidance — current required beginning date of April 1 after the year the owner reaches age 73, with SECURE 2.0 scheduling a move to age 75 for those born in 1960 or later

Checked from provider public pages on May 21, 2026:

• Account minimums for Augusta Precious Metals, Goldco, Birch Gold Group, Lear Capital, Noble Gold Investments, American Hartford Gold, U.S. Gold Bureau
• Published fee schedules where available (Lear, Noble, partial for Goldco and Birch)
• Depository and custodian relationships where publicly disclosed
• Buyback policy language for Augusta, Noble Gold, and Preserve Gold

Where provider pages conflict or are incomplete — Birch's $5K vs. $10K reference, Noble's two different fee descriptions — we say so above. Public marketing claims are not a substitute for what they put in writing on your call.

What still requires your own follow-up:

• The dealer markup over spot on your specific quote
• The custodian agreement and storage agreement for your account
• Any salesperson's individual FINRA or SEC registration history
• Current BBB and Trustpilot complaint counts at the time of your call
• Your state's specific tax treatment of any in-kind distribution
• Whether a gold IRA fits your overall retirement plan (talk to a fiduciary advisor)

Frequently asked questions

What's the single most important question to ask a gold IRA company?

What is your dealer markup over spot price on the specific products you're recommending, in writing, before I fund anything? The dealer markup is almost always the largest single cost of a gold IRA. The CFTC describes typical bullion premiums at roughly 5-10% over spot. Anything materially higher than that on standard bullion deserves an explanation.

What is a normal dealer markup or spread on a gold IRA?

On standard bullion — American Gold Eagles, Canadian Gold Maple Leafs, recognized refiner bars — the CFTC describes typical premiums at roughly 5-10% above spot price. For numismatic or collectible coins, the same CFTC guidance says premiums can run 40% to 200% above melt value. SEC v. Red Rock Secured alleged the company told investors they would pay 1-5% markups but actually charged markups as high as 130%.

Can I store gold IRA gold at home?

No. IRC Section 408 requires IRA bullion to be in the physical possession of the IRA trustee, not the IRA owner. The U.S. Tax Court rejected the home-possession/checkbook-LLC arrangement in McNulty v. Commissioner (157 T.C. No. 10, 2021); the McNultys owed approximately $270,000 in taxes plus more than $50,000 in penalties on a home-stored arrangement covering roughly $411,000 in gold and silver coins.

What gold is IRA-eligible?

Under IRC Section 408(m)(3), specific U.S. coins (including the American Gold Eagle, American Silver Eagle, and American Platinum Eagle) are permitted, plus bullion that meets fineness standards — gold .995, silver .999, platinum and palladium .9995 — and is held by the IRA trustee. The American Gold Eagle is the well-known statutory exception at .9167 fine. The South African Krugerrand is also .9167 fine but is NOT one of the listed permitted coins and fails the .995 bullion standard — it is not IRA-eligible.

What's the difference between a gold IRA dealer and custodian?

The dealer sells the metal (Augusta, Goldco, Birch, etc.). The custodian or trustee is who legally holds the IRA — under IRC 408 that can be a bank, an insured credit union, a state-supervised trust company, or an IRS-approved nonbank trustee or custodian. Examples include Equity Trust Company, STRATA Trust Company, GoldStar Trust, Kingdom Trust, and Madison Trust. A separate depository (Delaware, Brink's, IDS, Texas, CNT) physically stores the metal.

Are gold IRAs a scam?

'Gold IRA' is a marketing term for a self-directed IRA that holds permitted coins or bullion. The structure itself is legitimate when IRC 408 requirements are met. The risk is in selecting a dealer. The CFTC reports more than $500 million in alleged fraudulent precious metals sales over the past decade, with cases targeting older investors through undisclosed markups and high-pressure tactics. The 23-question matrix in this guide is designed to filter trustworthy dealers from those matching documented fraud patterns.

What's the minimum to open a gold IRA?

Minimums vary by dealer in 2026. American Hartford Gold publicly states a $10,000 minimum. Lear Capital publicly states $10,000. Birch Gold's pages reference both $5,000 and $10,000 in different places — verify in writing. Noble Gold publicly states $20,000. Goldco publicly states $25,000. Augusta Precious Metals and U.S. Gold Bureau publicly state $50,000.

How long does a gold IRA rollover take?

A direct trustee-to-trustee transfer typically takes 5-15 business days. An indirect 60-day rollover (where funds come to you personally) is technically allowed but is riskier and largely unnecessary if a direct transfer is available.

How do RMDs work for a gold IRA?

Required Minimum Distributions begin at age 73 under current IRS guidance, with SECURE 2.0 scheduling age 75 for those born in 1960 or later. You can either liquidate metal through the dealer's buyback program for cash, or take an in-kind distribution — the depository ships physical coins or bars to you, and the fair market value at distribution is reported as taxable income.

Is a buyback guarantee really a guarantee?

Usually no. Most major dealers offer a buyback program but legally cannot guarantee repurchase at a specific future price — that would be a futures contract with regulatory implications. Phrases like 'highest buyback guarantee in the industry' are typically marketing claims, not contractual guarantees. What you actually want is the same-day buyback bid in writing on the specific products in your quote, the buyback formula, any liquidation fees, and language on whether the policy can change.

Should I trust a gold IRA company that cold-called me?

No. FINRA's guidance is direct: don't respond to cold calls, unsolicited emails, late-night ads, or pop-up dealers. The documented federal enforcement pattern in this space disproportionately targets retirees through unsolicited contact. If you didn't initiate the conversation, independently verify the company before sharing personal information or discussing a rollover.

Can I put gold I already own into a gold IRA?

Generally no. The IRS funding rules and self-dealing prohibitions under IRC Section 4975 prevent moving personally-owned gold into an IRA you control. Funding a gold IRA typically requires rolling over from another retirement account, transferring from another IRA, or making a fresh cash contribution that the IRA then uses to buy new metal.

What's the difference between segregated and commingled storage?

Segregated storage means your specific coins and bars are labeled and stored as yours — when you take a distribution, you get the exact same items back. Commingled (or pooled) storage means your metal sits with other IRA holders' metal of the same type, and you receive the equivalent amount on distribution rather than the specific items. Segregated typically costs $50-$150 more per year. For most retail accounts, commingled is fine.

What to do right now

If you've read this far, you have the framework. The single most important next step is don't fund anything until you have written answers to the 23 questions — especially the dealer markup over spot. Everything else is optional. That one is non-negotiable.

Whatever you do, slow down. Gold isn't going anywhere. Neither is your 401(k). The reps who tell you otherwise are the reason this page exists.