Side by side
| Gold IRA | Gold at home | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid for with | Retirement money, often by rollover | After-tax savings |
| Tax on gains | Deferred (traditional) or none (Roth) | Collectibles rate, up to 28% long-term |
| Where it's kept | Insured depository | Your safe or a bank box |
| Annual costs | Custodian and storage fees | Safe, insurance or box rental |
| Products allowed | IRS-eligible bullion only | Anything |
| Access | Through the custodian, days | Immediate |
When a gold IRA makes more sense
- The money you'd use is already in a 401(k) or IRA, so a rollover avoids tax.
- You're investing a large amount and want it insured and audited.
- You'd rather not keep thousands of dollars of metal at home.
When gold at home makes more sense
- You want metal you can reach in an emergency without anyone's permission.
- You're buying in small amounts and don't want annual account fees.
- You want coins the IRA rules don't allow, such as pre-1965 silver.
Using retirement money?
Our recommended provider's free kit explains how to roll a 401(k) or IRA into physical gold without tax. Best fit if you have $50,000 or more to diversify.
Request the Free KitDon't mix the two
You can't keep IRA gold at home, and you can't move coins you already own into an IRA. Offers to let you store retirement gold yourself can lead to the whole account being taxed. See gold IRA storage.
Many people do both
A common approach is a gold IRA for the larger, long-term position funded from retirement savings, plus a small amount of coins at home bought with spare cash. Each covers the other's weaknesses.