GOLD 00.00 1.20 0.00%
SILVER 00.00 1.20 0.00%

The "Home Storage" Precious Metals IRA Myth

The internet is full of websites promoting “Home Storage” Gold IRAs, “Self Storage” Gold IRAs, “Home Delivery” Gold IRAs, and other enticing captions that lead consumers to believe current law allows them to store gold and silver held in their IRAs at home.

Unfortunately, these claims are not supported by the Internal Revenue Code. Storing coins purchased for an IRA account at your home is likely a violation of the Internal Revenue Code.

“An individual retirement account means a trust created or organized in the United States for the exclusive benefit of an individual or his beneficiaries, but only if the written governing instrument creating the trust meets the following requirements:

The trustee is a bank or other such person who demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the manner in which such other person will administer the trust will be consistent with the requirements of this section; Internal Revenue Code §408(a)(2).

We are not aware of and it is hard to imagine a situation where the Secretary of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service would approve an individual acting as a trustee for their own Precious Metals IRA. It is even harder to imagine the IRS approving a person’s home as a storage facility.

If the United States government intended to allow individuals to act as custodians or trustees of their own retirement savings this could have been easily accomplished. However, this was not demonstrated in the Internal Revenue Code.

An IRS audit of a taxpayer storing their Precious Metals IRA assets at home may result in the consumer paying federal income tax on all of the assets as well as a penalty of 10% if the consumer is under age 59 ½ .

Consequently, I recommend our customers utilize an established custodian/financial institution that specializes in holding precious metals for IRAs in compliance with the IRS requirements.

IRA

Financial analysts routinely advise and recommend that precious metals be included in every financial portfolio as part of a sound asset diversification strategy.


Over the long-term, rare coins minted from gold, silver or platinum have shown appreciation in value, and many times outperformed almost every other investment class.


American Eagle coins, deemed as "numismatic" by Congressional law may provide "double play" potential as they rise in value along with precious metals, and also may develop significant numismatic premiums over time.


The American Eagles we most highly recommend for inclusion in IRA programs are the key date American Gold Eagles.


Many American Eagles are already locked away in IRA programs for decades to come, restricting their current availability and contributing to price rises.