Gold Bullion IRA

Investors have a lot to consider these days because of rampaging Inflation, deflation of grossly overvalued equity markets, and rapidly rising interest rates. On top of all that they have to factor in the geopolitical situation and heightening tension among the World’s superpowers.

With this background of uncertainty investors are turning to physical Gold as a way to protect their retirement savings.

As they discover the benefits of owning Precious metals many of them ask,

“Can physical Gold be held in an IRA?”

These discerning investors are pleased to find that the answer is,

“Yes!”

The IRS has allowed physical Gold in self-directed IRAs since the Taxpayer Relief Act was passed in 1997. 

Investors can hold Gold Coins and bars produced by government and third-party mints.

Gold IRA vs physical Gold

Investing in a Gold IRA vs physical Gold is a question that Precious metals investors have to consider.

Gold IRA Custodian

A Gold IRA is not the ideal way to own Precious metals because of the IRS requirement that a third-party Custodian holds the metal.

While Gold IRA investors enjoy the benefits of accumulating Gold, they don’t get to take personal possession of the metal until after retirement (age 59 ½ for most investors).

Physical Gold investors, in contrast, take personal possession of their metal and store it where it is readily accessible.

While a Precious metals IRA is not the best way to own Gold, it is the ONLY way to own Gold using tax-advantaged funds. 

Unless an investor is willing to liquidate their Retirement accounts (and pay the subsequent penalties and taxes) their money is stuck inside tax-advantaged vehicles until they retire and that money needs to be protected.

A Precious metals IRA is one way to provide that protection.

Precious metals Portfolio

At Satori Traders we believe that every Investment Portfolio can benefit from an allocation towards Gold.

We encourage our clients to own the physical metal inside both their tax-advantaged accounts and, more importantly, to purchase physical Gold outside the financial system using after-tax money.

This two-pronged strategy hedges an Investment Portfolio against Inflation and economic turmoil while also diversifying the Portfolio away from Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual funds.

Computer models demonstrate that the traditional 60/40 Portfolio of Stocks and Bonds performs better throughout all market phases when it is diversified with a 3-10% allocation towards physical Gold.

For clients seeking aggressive growth in their Portfolios we recommend Mining stocks, although we are quick to point out that these vehicles are not appropriate for all investors due to their risk. 

It is vitally important right now to diversify retirement savings into alternative Investments like Precious metals. The traditional Portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds is actually 100% paper Investments that have counter-party risk.

In a significant economic setback like the Financial Crisis in 2008 this 60/40 Portfolio is going to suffer losses on both stocks and bonds. Physical Gold, on the other hand, has no counter-party risk and shows almost no correlation to either stock or bond prices.

Benefits of Gold IRA

The main benefit of a Gold IRA is that it gives us a way to own physical Precious metals inside a tax-advantaged Retirement account.

We get the same tax benefits that we enjoy in a traditional IRA but we can hold physical Gold and Silver instead of Stocks and Bonds.

In a Gold IRA we also have the option of distributing and taking possession of our physical metals if we want.

With a distribution of physical metal from the IRA we then have the shiny stuff in our hot little hands to do with as we please (while following all IRS rules, of course).

The metal can be sold at the local Coin or pawn shop, buried in the garden, gifted to the grandkids, or 'lost in a boat accident'.

Preserving and protecting wealth over time is what Gold is all about. The yellow metal is inherently recognized by all humans as something of value.

The price of Gold may vary over the years when it is measured in the fiat currency of the day, but Gold is never worth zero in any currency – ever.

Gold IRAs provide a unique way to enjoy the wealth preservation aspects of physical Precious metals along with the tax benefits of a tax-advantaged retirement plan. 

Already know that you want to protect your retirement savings and do it 100% tax & penalty free?

Click the link below to grab your FREE 2022 Gold IRA Kit which has helped thousands of Americans just like you.

But...If you would like to know more about physical Gold IRAs feel free to continue reading below.

Gold IRA tax rules

Knowing the Gold IRA tax rules helps investors understand how a tax-advantaged Investment in physical Gold works:

  • Coins and bars of Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Palladium are allowed
  • Metal must be at least Bullion quality (99.5% pure)
  • Metal must be produced by IRS-approved government and third-party mints
  • Distributions from a Gold IRA can be taken as cash or physical metal
  • Distributions are treated as ordinary income at the Investor's current tax rate when they take the distribution
  • Precious metals held inside an IRA are NOT subject to the 28% tax rate for collectibles

Gold IRAs are subject to the same age restrictions as traditional IRAs. Investors can begin taking distributions at age 59 ½ and must begin taking minimum distributions at age 72.

What is a Gold IRA

?

These important facts relate to what is a Gold IRA and how it interacts with other Investment accounts.

  • Investors may have more than one IRA account open at any given time
  • Opening a Gold IRA has no affect on existing Retirement accounts
  • The IRS allows investors to move funds from one tax-advantaged account to another without penalty
  • Only one rollover or transfer of funds is allowed in a single tax year

The bottom-line is that Gold IRA investors can move some or all of their existing retirement savings into physical Gold without paying any taxes or penalties in the process.

Most Retirement accounts are eligible for a rollover or transfer into a physical Gold IRA. 

Whether you have a traditional IRA, an eligible 401(k)*, or a TSP, 457, 403b, Pension, Annuity, etc., it can probably be moved into a Gold IRA.

* An “eligible 401(k)” is a Retirement account setup with a previous employer. Currently active 401(k) accounts are not eligible for rollover or transfer.

Gold IRA Pros and Cons

Gold IRAs have pros and cons, just like all other Investments.

As mentioned above, purchasing physical Gold and Silver with after-tax money and taking personal possession is ideal.

Precious metals IRAs, while not ideal, are the only way to purchase Silver and Gold using tax-advantaged retirement savings.

Pros
  • Provides a way for investors to purchase physical Precious metals using tax-advantaged Retirement accounts
  • Diversifies a traditional Investment Portfolio of Stocks, Mutual funds, and Bonds.
  • Hedges against Inflation, which is currently higher than we have experienced for 40 years.
  • Distributions can be taken as physical metal or cash.
  • Accrued capital gains get taxed as regular income instead of the normal 28% tax rate for Collectibles.
Cons
  • Investors are unable to move Gold that they already own into the IRA. The IRS requires that the metal in the IRA is purchased within the account.
  • Investors have to pay fees for buying and selling their metals.
  • Investors have to pay fees for secure storage of their metals.

Home storage Gold IRA

One of the IRS requirements for Gold IRAs is that a third-party Custodian holds the physical metal in the account.

There are articles floating around the internet suggesting that investors can create an LLC to act as this third-party Custodian.

Andrew McNulty et al. vs Commissioner

US Tax Court ruling

In this scenario the Custodian (the LLC) then stores the IRA’s Gold in a safe in the investor’s home.

This setup is usually referred to as a home storage Gold IRA.

The IRS has advised against this strategy for years stating that investors cannot do indirectly what they are not allowed to do directly. In other words, an investor-controlled LLC is not a valid Custodian.

In November, 2021 a US Tax Court ruled that home storage is not allowed in self-directed IRAs (Andrew McNulty et al. v. Commissioner). As a result of this ruling the IRS imposed more than $300,000 in tax assessments and penalties on the McNulty's.

The Tax Court, in an opinion issued after the ruling, described home storage Gold IRAs as a “questionable internet scheme” that would be ripe for abuse if they were allowed.

Protecting your hard-earned money with Gold is easy. CLICK HERE to grab your FREE 2022 Gold IRA Kit and protect your savings from Inflation, financial storms and market crashes today.

What is a Gold IRA rollover

Investors are allowed to move money from one Retirement account to another and this change does not trigger any IRS penalties or taxes. Only one move per tax year is permitted. These events are referred to as "rollovers" or “transfers”.

In a physical Gold IRA rollover the investor uses tax-advantaged savings in an existing Retirement account to purchase physical Gold and other Precious metals. The investor gains the benefits of owning physical Gold without adding any new funds to their overall Investment Portfolio.

There are no taxes or penalties for performing a Gold IRA rollover because the investor’s funds simply move from one IRS-approved Trustee to another.

Gold IRA rollovers can be performed on all of these Retirement account types:

  • eligible 401(k)*
  • IRA
  • 403b
  • 457
  • TSP
  • Roth IRA
  • Annuities
  • Pensions

Gold IRA transfer

In a Gold IRA transfer the investor takes a distribution from their existing Retirement account and then deposits that money, or some portion of that money, into a Gold IRA account.


The IRS requires that the transfer be completed within 60 days or the distribution will be treated as regular income and investors under age 59 ½ will have to pay a 10% early withdrawal fee.

 

This risk of owing taxes and penalties can be avoided by performing an account rollover instead of a transfer.

One of the primary benefits of a Gold IRA rollover or transfer is the diversification it provides for a traditional Investment Portfolio consisting of nothing but Stocks, Mutual funds, and Bonds. Computer studies show that the Portfolio will perform better throughout all phases of the market cycle if it is diversified with a 3-to-10% allocation of Gold.

* An “eligible” 401(k) means the account was created at a previous employer, not a current employer. A currently active 401(k) is not eligible for a Gold IRA rollover.

Funding the Gold IRA

There are two options for funding a Gold IRA account.

In a Gold IRA rollover the Trustee of the existing Retirement account wires funds to the Trustee of the new account. The investor never takes possession of the funds involved in a rollover.

When the Gold IRA account is funded using a Transfer the investor first takes a cash distribution from their existing Retirement account and then deposits some or all of that money into the new account.

In a transfer the investor has an option to use some of the distribution for other purposes like purchasing physical Precious metals that can be stored locally.

The IRS requires that the Transfer is completed within 60 days or the distribution will be taxed as regular income and the investor will owe a 10% early withdrawal penalty if they are under age 59 ½.

Gold IRA fees

Investors need to be aware of Gold IRA fees that don’t exist in IRAs holding only Stocks, Bonds, and Mutual funds.

The first fee is paid to the Broker (usually the Gold IRA company) who buys the physical metal that will be held in the Gold IRA account. This Broker fee is a standard part of operating in the physical Precious metals markets, it is not unique to Gold IRAs.

The second fee covers the cost to securely store the account’s Precious metals. Investors pay a storage fee to ensure that their metal is stored in a secure location with more-than-adequate insurance, regular audits, guards, etc.

When it is time to take a distribution after age 59 ½ the investor has two choices with a Gold IRA. Distributions can be taken as cash or physical metal. Converting physical Gold back to cash involves another Broker fee to sell the metal. This fee can be avoided by taking a distribution of physical Gold instead of cash.

Gold IRA reviews

Investors face a challenging task when it comes to picking a Gold IRA company to work with. There are lots of these companies and they all claim to be the best.

Online Gold IRA reviews are a good way to research the wide array of choices. Ideally, most of the reviews for a candidate company will be positive and the company will be actively working to resolve any negative reviews.

The sites listed here provide resources where we can find Gold IRA reviews before investing our hard-earned money:

  • Better Business Bureau (BBB)
  • Consumer Affairs 
  • TrustLink 
  • Trustpilot

Negative reviews about a company can be particularly informative. These negative reviews demonstrate how a Gold IRA company works (or doesn’t work) to support their clients and keep them happy. There is nothing wrong with a negative review as long as the company is working to resolve the issue.

At Satori Traders we have found that most of the negative Gold IRA reviews are related to purchasing proof Coins and subsequently losing money when the Coins were sold. There’s an easy way that investors can avoid this potential problem:

Don’t buy proof Coins!

Always purchase the most amount of metal possible for the least amount of money. That means choosing Bullion bars and Coins over proof Coins. If we stay away from proof Coins most of the negative Gold IRA reviews become irrelevant.

Best Gold IRA

Using the word “best” in an internet search attracts affiliate marketers and lead generators the way that blood in the water attracts sharks.

These marketers publish “reviews” about the “Best Gold IRA” companies yet most of them don’t have a clue about either Precious metals or investing.

Instead of starting with a search for the “best” Gold IRA, it is better to start by determining what criteria will be used to select the best Gold IRA company.

There are several ‘must haves’ for candidate companies to be on the Gold IRA list:

  • The company must be listed with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and have an A+ rating. If there any unresolved negative reviews it should be obvious that the company is working to resolve them. Having negative reviews is not a bad thing – not every customer is going to be happy, regardless of what the product is – what matters is the company working with these unsatisfied clients and attempting to satisfy them.
  • The company must have an insured depository. Some of the better-known depositories brag about having a billion Dollars worth of insurance or being insured by Brinks.

Vanguard Gold IRA

  • Physical metal must be stored in segregated (allocated) accounts. Pooled (unallocated) accounts are not acceptable. Never invest in a pooled Precious metals vehicle whether it is an IRA or some kind of certificate program.
  • The company must perform regular audits of the metal in the depository.

In addition to the must-haves investors can filter Gold IRA companies based on these criteria:

  • Years in business. Fly-by-night companies don’t survive for 10 years.
  • Transaction fees (Broker fees to buy and sell metal).
  • Storage fees.
  • Location of the Depository. Most investors prefer to have their metals stored nearby.

The best Gold IRA is the one that the Investor feels comfortable with based on their own unique Investment objectives and tolerance for risk. The criteria listed above will help narrow the wide field of candidate companies to choose from.

Some Investors will choose their “best Gold IRA” based on positive customer reviews or the location of the depository, while other Investors might give the ‘best’ designation to the candidate offering the most valuable promotional offer.

Gold IRA companies

The table below provides a starting point as you research the available Gold IRA companies. 

Precious metals IRA company

Fidelity

  • Founded: 1946
  • BBB rating: C-
  • Proof Coins: No
  • Minimum Investment: $1,000

Patriot Gold Group

  • Founded: 1990
  • BBB rating: A+
  • Proof Coins: Yes
  • Minimum Investment: $15,000

Birch Gold

  • Founded: 2003
  • BBB rating: A+
  • Proof Coins: Yes
  • Minimum Investment: $10,000

Goldco

  • Founded: 2006
  • BBB rating: A+
  • Proof Coins: Yes
  • Minimum Investment: $25,000

Regal Assets

  • Founded: 2010
  • BBB rating: unrated
  • Proof Coins: Yes
  • Minimum Investment: $10,000

Noble Gold

  • Founded: 2017
  • BBB rating: A-
  • Proof Coins: Yes
  • Minimum Investment: $2,000

Gold IRA

Year founded

BBB rating

Proof Coins

Minimum Investment

Fidelity

1946

C-

No

$2,500

Patriot Gold Group

1990

A+

Yes

$15,000

Birch Gold

2003

A+

Yes

$10,000

Goldco

2006

A+

Yes

$25,000

Regal Assets

2010

unrated

Yes

$10,000

Augusta Precious Metals

2012

A+

Yes

$50,000

Noble Gold

2017

A-

Yes

$2,000

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Summary

With rising Inflation and the current World geopolitical situation holding Precious metals is more important than ever.

On top of these major economic factors investors have to consider how higher interest rates are going to impact the currently overvalued equity markets, not to mention Real Estate values!

If you want to move some of your existing retirement savings into Gold, start with physical metal that you purchase with after-tax money and store locally. Once this foundation is laid, your Precious metals Portfolio can be expanded with a physical Gold IRA where tax-advantaged funds are used to buy Gold, Silver, Platinum, and Palladium.

Protect your retirement savings with physical Gold today. If you have an existing Retirement account give some thought to converting part of it into Precious metals held in a Gold IRA.

About Satori Traders

Satori Traders LLC is a California-registered Investment Advisor specializing in the Precious metals.

Bryan V Post is a California-registered Investment Advisor Representative and the founder of Satori Traders.

Bryan has worn numerous hats during his life: Engineer, Portfolio manager, Precious metals Investor, Technical analyst, Proprietary trader, Swing trader.

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