Did you know you can use your Individual Retirement Account to acquire gold bullion coins? First ask your current IRA custodian to see if they have precious metal custodial accounts. If they cannot , Sterling Trust and Goldstar Trust are two of several passive precious metals IRA custodians that take custody your physical gold for you. Traditional, Roth, SEP and Simple IRAs all qualify.

Here is What You Need to Know :

1)      Set up an IRA custodial account with an approved IRA custodian

2)      Arrange a distribution from your IRA and rollover the capital to the custodian

3)      Sendthem a check for one year of storage fees: around $125

4)      obtain your gold coins through the dealer of your choice

5)      Sign the invoice and send it to your custodian and they will pay the dealer

There are limits on what sort of gold coins you can purchase with your IRA. These limits are created by the IRS. Currently authorized gold coins for IRA purchase include:

  • American Eagle coins
  • Australian Kangaroo/Nugget coins
  • Austrian Philharmonic coins
  • Canadian Maple Leaf coins
  • US Buffalo Gold Uncirculated coins (no Proofs)

Note: Krugerrands are not permitted. Also, coins including the American Eagle that are “slabbed,” (coins that have undergone certification) are not allowed either.

The only draw back I can see here aside from the annual storage fee is these coins can be easily confiscated. Ina fair world that could never transpire but you and I don’t live in a perfect world. I would prefer to have physical possession of my gold but that is really only a personal preference and keeping some physical gold in an IRA where you won’t have to pay by capital gains if you sell is a clever long term strategy.