Silver coins and bars must be 99.9% pure; platinum and palladium coins and bars must be 99.95% pure. The IRS sets these limits to ensure that investors buy high-quality metals that retain their value over the long term. If you decide to invest in a precious metals IRA, you should do so conservatively. Depending on your financial situation, most experts recommend investing no more than 5 to 10% of your retirement savings in precious metals.
Gold IRAs are individual retirement accounts that hold physical gold as an investment instead of traditional stocks and bonds. Traditional gold IRAs, Roth and SEP gold IRAs are subject to contribution limits, just like their non-gold counterparts. A platinum IRA is an IRA in which a portion of its total assets is invested in IRA-approved forms of platinum bars. IRA rules for precious metals include some tax breaks, but that also means that there are limits to when you can access your Gold IRA assets.
Opening a self-directed IRA and investing in precious metals is a bit more complicated than opening a traditional IRA or Roth IRA. If you want to have your gold valued, it’s usually better to wait until you’ve liquidated your IRA assets and taken possession of your metals. IRA rules for precious metals require you to work with a custodian, a financial institution that is responsible for protecting the assets in your Gold IRA. You can sell the gold or precious metals in your IRA anytime without taxes or penalties, unless you withdraw the money from your IRA.
Investing in a gold IRA can be a smart way to hedge against inflation and take advantage of some helpful tax benefits. If you properly transfer your money from an IRA or retirement account to a gold IRA, there is no tax impact. A precious metal IRA is simply a traditional IRA, ROTH, SEP, SIMPLE, Rollover, or Inherited IRA that owns precious metals and may include gold, silver, platinum, or palladium. You can’t add gold or precious metals to your Gold IRA yourself, even if you already own IRA-eligible metals or plan to buy them for investment purposes.
The IRS allows some gold coins, such as American Gold Eagle, Canadian Maple Leaf, and American Buffalo, to name a few. A silver IRA is also a traditional IRA, a ROTH IRA, a SEP IRA, a SIMPLE IRA, or an inherited IRA that is managed by the account holder himself and holds valid forms of physical silver coins or silver bars. IRA holders have been allowed to use funds in their IRA account to purchase eligible precious metals since 1998, following the passage of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. However, there are specific rules for the types of gold and precious metals you can invest in with a self-directed IRA.
