What is Gold IRA? Here’s What You Need to Know Before Investing

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Gold has always been a symbol of financial security all over the world for a long time. After a global pandemic where many countries experience economic crises, many people are looking to invest in products that can retain their value amidst economic turmoil, and gold seems like a top pick. One of the various ways you can invest in gold is through Gold IRAs.

What is a Gold IRA?

If you want to broaden your portfolios and protect your assets against inflation, owning a gold IRA or precious metals IRA is a wise retirement investment. A Gold Individual Retirement Account (IRA) can hold physical gold and approved metals such as platinum, silver, and palladium. It also allows investors to utilize old physical assets in their traditional IRAs, such as bullion coins, bars, and certificates. Investors can set up a gold IRA account with a self-directed IRA custodian or a brokerage firm.


Gold's value often increases whenever an economic crisis arises. Because of this, many consider it a haven asset that they wish to attain, especially during economic uncertainty. 

Types of Gold IRA Accounts

There are three different types of gold IRA accounts that you can invest in. It offers various benefits, and you can choose either depending on your assets and financial situation. 

Traditional IRA

This is the most opted type of gold IRA. This type is a tax-deferred retirement savings account and functions similarly to traditional pre-tax IRAs when dealing with taxes. Your investments and any gains will not be taxed; in some cases, your contributions are also tax-deductible. The gold ira company will set an annual contribution limit of up to $5,500 if the investor is below 50 and $6,500 if they are above 50. With a pre-tax IRA, you will have to pay taxes on your distributions during retirement.

Roth Gold IRA

Roth IRAs are the opposite of traditional IRAs. Once you contribute money to a gold Roth IRA, you are instantly subjected to tax fees. After the contribution, the money on your gold IRA will grow tax-free. Roth IRAs also don't limit the withdrawal of your contributions, unlike other IRAs. You will not be subject to taxes once you want to make a withdrawal.

SEP gold IRA 

SEP (Simplified Employee Pension) gold IRAs are for self-employed and small enterprises. SEP IRA works similarly to traditional gold IRAs but allows business proprietors the opportunity to share mutual funds to their workers and themselves. If you're currently self-employed and looking for investments to save your assets from inflation, then this simple IRA is what you need.

What are the Pros and Cons of a Gold IRA?

Pros of Investing in Gold IRA

  • Greater Control of Investment/s: When investing in gold IRAs, you can expect your investment to be self-directed, meaning you can fully control any investment decisions. This can give the investors peace and confidence, knowing they will always have the final instructions for where they would want their retirement savings to go.

  • Tax Benefits: Gold IRAs tax rules partly offer the same unique treatments as standard IRAs: When withdrawing a traditional IRA, it is taxed at ordinary income rates. However, they can deduct contributions to a traditional IRA on your tax return. This means that your retirement account expands tax-free until withdrawn later on. A gold IRA investment can help secure your profits from the stress of paying huge tax bills.

  • Protection Against Inflation: As mentioned a while back, gold retains its value even after a long time, unlike other currencies that get affected every time there is an economic crisis. The value of gold increases with the cost of living; therefore, retirement accounts with any gold assets are less likely to be corrupted by inflationary factors than money alone. 

Cons of Investing in Gold IRA


  • Higher Fees: Most IRAs will include fees, and every investor must fully understand the importance of those fees before investing. Investing in gold IRAs means paying a custodian to insure, store, buy, transport, and ship the treasured metals you hold in your account. Therefore, gold IRAs have higher costs than expected compared to traditional IRAs. 

  • Funding Restrictions: Even if you own the account, you are not authorized to transfer any precious metals you own into your gold IRA. In addition, you also cannot purchase other precious metals and transfer them to your IRA. An authorized custodian from your gold ira company will handle all the transactions you instruct on your behalf.

  • Does Not Take Advantage of Tax Benefits: Assets such as gold bullions don't settle dividends, interests, or other returns. Therefore, it does not take advantage of the tax-free growth aspect of IRA investing. You will only likely gain capital if you sell your gold assets at a profit.

What Types of Gold Assets Can You Own in a Gold IRA?

The Internal Revenue Service proposed strict rules regarding the type of physical gold you can invest in for your gold IRA. You can only buy gold assets such as gold bars or gold bullions with at least a 99.5% purity. You can also purchase several gold coins, such as the American Buffalo, the American Gold Eagle, the Australian Gold Kangaroo coins, and the Canadian Maple Leaf, for your gold IRA.

What is a Gold IRA Rollover?

 A gold IRA rollover accepts investments from another defined-contribution account, such as an existing IRA account, 401(k), or thrift savings plan. You can "rollover" or donate all the balance to purchase a gold IRA without sustaining a tax liability only if you complete the rollover process within 60 days. To avoid the disadvantage of expending taxes and penalties, investing in the best gold ira company to handle the transfer on your behalf is a wise investment decision.

What are the Risks Associated With a Gold IRA Kit?

There's always a risk in every investment, and you might also encounter a few inconveniences with a gold IRA kit. The first reason is that the gold you invested might be a counterfeit, which is why it is vital to follow IRS standards. Second, physical gold assets can be stolen. And lastly, similar to stolen property, gold could be mislaid without proper care. 


Luckily, these inconveniences have a low probability, especially if you have an expert custodian or financial advisor and invest in a trusted company.

What is the Current Gold Price?

Gold prices constantly change due to market fluctuations. According to Monex, as of October 16, 2022, the cost of gold decreased by 1.38%, rounding it up to $1,648.00 per ounce. Here are the current prices of other gold and precious metal assets that you can invest on:

  • Silver: $18.30 per ounce
  • Platinum: $906.00 per ounce
  • Palladium: $2,011.00 per ounce
  • Gold Bullion Bar: $53,906.83 per kilo
  • Gold American Buffalo: $1,797.20 
  • Gold American Eagle: $1,805.20
  • Gold Vienna Philharmonics: $1738.70
  • Gold South African Krugerrands: $1,742.30
  • Gold Canadian Maple Leaf: $1,748.20
  • Gold 1.5 oz Canadian Maple Leaf: $2,749.00
  • Gold Australian Kangaroo: $1,729.00
  • Gold Canadian Moose: $1,787.10

What Is The Best Gold Company?

Almost all Gold IRA companies offer the benefits of assisting you with any form of gold assets and investments. Whichever company you choose, ensure that the company provides you with the assistance and advantage you need to proceed with your gold investment.


These are the examples of the most opted Gold IRA companies you can research more on:

  • Birch Gold Group
  • Augusta Precious Metal
  • Regal Assets CA
  • American Hartford Gold
  • Oxford Gold Group
  • Noble Gold
  • Lear Capital
  • Patriot Gold Group
  • Goldstar Trust Company
  • JM Bullion
  • Regal Asset

What are the Withdrawal Rules of a Gold IRA Kit?

There are essential rules every IRA investor must know when withdrawing. 

  • The IRS sets a 10% penalty if you collect your IRA asset before age 59. 

  • Retirement accounts are non-taxable. Your IRA account is subjected to pre-tax income. If you withdraw the funds early, a penalty is imposed.

  • You can withdraw when you reach 60 without paying any liability. 

  • You are not required to collect your savings until you are 70½. You can allow your precious metals and other gold assets to grow in worth for the next 11 years. Once you reach 71, you must complete minimum withdrawals from your IRA account.

  • If the investor does not follow the required minimum distributions (RMDs) after 71 years old, there will be penalties. 

  • Self-directed IRA estimates the annual RMD amount.

  •  You would not need to worry about RMDs if you invested in a Roth IRA.

How Much Do You Need to Start a Gold IRA?

If you’re looking forward to investing in a gold IRA account soon, you should know the fees you must prepare for. Usually, the first stage will include the following:

  • Set-up fee
  • Management fee
  • A storage fee from the gold IRA company you choose.

These fees will usually range from $250 to $350 for the initial year and $150 to $250 annually. Whether you are planning to create a savings or emergency fund or maybe just want to expand your retirement account or portfolio, investing in a gold IRA is a worthy investment. Who knows? This precious yellow coin may just be your key to a peaceful retirement.

About the author 

Rosebel Lacastesantos

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