To avoid running afoul of tax rules for proprietary transactions, self-governing IRAs, including gold IRAs, must have an IRS-approved custodian bank. According to the Retirement Industry Trust Association, the custodian is a financial firm that is tasked with carrying out investment activities and administrative tasks required to maintain your IRA’s status with the IRS. This is critical to maintaining their tax status. The custody services not only ensure compliance with IRS regulations, but also help store gold. You can’t legally store your gold at home if you invest in a gold IRA.
You must find an IRS-approved storage facility. You don’t want to fund a gold IRA with cash because you’ve already paid taxes on that money, and the point of using an IRA as an investment tool is to take advantage of the tax advantage that comes with using pre-tax dollars. 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. Opening a retirement account backed by gold, silver, and other precious metals is an excellent way to secure your retirement, even if inflation continues to rise.
If you withdraw gold from your IRA before you’re 59½ years old, you’ll be charged income tax on the value of that gold, as well as a 10% penalty for making an early withdrawal from a retirement account. Or, if you have a traditional retirement savings account and want to increase your exposure to gold, read here how you can buy a gold ETF, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the performance of gold. Gold IRA custodians take on a lot of responsibility, which is one of the main reasons why investors can’t go to traditional brokerage firms to open a gold IRA. To counteract this risk, choose a reliable gold IRA company, such as Noble Gold Investments, which uses secure holding facilities and has insurance to protect your investment.
Your assets are usually kept in national depositories, approved third-party trustees, or banks that offer specialized services for storing IRA gold investments. If you take possession of gold and precious metals eligible for the IRA even for just one day, the IRS may regard it as a distribution. Unfortunately, most Gold IRA companies don’t have a good record of fee transparency on their websites, so finding out the details may require a phone call or two. The IRS has strict contribution limits that restrict how much money you can deposit into your Gold IRA each year. Violation of these regulations will result in tax penalties.
If you’re looking for different gold IRA companies, you should spend some time researching the warehouse they use to store your gold and where it’s located. People who believe that physically owning gold or other precious metals is safer can achieve that peace of mind with a gold or silver IRA. IRS rules allow funding a Gold IRA with funds from another IRA, 401 (k), 403 (b), 457 (b), or Thrift Savings Plan. If you’re ready to open a Gold IRA or would like to speak with someone who can give you more information, call Noble Gold Investments today at 877-646-5347.