IRA Approved Gold: Eligible Gold for Your IRA

A gold IRA (Individual Retirement Account) is a special account that allows approved gold to be held within a portfolio as a retirement investment.

An investor who has a gold IRA is able to hold physical precious metals within their portfolio. With the markets as volatile as they are now it is a good time to be looking at what type of gold is eligible for IRA.

Read on to find out more about the physical gold, silver, platinum and palladium products that are suitable for your IRA.

What is IRA-Eligible Gold?

Any gold added to an IRA must meet IRS standards in order to be included in the investment portfolio. Here are the requirements that are generally needed in order for the IRS to approve the gold to be held in the IRA:

Gold Coins

These are gold coins that can be included in your self-directed IRA:

• Proof and non-proof coins must be 99.5% pure.
• Proof coins must be in mint condition and encapsulated.
• Proof coins must have a certificate of authenticity.
• Non-proof coins must be uncirculated and brilliant.

Gold Bars & Rounds

These are the IRA requirements for gold bars and rounds:

• Must be produced by a national government mint or a source accredited by national government.
• Must meet fineness requirements.
• Small bullion bars must be made to the exact weight specified.
• Must be 24-karat bullion bars.
• Must obtain a hallmark from a qualified assayer or refiner.

Exceptions to the above are coins that meet the IRS purity standards but are considered collectibles are ineligible like the UK Sovereign coins, the US Liberty coins, and the gold French 20 Franc coins; and coins that don’t meet the purity standards, but have been approved by the IRS for inclusion in IRAs like the American Eagle and American Buffalo gold coins.

It can get confusing knowing which gold products are IRA approved or not, particularly when it comes to gold coins, but reputable gold dealers like Goldco will be able to advise you on what are IRA approved gold and silver bullion products and what are not.

What Are The IRS Requirements for IRA Eligible Gold?

In addition to meeting the minimum purity requirements all IRA approved gold must be stored in a secure depository that has also been approved by the IRS.

A trustee must be appointed as the custodian of the IRA. Generally the dealer you purchase IRA approved gold from will be able to connect you with custodians and depositories that they usually work with.

Which Gold Coins Are IRA-approved?

These are some of the most popular gold coins that have been approved by the IRS as eligible to form part of a gold IRA:

• 1 oz, ½ oz, ¼ oz, 1/10 oz American Gold Eagle Coins
• 1 oz American Gold Buffalo Coins
• 1 oz Austrian Gold Philharmonic Coins
• 1 oz Australian Gold Kangaroo Coins
• 1 oz Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coins
• Canadian War of 1812 Gold Coins
• Chinese Panda Coins
• Australian Lunar Series Coins

Which Gold Bars Are IRA-approved?

These are some of the most popular gold bars that have been approved by the IRS as eligible to form part of a gold IRA:

• 50 gram Valcambi Gold CombiBars
• 1 oz Valcambi Gold Bars
• 1 oz Royal Canadian Mint Gold Bars
• 1 oz UBS Gold Bars
• 1 oz Credit Suisse Gold Bars
• 10 oz Credit Suisse Gold Bars
• 1 oz Sunshine Mint Gold Bars
• 1 oz Johnson Matthey Gold Bars

What Other Precious Metal Products Are IRA-Approved?

Until the ratification of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 IRAs were limited to holding only American gold and silver coins. This act made it possible for other precious metals like palladium and platinum to be included as well as certain coins from other countries.

Just as IRA-approved gold needs to be 99.5% pure, silver needs to have a purity of 99.9%, and palladium and platinum need to be 99.95% pure.

How to Buy IRA-Approved Products?

In order to set up a gold IRA you need to appoint a trust company to be the IRA custodian and ensure your IRA is IRS compliant, a depository to store your precious metals securely, and a gold IRA company to buy and sell for you.

You are not allowed to buy and sell IRA-approved products yourself and you are not allowed to include any qualifying precious metals you already own in your IRA.

This means that it is not up to you to find IRA-approved products but to rather find a reputable gold IRA company who will assist you to source the precious metal products for you.

All you will need to do is provide your gold company with an Investment Direction document which outlines what you want to buy and the cost per unit. You can double-check that you are paying the lowest price by calling the Certified Gold Exchange (CGE) to confirm the price.

The Certified Gold Exchange also has a comprehensive list of Gold IRA Custodians where you can find a reputable company to work with.

Conclusion

A gold IRA account offers investors excellent diversification opportunities and is a sound investment for investors who want to secure their wealth and hedge against inflation.

It is a particularly good investment for the retirement investor because it is not backed by currency and is thus not subject to the fluctuations in the value of the dollar or the stock market like mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are.

There are analysts who predict that gold could hit $5,000 per ounce within the next 10 years and mining companies who predict that all gold deposits will be completely mined within the next 20 years.

These predictions indicate that the sooner you invest in IRA-approved gold gold bullion and other physical metals, the better. Now is the perfect time to hold gold as an asset in a gold IRA account, instead of paper assets.