Rules & fineness · Updated October 2026
IRA-Eligible Gold: What Qualifies, Metal by Metal
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“IRA eligible gold” is the phrase the market settled on, and it quietly misdescribes the law. The IRS does not approve gold, does not approve dealers, and maintains no list of approved products. What exists instead is a prohibition with exceptions: IRC §408(m) declares most physical property a “collectible” that an IRA cannot buy — and then names the narrow ways through. Learn the rule once and every product pitch becomes easy to grade, because the rule is shorter than any sales page on the subject.
What “IRA eligible” actually means
The statute works from the negative. IRC §408(m)(2) defines a collectible to include “any metal or gem” and “any stamp or coin” — a blanket that covers, on its face, every gold product ever minted. Then §408(m)(3) carves exceptions:
| Step | What the law says | What it means for you | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The default | Acquiring a collectible is treated as a taxable distribution of its cost | A “not eligible” purchase in an IRA is a tax event on day one | §408(m)(1) |
| Named coins | The collectibles rule does not apply to gold coins described in 31 U.S.C. §5112(a)(7)–(10), silver coins under §5112(e), platinum coins under §5112(k), and coins issued under the laws of a State | The American Gold Eagle family qualifies by name — at 22k, fineness notwithstanding | §408(m)(3)(A); 31 U.S.C. §5112 |
| Bullion by fineness | Nor does it apply to gold, silver, platinum, or palladium bullion at least as fine as a commodity futures contract requires for delivery | Bars and non-named coins qualify by purity — the famous numbers live here | §408(m)(3)(B) |
| The custody condition | The bullion exception applies only while the metal is in the physical possession of the IRA’s trustee | Eligibility is not a property of the product alone — the storage chain is part of the rule | §408(m)(3)(B) |
The fineness figures everyone quotes — .995 for gold, .999 for silver, .9995 for platinum and palladium — do not appear in the statute. They are the delivery standards of the commodity exchanges, incorporated by the “contract market” language, and restated in plain numbers by the IRS in Publication 590-B. When a dealer page says “IRS requires .995,” that is the chain it is compressing — and a page that skips the chain is usually compressing other things too.
Palladium is the newest member: Congress added it to the bullion exception in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, effective for acquisitions after December 31, 2017, at the same .9995 standard as platinum.
The four IRA-eligible metals
| Metal | Minimum fineness | Example IRA-eligible products |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | .995 | PAMP Suisse and Valcambi bars; Maple Leaf, Philharmonic, Kangaroo, Buffalo coins; American Gold Eagle by statute |
| Silver | .999 | Silver Maple Leaf, American Silver Eagle, Austrian Philharmonic; 100-oz and kilo bars from accredited refiners |
| Platinum | .9995 | American Platinum Eagle; 1-oz platinum bars from exchange-accredited refiners |
| Palladium | .9995 | Canadian Palladium Maple Leaf, American Palladium Eagle; 1-oz palladium bars |
Two reading notes. First, the fineness floor is a minimum, not a target: a .9999 Maple Leaf clears the .995 bar with room to spare, and the higher number is a minting choice, not a different legal category. Second, the “example products” column is not an endorsement — it is what the standards plus the named-coin exceptions add up to. The complete coin-by-coin list, with the ineligible coins, lives on the hub list.
IRA-eligible gold bars
Bars qualify through the bullion route, which adds one practical requirement the statute leaves implied: the metal must come from a refiner whose output the commodity exchanges accept for delivery. In practice, custodians accept bars from refiners on the exchange delivery lists — COMEX and NYMEX in the United States, the LBMA Good Delivery list internationally — because those are the lists the fineness rule reads through. The names that cover most IRA bar purchases: PAMP Suisse, Valcambi, Argor-Heraeus, Metalor, Heraeus, the Perth Mint, and the Royal Canadian Mint, with vintage Johnson Matthey and Engelhard bars a special case (their own page covers the refiner table, sizes, and the assay-certificate problem with old bars).
A bar stamped .9995 by a refiner that no exchange lists is not automatically eligible — it is a dispute with your custodian waiting to happen. The check is not the number on the bar; it is the refiner’s presence on the list.
The named-coin exception: American Gold Eagle
One family of coins qualifies without meeting the fineness standard at all. The statute points at 31 U.S.C. §5112(a)(7)–(10) — the four American Gold Eagle denominations, $50 one-ounce down to $5 tenth-ounce — and excepts them by name. The Eagle is 22-karat: .9167 gold, alloyed with silver and copper for durability. A 22k Krugerrand, metallurgically identical, does not qualify, because Congress named one coin and not the other. The full story — specifications, the proof-coin caveat, Eagle vs Buffalo — is on the American Gold Eagle page.
What is NOT IRA-eligible
The red list, with the reason each entry fails:
- NOT ELIGIBLE · Numismatic and rare coins — priced for scarcity, not metal content; the collectibles rule exists for this market.
- NOT ELIGIBLE · South African Krugerrand — 22k, misses .995, and is not named in §5112.
- NOT ELIGIBLE · Pre-2013 British Britannia — 22k until the 2013 redesign; the same product name changed sides of the line.
- NOT ELIGIBLE · Most proofs and commemorative sets — legally gray for named coins (the statute names the coin, not the finish), practically declined by many custodians; commemoratives are collectibles outright.
- NOT ELIGIBLE · Jewelry, art, and “gold-backed” novelties — collectibles by the statute’s own words (“any metal or gem”).
- NOT ELIGIBLE · Privately minted “state” products — the state-coin exception in §408(m)(3)(A)(iv) covers coins issued under the laws of any State; a private company printing a state theme on its own rounds is not a state.
- NOT ELIGIBLE · IRA metal you hold yourself — the bullion exception carries the trustee-possession condition; a “home storage” arrangement takes the metal out of the condition that made it eligible.
Why the red list keeps selling: every entry shares a premium far above melt value, and that premium is someone’s margin. FINRA’s bulletin on buying physical gold catalogs the pitch patterns — scarcity, rolling promotions, “free” storage into year two — aimed precisely at moving buyers up the premium curve.
What a wrong purchase actually costs
The stakes are not a lecture from a custodian — they are §408(m)(1). An IRA that acquires a collectible is treated as having taken a distribution equal to the cost of the collectible: the amount is income to you in that tax year, and if you are under 59½, the 10% early-distribution tax applies on top. The purchase does not get “fixed” by selling the coin later; the deemed distribution happens at acquisition. Some custodians screen at settlement and reject off-list products; the ones that do not are relying on you to know the list. This is also why the verification checklist below costs nothing and pays for itself every time.
Verify before you buy: five checks
- Custodian’s product list. The custodian’s accepted-products schedule is the operative list in real transactions — get it before shopping.
- Fineness, stamped and sufficient. .995+ gold, .999+ silver, .9995+ platinum/palladium — or the named-coin exception for Eagles.
- Refiner or mint on an exchange delivery list. The number on the bar is only as good as the list the refiner is on.
- Premium against spot, in writing. The spread is the one cost you control; an unquoted spread is a quote you will not like.
- Delivery to the custodian’s depository, never to you. The custody chain is part of the eligibility rule itself.
Every check here traces to a line already cited above — the statute, Pub 590-B, or the exchange delivery standards they point to. That is the test of any “IRA eligible” claim you read anywhere, including here: ask which line it comes from. The complete coin list applies the rule product by product, and the bars page applies it refiner by refiner.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers to the questions buyers ask most. Each answer restates a rule from the statute or an IRS publication — the guides link the source for every spec.
What is IRA eligible gold?
Gold that an IRA can hold without triggering the collectibles rule of IRC §408(m): bullion bars at .995 fineness or better (held by the IRA's trustee), plus the gold coins named in the statute — the four American Gold Eagle denominations of 31 U.S.C. §5112(a)(7)–(10). 'IRA eligible' is market terminology; the law speaks of collectibles and exceptions, not approvals.
What does 'IRA approved' mean — is there an IRS list?
No. The IRS neither approves products nor maintains a list of approved dealers, coins, or bars. Eligibility is defined by statute (IRC §408(m)) and restated in IRS Publication 590-B. 'IRA approved' and 'IRS approved' are marketing shorthand for products that meet the statutory standard — the shorthand is harmless on a spec sheet and misleading in a sales pitch.
What purity does IRA gold have to be?
Bars and non-named coins: at least .995 fine. The number is the delivery standard of commodity gold futures contracts, which §408(m)(3)(B) incorporates by reference, and the IRS repeats it in Publication 590-B. Silver must be .999 fine; platinum and palladium .9995 fine. American Gold Eagles qualify at .9167 by name, not by fineness.
Is silver eligible under the same rule?
Yes — same statute, different number: .999 fine minimum for silver bullion, with American Silver Eagles (31 U.S.C. §5112(e)) named into eligibility like their gold counterparts. Silver carries its own account mechanics (higher storage weight per dollar), which is why it usually gets its own page in a guide set — this desk covers eligibility; silver-as-an-allocation is a separate question.
Can my IRA use any gold depository?
Your custodian decides. There is no IRS-approved depository list; the statute requires only that the metal be in the physical possession of the IRA's trustee, and custodians satisfy that through vaults they designate — often Delaware Depository, Brink's, or similar. The depository arrangement is part of the custodian agreement, so 'which depository' is a question you ask before opening the account, in writing.
What happens if my IRA buys a coin that is not eligible?
Under IRC §408(m)(1), the account is treated as having distributed the cost of the collectible on the day of purchase — ordinary income to you, plus the 10% early-distribution tax if you are under 59½. Some custodians catch the error at settlement and reject the trade; the ones that do not are trusting you to know this page.
Next step · Complete guide
The complete guide, start to finish
The checklist above covers choosing a company. The complete guide covers everything else: eligibility while working and after separation, the forms, the direct-transfer election, and the five steps of a compliant rollover.
Read the checklist