Guide · Updated October 2026
Precious Metals IRA: The Complete Guide
Precious metals IRAs are self-directed IRAs that hold physical, IRS-approved bullion — gold, silver, platinum or palladium — instead of securities. The account rules are identical for all four metals, but the metals themselves are not interchangeable: gold is primarily a monetary asset, while silver, platinum and palladium carry heavy industrial demand, sharper price swings and wider dealer spreads. This guide covers what the account is, what can go into it, how people think about allocation, and what it costs.
What a Precious Metals IRA Actually Is
A precious metals IRA is not a separate account category. It is an ordinary traditional, Roth, SEP or SIMPLE IRA opened with a custodian that supports alternative assets, funded with bullion that meets IRS purity standards. Every other IRA rule carries over unchanged: the same annual contribution limits, the same deduction and Roth treatment, the same required minimum distributions under IRS Publication 590-B.
The vehicle exists because of a carve-out. The tax code generally treats collectibles as a prohibited IRA investment, but it excepts certain bullion and coins meeting statutory fineness — which is why a .995 gold bar can sit in a retirement account while a rare coin cannot. Everything about eligibility flows from that exception, and it is narrower than most sellers imply.
In practice, a precious metals IRA runs on self-directed IRA infrastructure: a specialist custodian, an approved depository and a bullion dealer. The custodian administers the account and executes your directions, the depository stores and insures the metal, and the dealer sells qualifying products. You never take possession while the assets stay in the IRA — having the coins shipped to your house is a distribution, and doing it wrong can be a taxable one.
The Four Metals and Their IRS Standards
| Metal | Minimum fineness | Common eligible products | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | .995 | American Eagles, Buffalos, Maple Leafs, Philharmonics; accredited-refiner bars | Monetary asset; the group’s anchor and lowest-volatility member |
| Silver | .999 | American Eagles, Maple Leafs, Philharmonics; .999+ bars | Industrial-plus-monetary; the most volatile of the four |
| Platinum | .9995 | American Platinum Eagles; .9995+ bars | Mostly industrial; the thinnest retail market |
| Palladium | .9995 | American Palladium Eagles; .9995+ bars | Deeply industrial; scarce, volatile, wide spreads |
One famous exception: the American Gold Eagle is minted at .9167 fineness — 22-karat — yet is fully eligible, because Congress exempted specified US coins from the fineness test. Foreign coins get no such courtesy. The complete product-by-product list, including which refiners’ bars are accepted, is in our guide to IRA-approved metals; the coin rules are detailed in IRA-approved gold coins.
Why Silver, Platinum and Palladium Are Not “Cheaper Gold”
The single most common misunderstanding in this category is treating the four metals as one asset. They are not.
Industrial demand changes the driver. Roughly half of silver demand is industrial — solar panels, electronics, automotive contacts [verify] — and platinum and palladium are dominated by catalytic converters and industrial catalysts [verify]. That ties their prices to economic cycles in a way gold’s price, which is mostly monetary and investment demand, simply is not. Silver in particular is a hybrid: part monetary hedge, part factory input.
Volatility follows. Silver has historically moved roughly twice as far as gold in both directions [verify], and palladium has produced some of the sharpest bullion rallies and crashes of the past two decades [verify]. A silver-heavy IRA is a materially different risk position from a gold-heavy one, even inside the identical account structure.
Spreads run wider off gold. Dealer premiums are partly a function of minting and handling cost per ounce, not per dollar — so a silver ounce carries a higher percentage premium than a gold ounce at typical prices. Palladium’s thin market makes spreads some of the widest in bullion [verify]. If you rotate among the four metals, you are also rotating among very different entry costs.
Storage is a different sport. Silver weighs roughly 70–90 times more than gold per dollar of value at recent prices [verify]. A $25,000 silver position can weigh 50 pounds or more; the same money in gold fits in your palm. That difference shows up directly in storage fees, which is why silver deserves its own planning — covered in our silver IRA guide.
Allocation: The 5–10% Conversation
Most financial advisors commonly cite precious metals at 5–10% of a total portfolio as a sensible ceiling [verify — commonly cited guidance, not a rule], typically favoring gold within that slice. Applied to real portfolios:
| Total portfolio | 5% in metals | 10% in metals |
|---|---|---|
| $100,000 | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| $250,000 | $12,500 | $25,000 |
| $500,000 | $25,000 | $50,000 |
| $1,000,000 | $50,000 | $100,000 |
Notice the practical problem at smaller portfolio sizes: gold IRA minimums commonly run $10,000–$25,000 [verify], so a true 5% slice may fall below the funding floor — one reason many first-time buyers fund the account through a rollover of a larger amount. The opposite problem is more dangerous: dealers who push 30–50% allocations are not offering planning advice, they are maximizing their commission. Anyone suggesting you convert the majority of a retirement account into metal has told you what they are, not what your portfolio needs.
How to Open a Precious Metals IRA
- Choose a custodian that supports precious metals and publishes its full fee schedule — the dealer can recommend one, but remember the recommendation may not be neutral.
- Fund the account — by contribution (subject to the IRS annual limits), transfer, or rollover from a 401(k) or other employer plan; the mechanics and the 60-day traps are covered in our gold IRA rollover guide.
- Select eligible products — stick to statutory bullion per the table above, in writing, with an itemized quote showing spot and premium.
- Ship to the depository — the dealer delivers to the storage facility your custodian uses; you never receive the metal.
- Administer it — track fees, statements and, on traditional accounts, RMDs, which for physical metal are typically satisfied by in-kind distribution or sale.
What It Costs
Four layers, regardless of metal: a one-time setup fee ($0–$50 [verify]), annual custodian administration ($75–$125 [verify]), annual depository storage ($100–$150 flat or roughly 0.5–1% of value [verify], and typically more for silver), and the dealer’s spread over spot on every purchase (1–5%+ on bullion [verify], wider for silver and palladium). The spread is usually the largest single cost and the least discussed. The complete stack, with the flat-versus-percentage storage math, is broken down in our guide to gold IRA fees — the numbers apply to the whole precious metals family.
The Bottom Line
A precious metals IRA is one legal structure with four very different assets inside it. Gold is the default for good reason: deepest market, tightest spreads, calmest history. Silver adds volatility and industrial torque at the price of heavy storage. Platinum and palladium are specialist positions with thin markets. The structure is sound; the metals you choose — and the dealer you let talk you into them — determine whether it serves your retirement or someone else’s commission.