Can I Store My IRA Gold at Home?
While many companies promote home storage of Gold IRAs, this practice violates IRS regulations and may lead to legal consequences such as audits and fines.
Storing a gold IRA at home is considered a distribution, which will be subject to income taxes and an early withdrawal penalty of 10% if you’re under 59 1/2. Additionally, it could lead to theft and damage issues.
Security
Though many gold IRA companies make bold claims of self-stowing physical precious metals bought through an IRA at home, the IRS strictly forbids that action. An approved depository must instead house this asset. To establish such an operation you need to register your company as a trustee corporation and satisfy a long list of requirements such as hiring an in-house corporate lawyer as well as annual audits.
Storage of an IRA gold at home violates IRS guidelines and puts your investment at risk from theft and penalties if distributions from it before age 59.5 occur, including paying a 10% early withdrawal penalty and risking an audit that could incur fines and taxes; certainly not ideal conditions for retirement assets!
Taxes
To receive tax benefits such as deferred growth and tax-free distributions in retirement, IRA investments must comply with IRS rules and regulations. Home storage of precious metals could run afoul of these rules, potentially subjecting you to fines and penalties from the IRS.
Gold IRA companies that advocate keeping gold at home may be breaking the law and charging excessive fees for services rendered. The best gold IRA providers offer transparent pricing on precious metal purchases and storage needs, competitive sellback rates, unbiased customer education programs and support, among other features.
Companies advocating keeping your IRA gold at home often advise setting up an LLC in order to purchase and store bullion, acting as your own custodian. Unfortunately, being your own custodian comes with significant responsibilities that could result in fines from the IRS – there has even been one semi-high profile case in which an investor was fined over $300,000. Taking such risks simply isn’t worth the risk.
Liability
Some Gold IRA companies encourage investors to store their precious metals at home instead of third-party facilities. The idea has attracted those turned off by costly storage fees associated with traditional Gold IRAs or looking for more privacy and security than is offered through such arrangements.
However, most companies that provide this service violate IRS regulations. Physical possession of your IRA assets constitutes illegal distribution that could trigger immediate income taxes and penalties depending on your age.
Keep in mind that while it may technically be legal to store precious metals at home, acting as your own custodian would violate Congress’ prohibited transaction rules in order to prevent conflicts of interest and self-dealing. Should the IRS discover your arrangement it could disqualify the entire IRA resulting in immediate withdrawal of assets as well as significant penalties.
Independence
Home storage of alternative assets is generally discouraged due to IRS restrictions regarding precious metal IRA-eligible precious metals and how they should be stored. As such, many investors choose a self-directed IRA custodian who specializes in handling these types of accounts instead.
These companies will not only take care of all your paperwork for you, but will also ensure you comply with IRS regulations regarding your precious metals IRA. While you will still encounter annual costs and fees associated with owning assets and transactions, these expenses tend to be lower than if you handle everything yourself and store gold at home.
If you’re searching for an easy and safe way to invest in precious metals IRA, contact Birch Gold Group immediately. Their IRA specialists can assist with creating an IRA managed by one of their top custodians – which will make the whole experience stress-free!
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