The IRS specifies that you cannot store precious metals (gold, silver, platinum or palladium) from a self-directed IRA in your home or in your own safe. If you keep precious metals that are included in a self-directed IRA at home, the IRS will likely treat them as a taxable IRA distribution. In addition, many people are attracted to the ability to store their precious metals at home through an LLC IRA, commonly referred to as a home storage IRA or a checkbook IRA. There are good gold traders and bad gold traders, and knowing the difference will determine whether you succeed or fail.
It is important to be aware of Gold IRA scams that can occur when investing in gold. In this agreement, a metal trader acts as a depositary and sells the currencies allowed by the IRA, such as the American Gold Eagles and the Canadian Maple Leafs, as well as other pure forms of ingots. The rules explicitly state that the depositary or trustee must physically hold the IRA gold in a depositary, not the owner of the IRA. They have occupied a legal gray area until a recent court case ruled that IRA account owners who invested in gold and silver coins could not store them themselves at home. However, there is a loophole (see the Internal Revenue Code, section 408 (m) () in the prohibition of collectibles: you are allowed to collect certain forms of gold, silver, platinum and palladium in a self-directed precious metals IRA (commonly called a gold IRA).
Gold IRAs are called self-directed IRAs, but you can use them to buy certain IRS-approved gold and precious metal ingots. Unlike self-directed IRAs that are managed by a qualified custodian, home storage IRAs assume that the account owner is completely self-sufficient in managing their funds. If you're thinking about investing in gold and other precious metals, such as silver, platinum and palladium, you may have seen advertisements for so-called gold IRA accounts for home storage. The free IRA gold investor kit from Augusta Precious Metals reveals strategies for buying physical (tax-free) gold and silver with your 401 (k).
Even a home storage IRA is really just an indirect way to invest in your LLC and not in the gold itself. The Internet is full of websites that promote gold IRA accounts with home storage, IRAs with self-storage gold, IRAs with home delivery, and other attractive captions that lead consumers to believe that current law allows them to store gold and silver from their IRAs at home. While you can technically create an LLC and control your IRA purchases yourself (as long as you meet some strict requirements), you still can't store gold in your home. While there is no doubt that investors can buy and store physical gold in a safe, the IRS strictly prohibits it with gold (and other precious metals) purchased by the IRA.
