IRA Approved Gold Bars and Coins
Gold must be .995 fine or better and come from an approved refiner or sovereign mint — with one statutory exception, the American Gold Eagle, which is .9167 and eligible anyway. Everything outside that is a collectible under IRC §408(m)(2), and buying it inside an IRA is treated as a distribution of the purchase amount.
Coins that qualify
- American Gold Eagle — 1 oz, 1/2, 1/4, 1/10 · .9167 · eligible by name in §408(m)(3)(A)
- American Gold Buffalo — 1 oz · .9999
- Canadian Gold Maple Leaf — .9999 · the most widely stocked non-US option
- Austrian Gold Philharmonic — .9999
- Australian Gold Kangaroo / Nugget — .9999
- British Gold Britannia — .9999, but only 2013 and later; earlier issues are .9167 and are not named in the statute, so they fail both tests
- Chinese Gold Panda — .999, subject to your custodian's list
Bars that qualify
Gold bars must be .995 or finer and produced by a refiner accredited by NYMEX/COMEX, LBMA, ISO 9000, or a national government mint. Common IRA sizes:
| Size | Typical premium over spot | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 1 oz | 3%–5% | Most flexible for partial distributions |
| 10 oz | 2.5%–4% | Best balance of premium and divisibility |
| 100 g | 3%–4.5% | Widely stocked, easy to resell |
| 1 kg | 1.5%–3% | Lowest premium, hardest to distribute piecemeal |
Recognisable refiner names — PAMP Suisse, Valcambi, Perth Mint, Credit Suisse, Argor-Heraeus, Royal Canadian Mint — resell faster and at tighter spreads than obscure private mints, even when both meet fineness.
What custodians reject
- South African Krugerrand — .9167 and not named in the statute; fails on both branches
- Pre-1933 US gold ($20 Liberty, Saint-Gaudens) — collectibles by any reading
- Graded and slabbed coins — if the raw coin is not eligible, the plastic does not help; if it is eligible, you are paying a premium the buyback desk will ignore
- Jewellery, dental gold, scrap — not bullion
- Rounds from unaccredited private mints — fineness may be fine, but the custodian cannot verify assay
Bars or coins: the practical trade-off
Coins cost more per ounce — the fabrication premium on a one-ounce coin is fixed regardless of the gold price — but they are instantly recognisable, easy to sell in small quantities, and easy to size against a required minimum distribution later.
Bars cost less per ounce and the saving scales: on a $100,000 position, moving from Eagles at 6% to kilo bars at 2.5% keeps roughly $3,500 in the account. The cost is granularity — you cannot distribute a third of a kilo bar.
A common structure for a $50,000–$150,000 account: 10 oz bars for the core, a handful of one-ounce Eagles or Maples for flexibility at distribution.
How to verify a product in two minutes
- Read the fineness off the product page — .995 or better, stated, not implied.
- Check the refiner against LBMA Good Delivery or COMEX-approved lists, or confirm it is a sovereign mint.
- Ask the custodian — not the dealer — whether it accepts that exact product.
- Ask for the premium as a percentage over spot, in writing.
- Ask how the dealer's buyback desk prices it: as bullion, or by grade. The answer is nearly always "as bullion".
If something ineligible ends up in the account
Under §408(m)(1) the amount used to acquire a collectible is treated as distributed in the year of purchase: ordinary income tax for a traditional IRA, plus 10% if you are under 59½. The account is not destroyed and the metal is not seized, but the tax event is dated to the purchase, not to the day you discover it. That is a conversation for a tax professional, not for the dealer who sold it.
Frequently asked questions
Are proof American Eagles allowed?
Technically yes — the Eagle is named in the statute regardless of finish. But proofs sell at collector premiums of 20%–30% and are bought back as bullion, so eligibility is not the issue; price is.
Does the bar need a serial number?
Not by statute, but serialised bars from recognised refiners are easier to store segregated and easier to resell. Most depositories list serial numbers on segregated holdings statements.
Can I mix gold and silver in one IRA?
Yes. One account can hold any combination of eligible metals, reported by product on a single statement.
Who decides the final list — the IRS or the custodian?
The IRS sets the floor; custodians may be stricter. Since the custodian is the party that must accept the asset, its list is the one that binds you in practice.
Next step: eligibility is the easy part — price is where accounts leak. See the 2026 dealer comparison.