How to Sell or Withdraw Gold From Your IRA (2026): Liquidation, Buybacks, In-Kind Distributions, RMDs and Taxes

That is the whole process in one paragraph. The rest of this guide slows it down. Most people spend weeks choosing a gold IRA company and almost no time thinking about how they will get out. Then the day comes - an RMD is due, a roof needs replacing, gold has jumped and they want to take some profit, or they simply want lower fees - and they find out that the exit has its own costs, its own paperwork and its own sales tactics.

Two ground rules before we start. First, this is general information, not tax advice. The tax rules below are standard IRS rules, but your own situation - your other income, your state, your age, whether the account is inherited - can change the answer. Before any large withdrawal, talk to a CPA or enrolled agent. Second, every company figure in this guide is reported by the company or by third-party review sites as of October 2026, and fees change. Get current numbers in writing from your own custodian.

If you are still deciding whether to open a gold IRA at all, our complete gold IRA guide and our honest look at whether a gold IRA is a good investment are better starting points. If you want the full rulebook, see gold IRA rules for 2026.

"Selling my gold IRA" can mean four quite different things. Each has a different tax result, a different cost and a different speed. Knowing which one you actually want is the most important decision in this guide, because the wrong one can trigger a tax bill you did not need to pay.

Option 1: Sell the metal and keep the cash inside the IRA

The custodian sells some or all of your coins and bars, and the cash stays in the IRA. Nothing leaves the account, so there is no tax and no penalty, whatever your age. People do this to take profits after a run-up, to rebalance, to build a cash cushion for future RMDs, or as the first step before moving the cash to a different kind of IRA.

Option 2: Sell the metal and withdraw the cash

The custodian sells the metal and then sends the cash to your bank account. This is a distribution. From a traditional IRA, it is generally taxed as ordinary income in the year you take it, and if you are under 59½ a 10% additional tax may also apply unless an exception fits. From a Roth IRA, a qualified distribution is generally tax-free. This is the option most people mean when they say "cash out".

Option 3: Take the metal itself ("in kind")

Instead of selling, you ask the custodian to ship the actual coins or bars to you. This is also a distribution. The IRS treats it as if you received cash equal to the metal's fair market value on the day it is distributed, so the tax result is generally the same as Option 2. The difference is that you now hold physical gold outside any retirement account, with its own tax rules when you eventually sell it.

Option 4: Move the account without cashing out

You can move the gold IRA to a different self-directed custodian (often to cut fees), or sell the metal inside the IRA and send the cash by direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to an ordinary brokerage IRA, where you could buy a gold ETF, index funds or bonds. Done as a direct transfer, neither move is taxed and neither counts against the once-per-12-months limit on 60-day IRA rollovers.

Side-by-side comparison

Timelines are rough planning ranges, not guarantees, and vary by custodian, dealer, depository and time of year. Equity Trust fees are from its published Retail Fee Schedule (Rev. 11/06/2025).

A simple way to remember it: selling is not the taxable event - leaving the IRA is. You can sell your gold inside the IRA as often as you like without a tax bill. What the IRS cares about is when money or metal comes out to you.

The rest of this guide takes each option in turn. If your only goal is lower costs, skip to moving to a cheaper custodian - you may not need to sell anything at all. Our gold IRA fees guide and fee calculator will show you what you are paying now.

Your custodian holds the account, but it usually does not buy your metal itself. A dealer does. You generally have three choices of buyer, and you are not required to sell back to the company you bought from.

1. The dealer you bought from (the "buyback")

Most gold IRA companies - American Hartford Gold, Goldco, Augusta Precious Metals, American Gold and Silver Group and others - say they will buy metal back from their customers. This is usually the path of least resistance: they already know your account, they know which products you hold, and their staff fill in the custodian paperwork for you.

The catch is price. A company that sold you coins at a high markup has no obligation to buy them back near what you paid, and some do not publish their buyback prices at all. None of the four companies we review publishes its product spreads, according to our research. Convenience is worth something, but it is worth checking.

2. A different dealer

Any reputable precious metals dealer that is set up to work with IRA custodians can bid on your metal. Large online bullion dealers often publish live "we buy" prices for common coins such as American Gold Eagles, Gold Buffalos and Canadian Maple Leafs. Comparing those published bids with your original dealer's offer is one of the simplest ways to make sure you are not being lowballed. We show you how in comparing buyback quotes.

3. Your custodian's liquidation process

Some self-directed custodians can arrange a sale through dealers they work with if you do not name a buyer. Equity Trust's published fee schedule, for example, lists a metals liquidation fee of $10 per asset, capped at $30, which implies a standard liquidation process. Ask your custodian whether it has such a process, which dealers it uses, and how the price is set. A custodian-arranged sale can be handy for a small RMD sale or when your original dealer has gone out of business, but the price is still a dealer's bid, so it is worth comparing.

Whichever buyer you choose, the type of metal you hold matters more than the buyer. Widely traded bullion - see our list of the best gold coins for an IRA - attracts competitive bids from many dealers. Proof coins and "IRA-exclusive" products often attract bids only from the company that sold them, which is exactly why those products tend to be the most expensive to exit.

It can feel strange that you cannot simply phone a dealer and sell "your" gold. The reason is that, legally, the metal is not yours yet. It belongs to the IRA, which is a trust or custodial account held for your benefit. The tax code requires that IRA bullion be in the physical possession of the trustee - in practice, an approved depository holding it in the custodian's name for your account.

That has three practical consequences when you sell:

1. Only the custodian can sign the metal over. The depository will not release coins on your say-so. It needs written authorization from the custodian, and the custodian needs written instructions from you.
2. The money must go to the IRA, not to you. The buyer pays the custodian, which credits the cash to your IRA. If a dealer offers to send a check made out to you personally for IRA metal, something is wrong - that would at least be a distribution, and it may be a sign of a scam.
3. You cannot "self-deal". You, your spouse, your parents, your children and other "disqualified persons" generally cannot buy metal from your IRA. Selling your IRA's gold coins to yourself, even at a fair price, is a prohibited transaction. If you want the coins personally, the correct route is an in-kind distribution (Option 3), which is reported and taxed.

The same rule is why storing IRA gold at home is so risky. In McNulty v. Commissioner (2021), the Tax Court treated metal that an IRA owner kept at home through an "IRA LLC" as distributed, with tax and penalties. Our guide on whether you can store IRA gold at home covers that case in detail.

The custodian's role also protects you. Because every sale passes through a regulated trust company, there is a paper trail: a signed instruction, a trade confirmation from the buyer, a depository release, and a statement showing the cash arriving. If any of these are missing, ask why. Our gold IRA custodians guide explains what custodians do and how they differ.

One thing the custodian does not do is judge whether the dealer's price is fair. Self-directed custodians are generally "directed" trustees: they follow your instructions and do not give investment advice. If you instruct them to sell 20 Gold Eagles to a dealer at a poor price, they will usually process it. Checking the price is your job, which is why the sections below on what you will be paid and comparing quotes matter.

Here is what actually happens when you sell metal in a gold IRA. The exact forms and order differ a little between custodians, but the shape is the same everywhere.

Step 1: Decide what to sell and what happens to the cash

Write down exactly which products and how many: "10 one-ounce American Gold Eagles" is clearer than "$40,000 of gold". Then decide whether the cash will stay in the IRA, be distributed to you, or move to another IRA. This decision determines which forms you sign and whether tax withholding applies.

Look at your most recent custodian statement to confirm what you hold. The statement lists each product, quantity and the custodian's estimated value. If what is on the statement does not match what you thought you bought, sort that out before you sell.

Step 2: Get quotes

Call your original dealer and at least one other dealer that buys from IRAs. Ask each for a bid per coin or per bar, and ask how that bid compares with the current spot price. A good dealer will tell you the spot price and its bid in the same breath. Write the numbers down with the time of the call - gold prices move every minute.

Step 3: Send instructions to the custodian

Most custodians use a form often called a "buy/sell direction", "trade direction" or "liquidation request". It typically asks for:

• Your account number and signature
• The products and quantities to sell
• The buyer's name and contact details
• The agreed price, or an instruction that the price will be locked on a recorded call
• Where the cash should go (stay in the IRA, distribution, or transfer)

If you are taking the cash out, you will also complete a distribution request, including your federal (and possibly state) tax withholding election. We cover that in state taxes and withholding.

Many dealers will fill in the custodian forms for you and send them for your signature. That is fine and normal, but read every line before you sign, especially the product list and the price.

Step 4: Lock the price

The buyer locks the price - usually on a recorded phone call or by written confirmation - at a stated amount per coin or bar. From that moment the trade is agreed even though the metal has not moved. Ask for a written trade confirmation showing product, quantity, price per unit, total and date.

Step 5: Depository release

The custodian sends a release authorization to the depository. The depository pulls the metal and either ships it to the buyer (fully insured) or, if the buyer has an account at the same depository, moves it by internal transfer. Internal transfers are typically faster and cheaper.

Step 6: The buyer verifies and pays

The buyer receives the metal, checks it, and pays the custodian, usually by wire. Bullion from an approved depository rarely has verification problems, but if the count or product does not match, the buyer will contact the custodian.

Step 7: Cash is credited, then (optionally) sent on

The custodian credits the cash to your IRA and deducts its own fees, such as a liquidation fee. If you asked for a distribution, the custodian then withholds any tax you elected and sends the rest to your bank, typically by wire or check. If you asked for a transfer, it sends the cash to the receiving IRA custodian.

Step 8: Keep the paperwork

Save the trade confirmation, the custodian's transaction statement and, if you took a distribution, the Form 1099-R the custodian sends early the following year. Your tax preparer will need it.

If you are under pressure - an RMD deadline, a bill to pay - start early. The next section gives rough timelines so you can plan backward from the date you need the money.

Selling a gold IRA is slower than selling a stock fund in a brokerage IRA, which settles in a day or two. Physical metal has to be released, moved, checked and paid for, and several companies are involved. None of the custodians or dealers we researched publishes a guaranteed timetable, so the ranges below are approximate planning estimates based on how the process works, not promises. Always ask your own custodian and buyer for their current turnaround times.

Typical timeline for a sale (approximate)

Add those up and a straightforward sale of common bullion, with the cash staying in the IRA, often lands somewhere around one to two weeks. A sale with a cash distribution to your bank often takes one to three weeks. Moving a whole account to a different custodian, especially if metal has to move between depositories, can take several weeks. Again: approximate, and your experience may differ.

The price is locked early - the money arrives later

One reassuring point: the slow part of the process usually happens after the price is locked. Once the buyer confirms a trade at, say, $4,100 per coin, a fall in the gold price the next day does not change what you receive. That is why getting a written trade confirmation matters.

The reverse is also true. If the gold price jumps after you lock, you do not benefit. If you are selling a large holding and are worried about timing, some people sell in two or three tranches over several weeks instead of all at once. That is a personal choice, not a recommendation - see selling in a falling market for the trade-offs.

The "spot price" you see on the news is the price for large wholesale trades of raw gold. It is a useful benchmark, but nobody buys coins from the public at spot, and nobody sells them at spot either. There are two prices that matter to you:

• The ask - what a dealer charges you to buy. This is spot plus a premium.
• The bid - what a dealer pays you when you sell. For common bullion this is usually a little below spot.

The gap between the two is the spread. It is the single biggest cost of owning physical gold for a few years, often bigger than all your custodian and storage fees combined. Our gold IRA fees guide covers the buying side in depth; here we focus on selling.

Typical bids by product (2026)

Sources: premium data from SD Bullion, costcogoldinventory.com and findbullionprices.com (2026); bid estimates from dealer surveys including GoldSilver (June 2026), which also puts a Gold Eagle round trip at about 4-8%. Other estimates put common-coin bids at 96-99% of spot. Proof spread figures from American Bullion disclosures as reported by LendEdu. All approximate and changeable.

The round-trip cost

Put the buy premium and the sell discount together and you get the round-trip cost: how far gold has to rise just for you to break even. For a 1 oz Gold Eagle bought from a retail dealer and sold back, GoldSilver estimated that round trip at about 4-8% in June 2026. That is the cost of the coin itself, before custodian and storage fees.

Inside an IRA it is often higher. American Bullion, a phone-sales dealer, disclosed a 7% spread on bullion generally but 10% on bullion bought inside an IRA, 20% on collectible coins and 23% on proof coins (as reported by LendEdu). Custodian disclosures, such as STRATA Trust's, warn that proof coins carry wider spreads. As a rough rule of thumb that many consumer writers use - a heuristic, not an official standard - push back on any bullion spread above about 10-15%.

Why proof and "IRA-exclusive" coins are hard to sell

A common bullion coin like a 1 oz Gold Eagle is bought and sold by thousands of dealers, so competition keeps bids close to spot. A proof coin or a special "IRA-exclusive" product is a different story. Its price was set by the company that sold it, often at a large premium for packaging, mintage or "rarity". When you sell, most other dealers will only bid on the gold content - the melt value - and some will not bid at all.

So the premium you paid above melt value is often simply gone. That is why enforcement cases in this industry have focused on product switching: in the cases brought against Red Rock Secured, regulators alleged markups of up to 130% (SEC) on coins sold to retirement savers who were told markups were 1-5%. We cover these cases in exit scams and red flags.

Numbers make this concrete. The examples below are illustrations built from the research ranges above, not quotes. We use an October 19, 2026 spot price of about $4,170 per ounce (Kitco) and assume, to isolate the effect of the spread, that the gold price did not change between buying and selling.

Example A: you paid $100,000 for 1 oz Gold Eagles at a 5% premium

A 5% premium is within the 3-6% range reported for online dealers.

• Gold value of what you bought: $100,000 ÷ 1.05 = $95,238
• That is about $95,238 ÷ $4,170 = 22.8 ounces (in practice you would own 22 or 23 coins; we keep the decimal to keep the math clean)
• Sell at a bid 2% under spot: $95,238 × 0.98 = $93,333
• Custodian liquidation fee at Equity Trust: $10 per asset, one asset type = $10
• Cash credited to the IRA: $93,333 - $10 = $93,323
• Round-trip cost: $100,000 - $93,323 = $6,677, or about 6.7%

If the bid were 1% under spot instead: $95,238 × 0.99 = $94,286, less $10 = $94,276, a round-trip cost of $5,724 (about 5.7%). Both land inside the 4-8% round trip GoldSilver estimated for Gold Eagles.

Example B: you paid $100,000 for proof coins with a 23% spread

Now assume the same $100,000 went into proof coins from a dealer whose disclosed spread on proof coins is 23% - the figure American Bullion disclosed, as reported by LendEdu. A 23% spread means the dealer's bid is 23% below what you paid:

• Buyback: $100,000 × (1 - 0.23) = $77,000
• Less the $10 liquidation fee = $76,990
• Round-trip cost: $23,010, about 23%

Gold would have to rise about 30% from your purchase date ($100,000 ÷ $77,000 = 1.30) just to get you back to even, before any annual fees. With Eagles in Example A, it would need to rise about 7.2% ($100,000 ÷ $93,323 = 1.072).

Example C: an enforcement-case markup

In the worst cases, the spread is not 23% but far higher. Suppose a seller charged a 130% markup - the upper end alleged by the SEC against Red Rock Secured. Then $100,000 bought metal with a gold value of only $100,000 ÷ 2.30 = $43,478. Even if you sold that gold content at full spot, you would get back about $43,478, losing about $56,522 - and in practice, other dealers might pay only melt value less a discount.

All three side by side

The lesson is not "never buy gold". It is that the product decision made on the day you bought largely determines what you can get on the day you sell. If you hold proof or "IRA-exclusive" coins today, the best time to find out what they are really worth is now - by asking two or three unrelated dealers for a bid - not on the day you need the money. If you are still buying, choose common bullion: see our best gold coins for an IRA.

Dealer spreads are the big cost, but custodians charge their own fees when you sell, distribute, ship or close an account. These are usually flat dollar amounts, so they matter most on small transactions such as a single RMD.

Equity Trust (published fee schedule)

Equity Trust is one of the most common custodians for gold IRAs and publishes a full fee list. These figures come from its Retail Fee Schedule (FS-0001-03, Rev. 11/06/2025):

Other custodians (reported)

Fees as reported in October 2026 research. "Reported" means taken from third-party review sites that we could not confirm on the custodian's own site. Fee schedules change - ask for the current one in writing.

Worked example: one $20,000 cash withdrawal at Equity Trust

Say you sell 5 one-ounce Gold Eagles at a bid of about $4,000 each and take the $20,000 out by wire. Using Equity Trust's schedule:

• Liquidation: $10 (one asset type)
• Distribution: $100 (one asset - the cash being distributed; confirm how your custodian counts "assets")
• Wire: $30
• Total custodian fees: $140, or 0.7% of $20,000

The same sale at a custodian charging $200 per sale (Preferred Trust, as published) plus a $30 wire would cost $230 before any distribution fee - 1.15% of $20,000. On a $5,000 RMD sale, a $200 sale fee alone is 4%. If you expect many small sales, the per-transaction fee matters more than the annual fee.

Worked example: closing a $100,000 account

Selling everything and closing at Equity Trust might involve a liquidation fee of up to $30 (if you hold three or more products), a $250 full termination fee and a $30 wire: about $310. That is small next to a dealer spread of 1-2% on $100,000 ($1,000-$2,000), but it is not nothing. Also check whether the annual fee for the coming year has already been billed - Equity Trust's schedule says its annual fee is not prorated and that storage is billed in January, so ask exactly when the next year's fees will be charged - a closure completed before that date may avoid paying for a year you will not use.

To see how these fees fit into your total yearly cost, try our gold IRA fee calculator and compare custodians in our custodian guide.

Almost every gold IRA company advertises some kind of buyback promise. The wording varies, and the differences matter. A "commitment", a "pledge" and a "guarantee" in an advertisement are not the same as a written contract that obliges the company to buy your metal at a stated price.

What the companies we review say (reported, October 2026)

All four entries are as advertised by the companies or reported by third-party review sites in October 2026. None of the four publishes its product spreads. Confirm current terms on each company's site and in writing.

Why a dealer cannot simply "guarantee" a buyback

American Hartford Gold's own wording - that it cannot legally guarantee repurchase - is honest about something that applies to the whole industry. A dealer cannot promise to buy any amount of metal from any customer at any time in the future regardless of its finances or market conditions. What it can offer is a policy: "we will normally buy back from our customers, and we will not charge you our own fee to do so."

That is useful, but notice what "no-fee buyback" does not mean:

• It does not mean you get back what you paid. The dealer's bid price, not a fee, is where the spread lives.
• It does not cover custodian fees, such as liquidation, distribution or wire fees.
• It does not mean the bid will be competitive with other dealers.
• It does not survive the company going out of business.

Likewise, a "highest buyback" pledge is only as good as the comparison it is measured against. Ask what "highest" means: highest compared with which dealers, on which day, for which products?

What a useful buyback policy looks like

If you are still choosing a company, the most valuable buyback promise is a published formula: for example, "we bid spot minus X% on 1 oz Gold Eagles". That lets you check the math on the day you sell. Ask for the current buyback bid on the exact products you are buying, in writing, before you buy. If the company will not tell you, assume the spread is wide. Our guide on how to choose a gold IRA company includes this question in its checklist.

You do not have to accept the first bid you get. Comparing two or three quotes takes an afternoon and, on a large account, can be worth hundreds or thousands of dollars. Here is a simple method.

Step-by-step

1. List exactly what you hold. Copy the product names and quantities from your custodian statement - for example, "20 x 2025 American Gold Eagle 1 oz" or "5 x PAMP 1 oz gold bar".
2. Note the spot price and time. Check a reliable spot price source just before you call. Every quote should be compared against the same spot price.
3. Call your original dealer first. Ask for a per-unit bid and the percentage below spot.
4. Call at least one other dealer that buys from IRAs. Ask the same questions. For common coins, also check large online dealers' published "we buy" prices as a reference point.
5. Ask about every cost. Shipping from the depository, insurance, "processing" fees - get them all in the quote.
6. Convert each quote to "net to my IRA". Bid × quantity, minus any dealer charges, minus your custodian's liquidation fee.
7. Choose, lock and confirm in writing. Once you choose, lock the price on a recorded line and ask for a written confirmation before you sign the custodian's direction form.

A phone script you can use

"Hello, I hold metal in a self-directed IRA at [custodian], stored at [depository]. I'm looking for a bid, not making a decision today. I have [quantity] of [exact product]. What's your bid per unit right now, and what spot price are you using? What percentage under spot is that? Are there any shipping, handling or other fees I would pay? Do you buy directly from IRA custodians, and how long until you pay the custodian after you receive the metal? Could you email me that quote?"

If the representative tries to turn the call into a pitch for a different product, politely bring it back: "I appreciate that, but today I only want a bid on what I hold." A legitimate dealer will give you a number.

A sample comparison

Suppose you hold 20 one-ounce Gold Eagles and spot is $4,170.

Illustrative numbers only. Bids calculated as spot × (1 - discount), rounded to the dollar: $4,170 × 0.97 = $4,044.90; × 0.985 = $4,107.45; × 0.99 = $4,128.30.

In this illustration, shopping the quote is worth about $1,605 ($82,495 - $80,890). Dealer 3 wins even after shipping. The point is not that your original dealer will be the worst - it may well be the best - but that you only know by asking.

For proof or "IRA-exclusive" coins, expect fewer and lower bids from other dealers. That is still useful information: it tells you what the coins are worth to the wider market.

Selling metal inside an IRA is not a taxable event. Tax applies when you take a distribution - cash or metal leaving the IRA to you. The rules for a gold IRA are the same as for any other IRA; the metal does not change them. The IRS explains them in Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements. What follows is a general summary, not tax advice.

Ordinary income, not capital gains

Money that comes out of a traditional (pre-tax) IRA is generally taxed as ordinary income in the year you receive it, at your regular federal income tax rate. It does not matter that the money came from gold, and it does not matter how much the gold went up or down. The special 28% "collectibles" rate that applies to gold held outside an IRA does not apply to IRA distributions.

If you made non-deductible (after-tax) contributions to any traditional IRA, part of each distribution may be tax-free. The IRS uses a pro-rata calculation across all of your traditional, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs, reported on Form 8606. This is an area where a tax professional earns their fee.

Worked example: a $30,000 withdrawal

Say you are 67, retired, and take $30,000 from your traditional gold IRA after selling metal. The $30,000 is added to your other income for the year - Social Security (part of which may be taxable), pensions, interest. If that $30,000 lands in a 12% federal bracket, the extra federal tax would be roughly $3,600; if it lands in the 22% bracket, roughly $6,600. Your actual figure depends on your whole return, and a large withdrawal can push part of your income into a higher bracket.

Spreading withdrawals across tax years

Because the whole withdrawal is ordinary income, a large single withdrawal can cost more in tax than the same amount spread over two or more years. A $100,000 withdrawal in one year stacks entirely on top of your other income; two $50,000 withdrawals in different tax years may keep more of it in lower brackets. Larger withdrawals can also affect other things tied to income, such as the taxable share of Social Security and Medicare premium surcharges. Ask a tax professional to model the options before you take a large sum.

What you will receive from the custodian

• Form 1099-R early in the following year, showing the gross distribution and any tax withheld. For in-kind distributions it shows the fair market value of the metal.
• Your custodian's year-end statement showing the transactions.

For a fuller look at the tax side, including how gold IRAs compare with gold held outside retirement accounts, see our guide to gold IRA taxes and RMDs.

A Roth gold IRA works differently because you paid tax on the money going in. If the withdrawal is a qualified distribution, it is generally completely free of federal income tax - including all the growth. Our Roth gold IRA guide covers Roth accounts in full; here is the exit side.

What makes a Roth distribution "qualified"

Under the general IRS rules, a Roth IRA distribution is qualified if both of these are true:

1. The five-year rule: at least five tax years have passed since January 1 of the year you first contributed to (or converted into) any Roth IRA; and
2. A qualifying event: you are 59½ or older, or the distribution is made because of disability, after your death to a beneficiary, or for a first-time home purchase (up to a $10,000 lifetime limit).

If it is not qualified

A non-qualified Roth distribution is not automatically fully taxed. The IRS treats Roth withdrawals as coming out in a set order:

In plain English: if you are under 59½ or have not met the five-year rule, you can usually take out what you put in without tax, but taking out growth can cost income tax and possibly the 10% additional tax. Keep records of every Roth contribution and conversion - your custodian may not track your basis for you.

Roth RMDs

Roth IRA owners have no required minimum distributions during their lifetime. If you hold gold in a Roth IRA, you are never forced to sell it to meet an RMD. Beneficiaries who inherit a Roth IRA generally are subject to distribution rules, covered in inherited gold IRAs.

If you take a distribution from a traditional IRA before age 59½, the IRS generally adds a 10% additional tax on the taxable amount, on top of ordinary income tax (Internal Revenue Code section 72(t)). It is often called the "early withdrawal penalty". The same 10% can apply to the taxable earnings in a non-qualified Roth distribution.

Worked example

Say you are 55 and withdraw $20,000 from a traditional gold IRA, and no exception applies:

• 10% additional tax: $20,000 × 10% = $2,000
• Ordinary income tax at, say, a 22% bracket: $20,000 × 22% = $4,400
• Total federal cost: about $6,400, leaving about $13,600 - before any state tax

That is a 32% federal haircut in this illustration, which is why early withdrawals from any IRA deserve a second thought.

Main exceptions (IRAs)

The IRS lists the exceptions in Tax Topic 557 and Publication 590-B. For IRAs they include, in general terms:

• Death (distributions to a beneficiary) or total and permanent disability
• A series of substantially equal periodic payments (sometimes called a 72(t) plan)
• Unreimbursed medical expenses above a percentage of your income
• Health insurance premiums while unemployed (conditions apply)
• Qualified higher education expenses
• A first-time home purchase, up to a $10,000 lifetime limit
• An IRS levy on the IRA
• Qualified birth or adoption distributions, up to a set limit
• Certain newer exceptions added by the SECURE 2.0 Act, such as for terminal illness, some emergency personal expenses and victims of domestic abuse, each with its own conditions and caps
• Qualified reservist distributions

Each exception has detailed conditions and some apply only to IRAs, not to 401(k)s, or the other way around. An exception removes only the 10% additional tax - you still generally owe ordinary income tax on a traditional IRA withdrawal. Check Topic 557 and confirm with a tax professional before relying on any exception.

Selling inside the IRA is never "early"

The penalty applies to distributions, not to sales. If you are 52 and want to get out of gold, you can sell the metal and keep the cash in the IRA, or transfer it directly to another IRA, with no penalty and no tax. Only take the money out if you actually need to spend it.

Federal tax is only part of the picture. Most states with an income tax also tax traditional IRA distributions, though many give retirees partial or full exemptions, and a handful of states have no income tax at all. The rules vary widely and change often, so check your own state's rules or ask a local tax preparer. If you are planning to move in retirement, the timing of a large withdrawal relative to the move can make a real difference - another question for a professional.

Federal withholding elections

When you take a cash distribution, the custodian asks how much federal income tax to withhold. Under general IRS rules for IRA distributions that are not eligible rollover distributions from an employer plan:

• The default for a non-periodic IRA distribution is generally 10% federal withholding unless you choose a different rate.
• You can usually elect a higher rate, or elect no withholding, typically on IRS Form W-4R or the custodian's own form.
• Withholding is not an extra tax. It is a prepayment toward your tax bill, credited when you file.

The 20% mandatory withholding you may have heard about applies to eligible rollover distributions paid to you from an employer plan such as a 401(k), not to ordinary IRA distributions.

Choosing a withholding rate

If you elect no withholding on a large distribution, you may owe the whole tax at filing time and, if you did not pay enough during the year, an underpayment penalty. If you elect too much, you get a refund but lose the use of the money. Many retirees choose a rate close to their expected marginal federal rate.

In-kind distributions and withholding

If you take coins instead of cash, there is no cash to withhold from. Some custodians will ask you to send cash to cover any withholding you elect, or require you to sell part of the metal; others process in-kind distributions with no withholding. Ask in advance. Our next section covers in-kind distributions in detail.

An in-kind distribution means the custodian ships you the actual coins or bars instead of selling them. It is the only legitimate way to hold your IRA gold in your own hands. It is also a full distribution for tax purposes - there is no special break for taking metal instead of cash.

How it is valued

The custodian reports the distribution at the metal's fair market value (FMV) on the date of distribution, and that value goes on your Form 1099-R. From a traditional IRA, that FMV is generally taxable as ordinary income, with the 10% additional tax if you are under 59½ and no exception applies - exactly as if you had taken the same amount in cash. From a qualified Roth distribution, it is generally tax-free.

How a custodian determines FMV - for example, whether it uses spot, a dealer bid or another pricing source - varies. Ask your custodian which method it uses, because it sets the number you are taxed on. For proof or "IRA-exclusive" coins, the custodian's valuation may be well below what you paid, which at least means a lower taxable amount.

Costs of taking delivery

You avoid the dealer spread (nothing is sold), but you pay custodian and shipping costs. Using Equity Trust's published schedule as an example:

• In-kind transfer or distribution: $50 per transaction
• Coin shipping and handling: at cost + $10, $50 minimum
• Possibly a distribution fee of $100 per asset - ask how your custodian applies its fees to in-kind distributions

Other custodians report different numbers: Preferred Trust lists $200 for an in-kind distribution and uDirect IRA lists $75. Shipping is insured and usually requires a signature. If you live far from the depository, ask whether you can pick the metal up in person - some depositories allow this by appointment, others do not.

Worked example: an in-kind distribution of 10 Gold Eagles

Spot is about $4,170 and, for illustration, the custodian values each 1 oz Gold Eagle at $4,170.

• FMV reported on Form 1099-R: 10 × $4,170 = $41,700
• Custodian costs (Equity Trust example): $50 in-kind fee + shipping at cost plus $10 (say $60 total if the carrier charges $50) = about $110, plus any distribution fee your custodian applies
• Federal income tax if the $41,700 falls in a 22% bracket: about $9,174 - which you will need to pay from other money, since you took coins, not cash

That last point catches people out. An in-kind distribution from a traditional IRA creates a tax bill without creating cash to pay it. Plan where the tax money will come from before you ask for the coins.

When in-kind makes sense

• You genuinely want physical gold at home for the long term, and you have cash to pay the tax.
• You need to take an RMD but do not want to sell at today's price (see RMDs with a gold IRA).
• You hold a qualified Roth IRA, so the distribution is generally tax-free either way.

It makes less sense if you plan to sell the coins soon after delivery. You would pay shipping and custodian fees and still face a dealer spread when you sell - better to sell inside the IRA.

Once coins leave the IRA, they are ordinary personal property, and the tax rules for physical gold outside a retirement account apply. This section is a general outline - confirm the details with a tax professional, because the IRS guidance on IRA in-kind distributions of metal is not spelled out in every detail.

Your cost basis

Under the general rules for in-kind distributions of property from an IRA, your cost basis in the coins is generally their fair market value on the date of distribution - the same value reported on your 1099-R and taxed (from a traditional IRA) as income. The idea is that you have already paid tax on that value, so you should not be taxed on it twice. Your holding period for later capital gains purposes generally starts on the distribution date. Keep the 1099-R and the custodian's valuation with your coins' records; you will need them when you sell.

The 28% collectibles rate

Physical gold held outside an IRA is treated by the IRS as a collectible. If you hold it for more than a year and sell at a gain, that long-term gain is taxed at your ordinary rate but capped at 28%, rather than the lower 0%/15%/20% long-term rates that apply to stocks. Short-term gains (held a year or less) are taxed at ordinary rates. CNBC has a clear explainer on why gold and silver face a 28% top rate, which also applies to grantor-trust gold ETFs such as GLD held in taxable accounts.

Worked example

You take 10 Gold Eagles in kind, valued at $41,700 ($4,170 each). Three years later you sell them to a dealer for $4,700 each, or $47,000.

• Basis: $41,700 (FMV at distribution)
• Gain: $47,000 - $41,700 = $5,300, long-term
• Maximum federal rate on that collectibles gain: 28%, or up to $1,484 ($5,300 × 0.28). If your ordinary rate is lower than 28%, the lower rate generally applies.

If the coins fall in value after distribution, you may have a capital loss when you sell. Either way, the gain or loss is measured from the distribution value, not from what the IRA originally paid.

For the full story on why "home storage" IRAs are different and risky, see can you store IRA gold at home?

Required minimum distributions are the most common reason gold IRA owners have to sell or withdraw. The rules are the same as for any traditional IRA, but metal makes them a little more awkward because you cannot sell a third of a coin. The IRS answers common questions on its RMD FAQs page.

When RMDs start

Your first RMD can generally be delayed until April 1 of the year after you reach your RMD age; every later RMD is due by December 31. Delaying the first one means taking two in the same year, which can raise your tax bill. Roth IRA owners have no lifetime RMDs.

How the amount is calculated

For most owners, the RMD is your IRA balance on December 31 of the previous year divided by a life-expectancy factor from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. (A different table applies if your spouse is your sole beneficiary and more than 10 years younger.) For a gold IRA, the balance is the custodian's year-end valuation of your metal plus any cash.

Example: you turn 73 in 2026 and your gold IRA was valued at $200,000 on December 31, 2025. The Uniform Lifetime factor at 73 is 26.5.

• RMD = $200,000 ÷ 26.5 = $7,547 (rounded from $7,547.17)
• At 75, with the same $200,000 balance and a factor of 24.6: $200,000 ÷ 24.6 = $8,130

Your three main options

The third option is often the cleanest. If you have a $200,000 gold IRA and a $400,000 brokerage IRA, you can calculate both RMDs and take the combined amount entirely from the brokerage IRA, leaving the gold untouched. The gold IRA still counts toward the total.

Matching coins to the RMD

Using the $7,547 RMD and a $4,170 spot price for illustration:

• Two 1 oz Eagles in kind: 2 × $4,170 = $8,340. That covers the RMD; the extra $793 is simply an additional distribution (taxable, and it does not count toward next year's RMD).
• One 1 oz coin plus three 1/4 oz coins: $4,170 + 3 × ($4,170 ÷ 4) = $4,170 + $3,127.50 = $7,297.50. That leaves $249.50 to take in cash.
• Silver: at about $57.70, 130 one-ounce Silver Eagles have a melt value of $7,501, leaving $46 to cover in cash.

(Custodian valuations for fractional coins and silver may differ from melt value; these are simplified.) Fractional coins usually carry higher premiums when you buy them, so holding a few for RMD flexibility has a cost.

Keep a cash cushion

Many custodians let you hold cash inside the gold IRA. Keeping one or two years of RMDs (plus the annual fee) in cash means you are never forced to sell metal in a hurry, in December, at whatever the price happens to be. Selling to build that cushion is not taxed - it stays inside the IRA.

Missing an RMD

The excise tax for a missed RMD is 25% of the shortfall, reduced to 10% if you correct it within the correction window. On a missed $7,547 RMD, that is about $1,887 at 25% or $755 at 10%. The IRS can also waive the tax for reasonable error if you correct it and request relief on Form 5329. Do not let a slow sale cause a missed RMD - start early.

For more detail, see gold IRA taxes and RMDs.

You do not have to sell everything. Many owners sell part of their gold to rebalance, take profits after a run-up or build an RMD cushion. Because selling inside the IRA is not taxed, partial sales are mainly a question of costs and paperwork.

Why people rebalance

Say you set out to keep 10% of your retirement savings in gold. After gold's 2025 rise of roughly 65%, a gold slice that started at 10% could easily have grown to 15% or more of your total, depending on how your other investments did. Rebalancing means selling some gold to bring it back to your target, usually moving the proceeds into other investments. It is a discipline that forces you to trim what has risen and add to what has lagged. It is not a forecast.

Worked example

Your total retirement savings are $800,000, of which $120,000 (15%) is in a gold IRA. Your target is 10%, or $80,000. To rebalance, you would sell about $40,000 of gold. At a bid of about $4,100 per 1 oz Eagle, that is about 10 coins ($41,000). The proceeds could stay in the gold IRA as cash, or be moved by direct transfer to a brokerage IRA and invested there.

Partial sale tips

• Sell whole products where possible. Equity Trust charges $10 per asset (max $30) to liquidate - selling only one product type keeps the fee low.
• Check whether a smaller balance changes your fee tier. Equity Trust's annual fee drops from $500 to $425 when the account value falls below $100,000, for example. That should not drive the decision, but it is worth knowing.
• Partial transfers can cost more than you expect. Equity Trust lists a partial termination fee of $100 per asset when moving part of an account out.

If the rebalancing reveals that gold is a smaller part of your plan than you want to pay specialist fees for, consider whether a gold ETF in an ordinary IRA would do the job more cheaply. We compare the two in gold IRA vs gold ETF.

2026 has been a reminder that gold can fall hard. According to Reuters, spot gold hit a record of about $5,595 per ounce intraday on January 29, 2026. By late June, the LBMA fix had fallen to about $3,994.50, roughly 29% below the peak. On October 19, 2026, spot was about $4,170 (Kitco).

From the June low to October 19, the price recovered about 4.4% ($4,170 ÷ $3,994.50 = 1.044). Anyone who sold at the June low would have missed that; anyone who sold in January would have avoided most of the fall. Nobody reliably knows which situation they are in at the time.

This is not new. Gold fell about 70% from January 1980 to August 1999 in nominal terms, and about 45% from 2011 to 2015. Our article on whether a gold IRA is a good investment covers that history.

Things to think about before selling into a fall (not advice)

• Do you need the money now? If not, selling inside the IRA and holding cash is not taxed - but neither is simply holding. The decision is about your plan, not about taxes.
• Is an RMD forcing the sale? If so, an in-kind distribution or taking the RMD from another IRA (aggregation) lets you meet the requirement without selling metal at a low price.
• Is your gold share now below your target? A fall can mean you are underweight, not overweight.
• Would selling in stages help you sleep? Some people sell a third at a time over a few months to avoid regretting a single date. It averages your price; it does not improve it on average.
• Is someone pressuring you? Falling markets bring sales calls urging you to "swap" into proof coins or other products "before it's too late". See exit scams.

None of this is a prediction. Gold could be higher or lower by the time you read this. A fee-only financial planner who does not sell metals can help you decide how much gold belongs in your plan.

If you have inherited a gold IRA, the exit rules depend mainly on whether you were the owner's spouse. This is one of the more complicated areas of IRA tax law, and the rules were reshaped by the SECURE Act and later IRS regulations, so please work through your own case with a tax professional. Publication 590-B has the official detail.

If you are the surviving spouse

A spouse generally has the most flexibility. The main choices are:

• Treat the IRA as your own or roll it into your own IRA. It then follows your own RMD age and rules. Withdrawals before you are 59½ would generally face the 10% additional tax unless an exception applies.
• Keep it as an inherited (beneficiary) IRA. Withdrawals are generally free of the 10% additional tax at any age, which can suit a younger spouse who needs income.

Either way, the metal can usually stay where it is - the custodian re-registers the account rather than selling anything.

If you are not the spouse

• No rollover into your own IRA. A non-spouse beneficiary cannot roll an inherited IRA into their own IRA. The only way to move it is a trustee-to-trustee transfer into an inherited IRA in your name as beneficiary.
• The 10-year rule. For most non-spouse beneficiaries of owners who died after 2019, the whole account must generally be emptied by the end of the 10th year after the year of death. If the owner had already started RMDs, annual distributions during those years may also be required. Check the current rules with a tax professional, because this area has changed several times.
• Eligible designated beneficiaries - such as a minor child of the owner, a disabled or chronically ill person, or someone not more than 10 years younger than the owner - may be able to stretch distributions over a longer period.

Taxes for beneficiaries

Distributions from an inherited traditional IRA are generally taxed as ordinary income, but the 10% additional tax does not apply to distributions after the owner's death. Distributions from an inherited Roth IRA are generally tax-free if the original owner's five-year period has been met, though the 10-year rule can still apply to when the money must come out.

Practical steps for heirs

1. Contact the custodian with a death certificate and ask for its beneficiary claim forms.
2. Get a current statement of exactly what metal is held and where.
3. If there are several beneficiaries, ask how the custodian splits metal - it may split by product and quantity, or sell and split cash.
4. Decide, with a tax professional, whether to sell inside the inherited IRA, take metal in kind, or spread distributions over several years to manage tax.
5. Get two or three dealer bids before selling, exactly as an owner would. Heirs are a frequent target of lowball offers.

Spreading withdrawals over the 10-year window, rather than taking everything in year one, can keep more of the inheritance in lower tax brackets. The best pattern depends on your income in each year.

Sometimes the real goal is not to cash out but to stop paying high fees. You have two main routes, and neither has to be taxed if done as a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer.

Route 1: Transfer the gold IRA to a cheaper self-directed custodian

The metal stays as metal. You open an account with the new custodian, sign its transfer request, and the new custodian requests the assets from the old one. The old custodian instructs the depository to re-register the metal to the new custodian (if both use the same depository) or ship it to the new custodian's depository.

• Tax: none for a direct transfer, and it does not count toward the once-per-12-months limit on 60-day IRA rollovers. Never take possession of the metal yourself in between.
• Costs: a termination fee at the old custodian - Equity Trust lists $250 for a full termination; Madison Trust lists $225; Kingdom Trust reportedly charges $300 - plus any in-kind transfer fee (Equity Trust: $50) and shipping if the metal changes depositories.
• Time: often several weeks, longer if metal moves between vaults.

Worked example: is a custodian switch worth it?

On a $100,000 gold IRA at Equity Trust, the published annual fee is $500 (the $100,000-$199,999 tier) plus $110 non-segregated storage: $610 a year. GoldStar Trust is reported by third-party sites to charge a $90 flat annual fee plus $125 commingled storage: $215 a year (reported, December 2025 figures; verify before relying on them).

• Yearly saving: $610 - $215 = $395
• One-time cost: $250 termination + $50 in-kind transfer = $300, plus any shipping
• Break-even: $300 ÷ $395 = about 0.8 years

Use our fee calculator with your own numbers, and compare options in our custodian guide.

Route 2: Sell the metal and move the cash to a regular IRA

Here you leave physical metal behind. The custodian sells your gold inside the IRA, then sends the cash by direct transfer to an ordinary IRA at a brokerage. There you could buy a gold ETF, index funds, bonds or anything else the brokerage offers. The process mirrors a gold IRA rollover in reverse: start the transfer from the receiving brokerage, and make sure the cash goes custodian-to-custodian, not to you.

Worked example: the same $100,000 account. Exit costs: a dealer spread of about 1-2% ($1,000-$2,000), a $10 liquidation fee, a $250 termination fee and a $30 wire - about $1,290 to $2,290 in total. If the cash then goes into a gold ETF with a 0.10% expense ratio (such as GLDM, per our research; verify current figures), the yearly cost is about $100 instead of $610 - a saving of about $510 a year, assuming the brokerage IRA itself has no account fee (many do not, but check). Break-even: $1,290 ÷ $510 = about 2.5 years; $2,290 ÷ $510 = about 4.5 years.

Inside an IRA, the 28% collectibles rate on gold ETFs does not matter - IRA distributions are taxed under IRA rules either way. The trade-off is ownership: an ETF tracks the gold price but you do not hold coins in a vault in your name. Our comparison of a gold IRA vs a gold ETF covers this in more depth, and the same logic applies to a silver IRA.

The exit is where some of the worst abuses in this industry happen. You are often older, sometimes under time pressure, and dealing with a company that already has your trust. Regulators have brought several cases involving retirement savers in precious metals.

Enforcement cases worth knowing

The CFTC, FINRA and NASAA publish a joint advisory, 10 Things to Ask Before Buying Physical Gold, Silver, or Other Metals, which is worth reading before any sale or swap too.

Red flags at exit

• A lowball bid with no explanation. If a dealer will not tell you its bid as a percentage of spot, get other quotes.
• Pressure to "swap" rather than sell. "Don't sell your Eagles - trade them for these rare coins, they'll do better." A swap into proof or "IRA-exclusive" coins can lock in a huge new markup. This was the pattern in several enforcement cases.
• Fear stories. Claims that the government will confiscate gold, that your custodian is about to fail, or that your coins are being "recalled" are classic pressure tactics. Check with your custodian directly, using the number on your statement.
• "Sell it to me directly - skip the custodian." IRA metal can only be sold through the custodian. Any offer to bypass it is a red flag.
• Requests to send metal to your home "for the sale". That would be a distribution. A real IRA sale goes depository to buyer.
• Urgency. "This price is only good for 10 minutes" is normal for a locked quote - but not when combined with pressure to buy something new.
• Unsolicited calls after a death. Heirs are targeted. Do not discuss an inherited account with anyone who calls you first.

No dealer is "IRS-approved" - the IRS approves custodians and sets metal standards, not sellers. Treat any claim otherwise as a warning sign. For the full list of warning signs, see our guide to gold IRA scams and red flags.

Print this and work through it before you sell, withdraw or move your account.

Before you decide

• Get your latest custodian statement and list every product and quantity.
• Decide which exit option you want: sell and keep cash in the IRA, sell and withdraw, take metal in kind, or transfer.
• If you are taking money out, ask a tax professional how much tax you will owe and whether to spread it across tax years.
• If you are under 59½, check whether the 10% additional tax applies or whether an exception fits (IRS Topic 557).
• If an RMD is due, calculate it (December 31 balance ÷ Uniform Lifetime factor) and consider taking it from another IRA instead.

Before you sell

• Get at least two or three bids, each as a percentage of spot, with all fees.
• Ask your custodian for its current liquidation, distribution, wire, in-kind and termination fees in writing.
• Confirm the buyer works with IRA custodians and how it collects from the depository.
• Refuse any pressure to swap into other products.

When you sell

• Lock the price and get a written trade confirmation.
• Check every line of the custodian direction form before signing.
• Choose your federal and state withholding if taking a distribution.
• Note the date and expected timeline; follow up if steps stall.

After you sell

• Confirm the cash on your custodian statement and that fees match what you were quoted.
• For a distribution, keep your Form 1099-R and give it to your tax preparer.
• For in-kind coins, keep the FMV valuation as your cost basis record.
• If you closed the account, confirm in writing that no further annual or storage fees will be billed.

Yes, usually. Most gold IRA companies say they will buy back metal from their customers, and some advertise no fee for doing so - American Hartford Gold describes a "buyback commitment", Goldco a "highest buyback" pledge, and Augusta Precious Metals advertises a no-fee lifetime buyback (all as reported). But none of these is a legal guarantee to buy at a set price; American Hartford Gold says it cannot legally guarantee repurchase. You are also free to sell to any other dealer that works with IRA custodians. Either way, the sale goes through your custodian, and comparing two or three bids is the best way to make sure you get a fair price.

As a rough guide, a sale of common bullion with the cash staying in the IRA often takes about one to two weeks, and a sale with a cash distribution to your bank about one to three weeks. Moving the account to another custodian can take several weeks. These are approximate planning ranges, not guarantees: the time depends on your custodian's processing, the depository, shipping or internal transfer, the buyer's payment speed and holidays. The price is normally locked on the day you agree the trade, so the waiting period does not usually change what you receive.

Not when you sell inside the IRA. Selling metal and keeping the cash in the account is not a taxable event. Tax applies when money or metal is distributed to you. From a traditional IRA, distributions are generally taxed as ordinary income, plus a 10% additional tax if you are under 59½ and no exception applies. Qualified Roth IRA distributions are generally tax-free. The 28% collectibles rate does not apply to IRA distributions; it applies to gold you own outside an IRA. See IRS Publication 590-B and ask a tax professional about your own situation.

Yes, through an in-kind distribution. The custodian ships the coins or bars to you and reports their fair market value on Form 1099-R. From a traditional IRA, that value is generally taxable as income (and possibly subject to the 10% additional tax before 59½), so you will need cash from elsewhere to pay the tax. Expect custodian fees - for example $50 for an in-kind distribution plus shipping at cost plus $10 at Equity Trust. Once the metal is out, your cost basis is generally its value at distribution, and later long-term gains can be taxed at up to 28% as collectibles. What you cannot do is keep IRA gold at home while it is still in the IRA.

The same way as with any traditional IRA. RMDs start at 73 if you were born from 1951 to 1959, or 75 if born in 1960 or later. Divide the account's December 31 value by your Uniform Lifetime Table factor - for example, $200,000 ÷ 26.5 = about $7,547 at age 73. You can sell enough metal and withdraw the cash, take coins in kind worth at least that amount, or take the RMD from another of your own IRAs using aggregation. A missed RMD faces a 25% excise tax, reduced to 10% if corrected in time. Roth IRA owners have no lifetime RMDs.

Generally a 10% additional tax on the taxable amount if you are under 59½, on top of ordinary income tax. On a $20,000 traditional IRA withdrawal at age 55 in a 22% bracket, that is about $2,000 plus $4,400, or $6,400 in federal tax. Exceptions include death, disability, substantially equal periodic payments, certain medical expenses, a first-time home purchase (up to $10,000), qualified education expenses and several others listed in IRS Tax Topic 557. Selling inside the IRA or moving it by direct transfer is never penalized, because nothing is distributed.

Getting out of a gold IRA is straightforward once you separate the decisions:

• Selling is not taxed; leaving the IRA is. You can sell, rebalance or move to another IRA by direct transfer without tax. Withdrawals from a traditional IRA are ordinary income, with a 10% additional tax before 59½ unless an exception applies.
• Your custodian executes; you choose the buyer. You are not obliged to sell back to the original dealer. Get two or three bids as a percentage of spot.
• The spread is the real cost. Common bullion like Gold Eagles typically sells back about 1-2% under spot, for a round trip of about 4-8%. Proof and "IRA-exclusive" coins can cost far more to exit.
• Custodian fees are small but add up on small sales. Equity Trust charges $10 per asset to liquidate (max $30), $100 per asset to distribute, $30 per wire and $250 to close.
• Plan RMDs ahead. Keep a cash cushion, consider in-kind or aggregation, and start well before December.
• Buyback promises are not guarantees, and exit-time pressure to swap into other coins is a red flag.

Before any large withdrawal, have a CPA, enrolled agent or fee-only adviser who does not sell metals look at your whole picture. If you are still choosing where to hold gold, our gold IRA company rankings compare buyback terms, fees and minimums side by side, and our gold IRA rules guide covers the regulations behind everything in this article.

This article is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Fees, minimums and promotions change often and vary by custodian and account size - confirm current terms in writing with the company and your custodian before you invest.