1. Custodian and purity requirements

A Gold IRA must be self-directed and administered by an approved custodian — you can’t set one up through a standard brokerage. Under IRC §408(m)(3), the gold itself must be at least 99.5% pure, with a specific carve-out allowing American Eagle coins despite being slightly below that threshold. Collectible or numismatic coins generally don’t qualify.

2. Storage, fees, and distributions

The metal must sit at a qualified depository under the custodian’s arrangement, not in a home safe or personal deposit box — doing otherwise counts as a taxable distribution. Expect a setup fee, an annual custodian fee, and a separate storage fee, on top of whatever markup the dealer charges over spot price; ask for all four in writing before funding the account. Once you turn 73, required minimum distributions apply the same way they would to any Traditional IRA, which can mean selling metal or paying the RMD in cash from elsewhere.