Home Storage Gold IRA

Keeping your gold IRAs in your bank safety-deposit box or at home sound like a great idea right? Best of both worlds. You can hold your gold anytime you want, and it’s all tax free…right?

You are securing your own retirement, taking it into you own hands, literally.

Here is the problem: it’s a misguided sham.  Our thoughts on Self Storage Gold IRA’s is simple: don’t try this at home.

A Wall Street Journal story clearly emphasizes our point: the IRS does not approve of home storage precious metals IRA accounts.

Back in 1971, Richard Nixon restored the right for US citizens to own gold after abandoning the gold standard.

Nixon, After banning Krugerrands in response to Apartheid in the 80’s, authorized American Eagle Gold Coins. It was the 40th U.S. president who, for different reasons, authorized American Eagle Silver Coins.

Bill Clinton, signed the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, which permitted the investment in ‘certain bullion’ in ones IRA.

This was a big deal – gold, and other precious metals that met certain IRS standards could be held in an IRA for you, in the custody of a federally approved depository.

When it’s time to withdraw, the account owner may sell their IRA precious metals stash for cash or physically take them home. Either option is the legal way for an IRA disbursement and taxed as such. There are penalties for early withdrawal.

The self storage Gold IRA proponents have been utilizing complex financial trickery to allegedly allow precious metals owners to oversee and store their IRA gold and silver out of sight from a government approved depository.

Consequently, the IRS “warns taxpayers to be wary of anyone claiming that precious metals held in your IRA can be stored at home or in a safe-deposit box,” according to the Journal.

However, pushers of the home storage Gold IRAs say that it’s legal for IRA owners to hold gold in a bank deposit box or at home if they are the owners/managers of a LLC  (limited-liability company) that uses the funds from an IRA to purchase precious metals.

Their attorneys say this setup grants an IRA owners the right to store coins owned by the LLC at home. However, bullion, would still have to store it in an LLC-owned safety-deposit box.

Is a Home Storage Gold IRA Legit?

Sound legit?  We don’t think so…this puts honest investors at risk of IRS tax penalties — or worse.

Unfortunately, advocates of this workaround have been charging large fees to set up these LLC’s. The gold companies advertising self storage of IRA Gold have been wise enough to always include the disclaimer that ‘they don’t provide legal advice’..which absolves them of any responsibility regarding IRS regulations.

A tax-deferred IRA backed by physical Gold and Silver must be managed by an approved third-party IRA custodian, that’s the law. We highly recommend that investors consult with a trusted gold IRA specialist before deciding how to proceed with precious metals.

An expert will guide investors about how to transfer their funds from their current IRA into a self directed IRA, which can include Gold and Silver. A specialist will help investors choose their metals, and suggest a preferred IRS certified depository.

Owning precious metals in a Gold IRA out of sight of the tax man sounds like a good idea… however, we believe it could end in harm to your retirement savings.