IRA-Eligible
IRA-eligible metals meet IRS fineness minimums and are held by an approved depository. Gold .995, silver .999, platinum and palladium .9995.
Educational information only. This is not tax or legal advice. Texas Bullion Exchange does not provide tax or legal advice — talk to your own tax professional about your situation.
IRA-eligible describes a precious metals product that meets the Internal Revenue Code requirements for being held inside an individual retirement account. Two things have to be true: the metal has to meet a minimum purity, and the physical coins or bars have to be held by an approved depository rather than by the account owner.
The fineness minimums are gold .995, silver .999, platinum .9995, and palladium .9995. Most modern US Mint bullion clears these thresholds. The American Silver Eagle is .999 fine and the American Gold Buffalo is .9999 fine, so both qualify on purity.
There is one important exception. The American Gold Eagle is .9167 fine, below the .995 gold minimum, but it is admitted to IRAs by a specific statutory carve-out. It is the best known case where the purity rule alone gives the wrong answer.
Collectibles are excluded from retirement accounts, which is why rare and numismatic coins generally do not belong in an IRA even when the metal itself would qualify. Storage is also not optional; metals kept at home do not satisfy the custody requirement.
Confirm eligibility and storage arrangements for your own account with your custodian and your own tax professional. Call 855-344-2646 to reach a Texas Bullion Exchange IRA specialist for the product side of the question.