How Much Does a Gold IRA Cost? The Fees, Itemized

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TL;DR: A gold IRA’s real cost is set almost entirely by the custodian and the depository, not by the dealer’s markup on the coins or bars. Expect four categories of charges: a one-time setup fee, an annual custodian or administration fee, an annual storage fee that differs depending on whether the metal is held segregated or commingled, and smaller per-transaction charges. STRATA Trust Company, one of the few custodians that publishes its own fee schedule, lists a $50 setup charge waived for electronic applications, a $150 annual IRA fee, and storage priced at $115 commingled versus $175 segregated, effective September 1, 2026. Those figures are one documented example, not an industry average, and every custodian sets its own schedule.

What Actually Drives the Cost of a Gold IRA

The custodian and the depository set the recurring cost of a gold IRA, not the dealer’s markup on the metal. Because the law requires an IRA to run through an approved trustee and a third-party depository, both charge annual fees that a plain bullion purchase never incurs.

A gold IRA cannot work the way a taxable bullion purchase does, and that structural difference is where the real cost comes from. Under IRC § 408(a), an IRA’s trustee must be a bank or a person the IRS has approved to administer the trust in a manner consistent with the statute. A nonbank entity has to separately qualify as an approved nonbank custodian under Treasury Regulation § 1.408-2(e) before it can hold IRA assets at all. That requirement is why a gold IRA carries ongoing costs a normal bullion purchase does not. The account needs a custodian to administer it and a third-party depository to hold the metal, and both charge their own fees every year, independent of whatever the dealer charged for the coins or bars in the first place.

The dealer’s premium over spot price is a one-time cost, paid once at purchase. The custodian’s and the depository’s fees are recurring, charged annually for as long as the account stays open. Held over several years, the recurring administration and storage fees do more to determine total cost than the initial purchase premium does. That is the part of the pricing picture that dealer marketing tends to leave out, and it is also the part a buyer can actually shop and compare, since it shows up on a fee schedule rather than buried in a spot-price markup.

The Four Fee Categories Every Gold IRA Carries

Every gold IRA’s cost sorts into four categories: setup, annual administration, annual storage, and per-transaction charges. The first is a one-time account setup or establishment fee, charged when the IRA is opened and often waived for accounts opened electronically. The second is an annual custodian or administration fee, covering recordkeeping, IRS reporting, and the custodian’s fiduciary role as trustee of the account. The third is an annual storage fee, charged by or passed through from the depository that physically holds the metal, and it is priced differently depending on whether the storage is segregated or commingled. The fourth is a set of transaction fees, which cover the mechanics of moving metal in and out of the account: purchases, sales, exchanges between metals, depository handling, shipping, and outgoing wires.

None of the four categories is negotiable with the dealer that sold the coins or bars. They are set by the custodian and, in the case of storage, by the depository the custodian works with. A buyer comparing two gold IRA setups is really comparing two custodian fee schedules, not two dealers.

Segregated vs Commingled Storage: What the Extra Fee Buys

Segregated storage costs more because the vault returns the exact bars or coins deposited, while commingled storage pools fungible metal of the same type and grade. Delaware Depository, one of the depositories used in the industry, describes the distinction on its own site in these terms: with segregated storage, bullion is “inspected, packaged, labeled, and stored in high-security vaults, physically separate and apart from the bullion of other customers.” With non-segregated, or commingled, storage, “fungible bullion products which, by nature, are commercially interchangeable, are inspected and stored in high-security vaults” without that same physical separation.

The practical difference shows up at withdrawal. Segregated storage guarantees the account holder gets back the identical serial-numbered bars or the identical coins deposited. Commingled storage guarantees an equivalent quantity and grade of metal, drawn from a shared pool, which is cheaper to operate and therefore cheaper to store. Neither arrangement changes the tax treatment of the account. The choice is a cost-versus-specificity trade-off, not a safety trade-off, since both forms of storage sit with an IRS-approved custodian at an insured, licensed depository.

A Documented Example: STRATA Trust Company’s Published Fee Schedule

STRATA Trust Company is one of the few gold IRA custodians that publishes concrete fee numbers directly on its own site, and its schedule is a useful illustration of what the four fee categories look like in dollar terms.

According to STRATA’s own published fee schedule, with fee changes stated as effective September 1, 2026, the Precious Metals Tier lists an annual IRA fee of $150, annual storage of $115 for commingled or $175 for segregated, and an account setup fee of $50 that is waived for electronic applications. Transaction charges include $40 for a purchase, sale, or exchange, $35 for depository handling or processing, $10 plus depository cost for precious metals shipping, $35 for an outgoing wire, and $250 for account closure or reinstatement.

STRATA describes itself on the same page as “a directed custodian” that does “not provide investment advice or endorse investments.” On its investment-options page, STRATA states that IRA-owned precious metals cannot be held by the account owner and that it works with Delaware Depository and Texas Precious Metals Depository for physical storage. These numbers describe STRATA’s own schedule as of the date checked. They are presented here as one documented, sourced example of what a gold IRA fee structure looks like, not as a universal price that applies to every custodian.

Why Costs Vary by Custodian, and Why Comparing Them Is Hard

Fee transparency across the custodian and depository industry is uneven, which is exactly why the STRATA numbers above should be read as one example rather than a benchmark for every provider.

Depositories describe their storage services in detail on their own sites without necessarily publishing the rate itself. Delaware Depository explains segregated and non-segregated storage in the passage quoted above and publishes its own storage rates in a separate account-agreement document rather than on that services page. Brink’s and International Depository Services, by contrast, describe comparable segregated and commingled offerings on their own sites without posting a rate card at all.

A buyer’s practical takeaway is to request the actual current fee schedule directly from whichever custodian is under consideration, rather than relying on a figure quoted by a dealer or an aggregator site. Custodian fee schedules also change over time, as STRATA’s own September 2026 effective date shows, so a number that was accurate a year ago may no longer be current.

The Tax Cost of Holding Gold Outside an IRA

Gold held outside a retirement account faces a separate cost that has nothing to do with custodian or storage fees: a maximum 28 percent federal tax rate on long-term collectibles gains.

Under IRC § 1(h), gain from the sale of a collectible held more than one year is taxed as “collectibles gain,” and the IRS’s own Topic No. 409 states plainly that “net capital gains from selling collectibles (such as coins or art) are taxed at a maximum 28% rate.” That is a ceiling on the federal rate, not an add-on to the ordinary long-term capital gains rate, and it applies regardless of what a buyer paid in dealer premiums or storage fees along the way.

Inside a properly structured gold IRA, that 28 percent collectibles rate does not apply. Distributions from a traditional gold IRA are instead taxed as ordinary income when withdrawn, under the account’s normal IRA distribution rules. The trade-off is the setup, administration, storage, and transaction fees covered above, paid year after year in exchange for the account’s tax treatment and IRS-compliant custody. Weighing that trade-off against a taxable bullion purchase held personally is a decision that depends on an individual’s time horizon, tax bracket, and overall plan, and it is worth working through with a financial or tax professional before acting on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a gold IRA cost per year? The annual cost is the custodian’s administration fee plus the depository’s storage fee, and it varies by custodian. STRATA Trust’s own published schedule lists a combined $265 a year for the commingled option ($150 annual IRA fee plus $115 storage) or $325 a year for segregated storage ($150 plus $175), on top of any transaction fees incurred that year. Other custodians set their own numbers, which is why the current schedule should be pulled directly from whichever custodian is being used.

What is the difference between segregated and commingled storage? Segregated storage keeps an account holder’s specific bars or coins physically apart from other customers’ metal and returns those exact items on withdrawal. Commingled storage pools fungible metal of the same type and grade together and returns an equivalent quantity, and it costs less because it is cheaper for the depository to operate.

Does the dealer set the ongoing fees on a gold IRA? No. The dealer’s charge is a one-time premium over spot price, paid at purchase. The recurring setup, administration, storage, and transaction fees are set by the custodian that administers the IRA and by the depository that holds the metal, not by the dealer that sold it.

Are STRATA Trust’s fees the same at every custodian? No. STRATA’s schedule is documented as one real example from a custodian that publishes its own numbers. Other custodians set independent fee schedules that were not independently confirmed from their own published pages in this research, so a specific number quoted elsewhere should be checked against that custodian’s current, official schedule before it is relied on.

Disclosure

This article is educational and does not endorse or recommend any specific custodian, depository, or dealer. Fee figures cited above are drawn from the named source’s own published schedule as of the access date noted and are subject to change. Always confirm current fees directly with the custodian before opening or funding an account, and consult your own financial and tax professionals before making a decision.