Gold IRA glossary

Short definitions of the terms you'll meet in IRA paperwork, dealer quotes and IRS publications.

Accounts
Parties
Rules
Movements
Distributions
Inheritance
Tax
Metals
Pricing
Markets
Storage
Fees
Risk
Fraud
Law

Accounts

IRA: Individual retirement arrangement governed mainly by IRC 408 and 408A. Read the full guide
Traditional IRA: IRA whose contributions may be deductible and whose distributions are generally taxable. Read the full guide
Roth IRA: IRA funded with after-tax dollars; qualified distributions are tax-free. Read the full guide
SEP IRA: Simplified Employee Pension IRA funded by employer contributions.
SIMPLE IRA: Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees IRA for small employers.
Self-directed IRA (SDIRA): IRA held at a custodian that permits alternative assets chosen by the owner. Read the full guide
Gold IRA: Self-directed IRA holding eligible physical gold through a custodian and depository. Read the full guide
Precious metals IRA: Self-directed IRA holding eligible gold, silver, platinum and/or palladium. Read the full guide
Silver IRA: Precious metals IRA focused on eligible silver. Read the full guide
Checkbook IRA: Self-directed IRA that owns an LLC managed by the IRA owner.
Solo 401(k): 401(k) plan for a business owner with no employees other than a spouse.
Inherited IRA: IRA held by a beneficiary after the original owner's death. Read the full guide
Designated Roth account: Roth contribution source inside a 401(k), 403(b) or governmental 457(b).

Parties

Custodian: Bank or IRS-approved non-bank trustee that holds IRA assets and files IRS reports. Read the full guide
Trustee: Fiduciary that holds IRA assets; often used interchangeably with custodian. Read the full guide
Non-bank trustee: Entity approved by the IRS under Treas. Reg. 1.408-2(e) to serve as an IRA trustee.
IRA administrator: Service firm that handles IRA paperwork on behalf of a custodian; may not hold assets. Read the full guide
Depository: Secure vault that stores IRA metals under custodian instruction. Read the full guide
Precious metals dealer: Firm that sells metals to and buys metals from IRAs and individuals.
Facilitator: Company that arranges Gold IRA setup and sells the metal; usually the dealer. Read the full guide

Rules

Disqualified person: Owner, certain relatives, fiduciaries and related entities barred from dealing with the IRA.
Prohibited transaction: Transaction between an IRA and a disqualified person barred by IRC 4975.
Self-dealing: Using IRA assets for personal benefit - a type of prohibited transaction.
Collectible: Item whose purchase by an IRA is treated as a distribution under IRC 408(m). Read the full guide
Deemed distribution: Event the tax code treats as a withdrawal even though no cash left the IRA. Read the full guide
Contribution limit: Annual maximum for IRA contributions ($7,500 for 2026; $1,100 catch-up at 50+). Read the full guide
Catch-up contribution: Extra contribution allowed for people age 50 or older. Read the full guide
Excess contribution: Contribution above the allowed limit, subject to an additional tax until corrected.
Earned income (compensation): Taxable work income that determines eligibility to contribute to an IRA. Read the full guide

Movements

Rollover: Moving a distribution into another eligible retirement account. Read the full guide
Direct rollover: Rollover where the plan pays the receiving IRA directly.
Indirect rollover: Rollover where funds are paid to the owner and redeposited within 60 days.
60-day rule: Deadline to complete an indirect rollover.
One-rollover-per-year rule: Limit of one IRA-to-IRA indirect rollover in any 12-month period.
Mandatory withholding (20%): Federal withholding generally required on eligible rollover distributions paid to a plan participant.
Transfer: Trustee-to-trustee movement between IRAs; not a distribution. Read the full guide
Trustee-to-trustee transfer: Direct transfer between IRA trustees/custodians. Read the full guide
In-kind transfer: Moving the metal itself (not cash) between custodians or depositories.
In-service distribution: Withdrawal from an employer plan while still employed, if the plan allows.
Roth conversion: Moving Traditional IRA assets to a Roth IRA, generally taxable.

Distributions

Distribution: Any payment or transfer of assets out of an IRA to the owner. Read the full guide
In-kind distribution: Distribution of metal itself, taxed at fair market value. Read the full guide
Early distribution: Distribution before age 59 1/2, possibly subject to a 10% additional tax.
10% additional tax: Extra tax on early distributions under IRC 72(t) unless an exception applies.
Substantially equal periodic payments (SEPP): 72(t) exception using a fixed payment schedule.
Required minimum distribution (RMD): Annual minimum withdrawal from traditional IRAs beginning at the applicable age. Read the full guide
Required beginning date: Deadline for the first RMD. Read the full guide
Uniform Lifetime Table: IRS table used to compute most owners' RMDs. Read the full guide
RMD aggregation: Ability to take the total RMD for multiple traditional IRAs from any of them. Read the full guide
Qualified distribution (Roth): Tax-free Roth distribution meeting age/5-year requirements. Read the full guide
Five-year rule (Roth): Holding requirement for tax-free Roth earnings. Read the full guide
Qualified charitable distribution (QCD): Direct IRA payment to charity by eligible owners.

Inheritance

Beneficiary: Person or entity designated to inherit an IRA.
Eligible designated beneficiary: Beneficiary class (e.g., spouse, minor child, disabled) exempt from the standard 10-year rule.
10-year rule: Requirement for many beneficiaries to empty an inherited IRA by the end of the 10th year.
Spousal rollover: Surviving spouse treating an inherited IRA as their own.
Per stirpes: Beneficiary designation passing a deceased beneficiary's share to their descendants.

Tax

Tax-deferred: Taxes postponed until withdrawal. Read the full guide
Ordinary income: Income taxed at regular rates - how traditional IRA distributions are taxed. Read the full guide
Collectibles tax rate: Maximum 28% rate on long-term gains from collectibles, including physical gold held outside an IRA.
Cost basis: Tax basis of an asset; for in-kind distributions generally the value included in income. Read the full guide
Fair market value (FMV): Value used for IRA reporting, conversions and distributions.
Form 5498: Custodian report of contributions, rollovers and year-end FMV.
Form 1099-R: Report of IRA distributions, including in-kind and deemed distributions.
Form 8606: Form tracking nondeductible contributions and Roth conversions.
Form 5329: Form reporting additional taxes on IRAs.
Distribution code: Code on Form 1099-R describing the type of distribution.

Metals

Bullion: Precious metal valued mainly for weight and purity. Read the full guide
Numismatic coin: Coin valued for rarity, age or condition above metal value. Read the full guide
Semi-numismatic coin: Marketing term for coins priced above bullion for supposed collector value.
Proof coin: Specially struck coin with mirror finish sold at a collector premium.
Graded coin: Coin certified and slabbed by a grading service (e.g., PCGS, NGC). Read the full guide
Fineness: Purity expressed in parts per thousand (e.g., .9999).
Purity: Proportion of pure metal in a product.
Karat: Gold purity scale in 24ths (24k ~ pure; 22k ~ .9167).
Troy ounce: Precious-metals weight unit of about 31.1 grams.
Assay: Test establishing a metal's purity and weight.
Assay card / certificate: Refiner documentation packaged with some bars.
Refiner: Company that produces bars from refined metal.
Accredited refiner: Refiner on an exchange or LBMA approved list.
Good Delivery: LBMA standard for large bars traded in the London market.
Sovereign coin: Coin issued by a national government mint.
Legal tender: Face value a sovereign coin carries; unrelated to metal value.

Pricing

Spot price: Reference price for raw metal for immediate delivery.
Premium: Amount above spot charged for a product. Read the full guide
Markup: Dealer margin over its cost, often embedded in the premium. Read the full guide
Spread: Difference between the price to buy and the price to sell. Read the full guide
Bid price: Price a dealer will pay to buy metal.
Ask price: Price a dealer charges to sell metal. Read the full guide
Buyback: Dealer repurchase of metal; price is set at the time of sale.
Melt value: Value of a product's metal content at spot. Read the full guide

Markets

Futures contract: Exchange-traded agreement to buy/sell a commodity at a future date.
COMEX: CME Group exchange for metals futures.
LBMA Gold Price: Twice-daily London benchmark for gold.
Gold-to-silver ratio: Ounces of silver equal in value to one ounce of gold.
Paper gold: Financial exposure to gold without holding specific physical metal.
Gold ETF: Exchange-traded product holding or tracking gold. Read the full guide
Real interest rate: Nominal rate minus inflation; often discussed as a gold price driver.
Safe-haven asset: Asset expected to hold value in crises; claim requires evidence.

Storage

Segregated storage: Your specific items stored separately and returned exactly.
Commingled storage: Like-kind metals pooled; equivalent items returned.
Allocated storage: Specific metal allocated to the owner (definitions vary).
Unallocated storage: Claim on pooled metal rather than specific items.
Home storage IRA: Marketed arrangement to keep IRA metals at home; treated as a distribution in McNulty. Read the full guide

Fees

Setup fee: One-time custodian account-opening fee.
Annual administration fee: Yearly custodian fee for maintaining the IRA.
Storage fee: Depository charge for vaulting metals.
Flat fee: Fee that does not change with account value.
Scaled (value-based) fee: Fee that rises with account value.
Termination fee: Charge for closing or transferring out an IRA.
Minimum investment: Smallest purchase a dealer accepts.
Total cost of ownership: All costs over the holding period including spreads.
Break-even price: Metal price needed to recover costs. Read the full guide

Risk

Counterparty risk: Risk that a firm you rely on fails to perform.
Liquidity risk: Risk of not converting to cash quickly at a fair price.
Concentration risk: Risk from holding too much in one asset.
Opportunity cost: Return foregone by choosing one investment over another. Read the full guide

Fraud

Affinity fraud: Fraud exploiting trust within a group. Read the full guide
High-pressure sales: Urgency- or fear-based selling tactics. Read the full guide
Bait-and-switch: Advertising one product and pushing a costlier one.
Leveraged metals transaction: Financed metal purchase requiring margin.

Law

SECURE Act: 2019 law changing RMD ages and inherited IRA rules.
SECURE 2.0: 2022 law further changing RMD ages, catch-ups and penalties.
IRC 408(m): Tax code section on collectibles in IRAs. Read the full guide
IRC 4975: Tax code section on prohibited transactions.
IRC 72(t): Tax code section on early distributions.
Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997: Law that expanded the IRA bullion exception. Read the full guide