GoldStar Trust Company: Precious Metals IRA Fees and Depositories
According to its January 2026 fee schedule, GoldStar Trust Company lists a $50 establishment fee, $150 annual maintenance fee and $150 annual asset holding fee for a precious metals IRA, plus depository storage fees. It describes itself as a directed custodian and as a division of Centennial Bank.
GoldStar Trust Company is one of the firms that can hold a precious metals IRA for you. This page collects what the company itself publishes about fees, storage and its corporate setup, and what the IRS lists publicly. It is part of our Gold IRA Custodian Directory. It is not a rating, and it does not tell you whether to use this company.
Everything below was checked on 2026-10-13. Fee schedules and websites change, so confirm current terms with the company before you open an account.
Who is GoldStar Trust Company?
On its home page, the company calls itself a provider of self-directed IRA custodian, trustee and escrow or paying agent services. It says it is a "directed custodian" and that it does not give tax, legal or investment advice (GoldStar Trust Company). Its mailing address on the fee schedule is in Amarillo, Texas (fee schedule).
The site footer reads "a division of Centennial Bank." Home BancShares, Inc., the parent of Centennial Bank, describes it as a subsidiary in its annual report to the SEC. It calls GoldStar Trust Company its trust operating subsidiary, a "limited services trust company" focused on alternative asset custody, and says all accounts it manages are self-directed (Home BancShares Form 10-K, 2024). The two descriptions use different words ("division" and "subsidiary"). We did not find a source that explains the exact legal structure, so we do not state one.
The 10-K also says Home BancShares bought Happy Bancshares and merged Happy State Bank into Centennial Bank in 2022. GoldStar's fee schedule still refers to Happy State Bank as an affiliate that holds uninvested cash (see below).
What does a custodian do, and what does it not do?
A custodian holds the IRA and handles the paperwork. Under the tax code, an IRA trustee or custodian must be a bank, or another person who shows the IRS it can do the job (26 U.S.C. 408(a)(2)). For a precious metals IRA, the IRS says bullion is only excepted from the "collectibles" rules if it meets a fineness standard and a bank or approved non-bank trustee keeps physical possession of it (IRS). That is why you cannot keep IRA coins in a home safe. See our guide to how the custodian, dealer and depository fit together if the roles are new to you.
A directed custodian follows your instructions. GoldStar says it "does not approve, endorse, or recommend any investment or investment provider" (GoldStar). In plain terms:
- It does keep records, process transactions, report to the IRS and arrange storage.
- It does not check whether a dealer is honest, whether a price is fair, or whether a coin is a good fit for you.
- It does not give investment, tax or legal advice, by its own statement.
On its precious metals page, GoldStar also says it is "not affiliated with any precious metal dealers" and receives no compensation from investments in your account. That is the company's claim. We have not independently confirmed it.
Is GoldStar Trust Company on the IRS list of approved nonbank custodians?
We looked. The IRS publishes a list of nonbank trustees it has approved. The page was last reviewed June 28, 2026, says the IRS will "frequently update" the list, and links to a list dated April 1, 2026 (IRS). We read the PDF (Nonbank Trustees Approved as of April 1, 2026) and did not find an entry for GoldStar Trust Company, Centennial Bank, Happy State Bank or Home BancShares.
What this does and does not mean:
- It means only that the name does not appear on that list as of that date. A newer list may differ.
- The list covers nonbank trustees. GoldStar's own pages describe it as part of a bank, and they do not claim IRS nonbank approval. The home page does not explain how it qualifies, and we did not find a company explanation either way.
- We draw no legal conclusion. Whether and how any firm qualifies to serve as an IRA custodian is a legal question. If it matters to you, ask GoldStar to explain in writing and consider asking a tax attorney.
We did not find a charter or regulator statement on GoldStar's home page, and we did not confirm a bank regulator for Centennial Bank in this review, so we leave that out.
What does GoldStar charge for a precious metals IRA?
These are the amounts in GoldStar's fee schedule marked "GTC (Rev. 01/2026)," meaning a January 2026 revision (fee schedule).
| Fee (precious metals IRA) | Published amount |
|---|---|
| Establishment fee | $50 |
| Annual maintenance fee | $150 |
| Annual asset holding fee | $150 |
| Partial liquidation or re-registration fee | $50 |
| Shipping on liquidations and in-kind distributions | $10 plus shipping costs, may apply |
| Late fee | $50 per occurrence if a fee is unpaid 30 days after its due date |
| Annual commingled depository storage fee | $125 |
| Annual segregated depository storage fee | $225 minimum, no maximum |
The same schedule has a footnote of $1.80 per $1,000 of precious metals value above $125,000 (18 basis points). We could not tell from the text which fee it attaches to, so ask GoldStar how it applies to an account of your size.
Other terms from the fee schedule and the company's metals page (fee schedule; GoldStar):
- Annual maintenance, asset holding and depository storage fees are due when the account is established, then billed each year on the account anniversary. They are not prorated.
- If an account holds more than one type of asset, only one maintenance fee applies, based on the asset type with the higher fee (fee schedule).
- The fee schedule says revised fees become effective on the 30th day after the notice of revision is mailed. The metals page says maintenance and storage fees "may vary in the years to come according to changes in account value."
- Storage fees are assessed each year in the month the depository first received the metals.
Dealers charge their own markups and may charge other fees. Those are not on this schedule. For the full picture, read our guide to Gold IRA custodian fees.
An example of reading the schedule
Take the first year with no other charges: $50 to establish plus $150 maintenance plus $150 asset holding is $350 before storage, shipping and dealer costs. This is arithmetic from the published numbers, not a quote for any real account.
Which depositories does GoldStar say it supports?
The company's precious metals page lists these depositories (GoldStar):
| Depository | Location | Storage types it lists |
|---|---|---|
| Delaware Depository (Depository Trust Company of Delaware, LLC) | Wilmington, Delaware | Commingled for all metals; segregated for gold, platinum, palladium and 1,000 oz. silver bars |
| IDS (International Depository Services Group) | New Castle, Delaware and Dallas, Texas | Commingled and segregated for gold, silver, platinum, palladium |
| TPMD of Texas (Texas Precious Metals Depository) | Shiner, Texas | Segregated for gold, silver, platinum, palladium |
| AMGL of Nevada (A-M Global Logistics, LLC) | Las Vegas, Nevada | Commingled and segregated for gold, silver, platinum, palladium |
"Commingled" means your metal is stored together with other customers' metal of the same kind. "Segregated" means yours is kept apart. The page says the dealer you buy from usually decides which depository is used, and that "you can't hold them yourself while in the IRA or determine your own storage facility." It adds that IRA assets "must remain in the custody of the IRA custodian until distribution." Check current options with GoldStar, since this list is the company's own.
Which metals does GoldStar say it accepts?
The company says gold, silver, platinum and palladium bullion and coins are eligible, with minimum fineness of .9950 for gold, .9990 for silver, and .9995 for platinum and palladium. It says rare or collectible coins, including certified or "graded" coins, are not acceptable (GoldStar). These are the company's stated standards. For the IRS's own wording on bullion, see its page on collectibles.
Is my money insured?
GoldStar says its investment products are not FDIC insured and that only uninvested cash, up to $250,000, is insured by the FDIC (GoldStar). The fee schedule says uninvested cash is deposited in an omnibus demand deposit account maintained by Happy State Bank, which it calls a division of Centennial Bank and an affiliate of GoldStar. Metals can lose value, and FDIC insurance does not cover that.
What should I ask before opening an account?
These are general questions, not advice:
- Can you give me the current fee schedule and its revision date in writing?
- What is the depository storage fee at each depository you support, and how is it set?
- Which fee does the 18 basis point charge above $125,000 apply to?
- How do you qualify to serve as an IRA custodian, and in whose name is the account held?
- Who decides the depository, and can I ask for segregated storage?
- What are the steps and fees to sell, take an in-kind distribution, or move to another custodian?
- Do you have any relationship with the dealer I am considering?
For other profiles, compare with STRATA Trust Company and Kingdom Trust. Compare each firm's own current documents, not this page alone.
What we did not check
We did not use BBB, FINRA BrokerCheck or SEC company searches for this page, and we did not review court records or regulator complaint databases. Their absence here says nothing about GoldStar. This page is general information, not tax, legal or investment advice. A tax professional can tell you how these rules apply to you.
Sources
- Fee Schedule (GTC Rev. 01/2026), GoldStar Trust Company. Accessed Invalid Date.
- Precious Metals (self-directed IRAs), GoldStar Trust Company. Accessed Invalid Date.
- Precious Metals IRA, GoldStar Trust Company. Accessed Invalid Date.
- GoldStar Trust Company home page, GoldStar Trust Company. Accessed Invalid Date.
- Home BancShares, Inc. Form 10-K for fiscal year 2024, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR). Accessed Invalid Date.
- Approved nonbank trustees and custodians, Internal Revenue Service. Accessed Invalid Date.
- Nonbank Trustees Approved as of April 1, 2026, Internal Revenue Service. Accessed Invalid Date.
- Investments in collectibles in individually-directed qualified plan accounts, Internal Revenue Service. Accessed Invalid Date.
- 26 U.S. Code 408 - Individual retirement accounts, Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Accessed Invalid Date.
This guide is general education, not personalized financial, tax or legal advice. See our financial disclaimer, editorial policy and advertising disclosure.