How to Buy Gold and Other Metals With a Self-Directed IRA
Evidence of the modern day gold rush is all around - everything from Super Bowl commercials to famous financial advisors telling Americans to buy gold. But with the unemployment rate growing and many people tightening their budgets, how can the average American invest in anything? Bill Humphrey, co-owner of Entrust New Direction, a self-directed IRA custodian, has an answer. "Anyone can use their retirement funds to buy gold and other precious metals, if they have a self-directed retirement plan." Humphrey said the most common follow-up question is - what kind of gold and what other metals?
Boulder, CO (PRWEB) March 22, 2009 -- With so many coins and metal choices out there in the market, choosing a retirement investment can be confusing. Which metals and which types of metals are acceptable for an IRA investment? Does the IRA owner store the metal personally? How can a self-directed IRA owner tell if the gold in question is approved by the IRS? Bill Humphrey, a CPA who has worked with self-directed IRA owners for years, can help answer these questions.
First, the basics. Self-directed IRAs can only invest in Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium. Humphrey said, "The key word here is invest. IRAs cannot buy collectibles." In other words, the IRA is only investing in the metal itself, not rare or attractive coins. "As long as the metal is not collectible," Humphrey continued, "the main thing to worry about is the purity." The purity or fineness of the metal is how the quality of the metal will be measured for the IRA.
"Also, the metal must be in a certain form - usually coins or bars," Humphrey said. When most people hear about gold investment, they picture the 400 ounce gold bars commonly seen in movies. Extraordinarily heavy (about 25 pounds), those bars are also quite the expensive items, particularly with the recent price increases in gold. IRAs are often priced out of the gold bar market, but, fortunately, other options exist. One other option is smaller units of bullion, provided they meet the fineness, or purity level requirement. Another option is coins.
Humphrey said that initially, the IRS deemed all coins to be collectible and disallowed IRA investments in coins. In the mid 1990's, after realizing that a 400 ounce gold bullion bar would be prohibitively expensive for most IRAs, Congress revised the rules for IRAs and allowed certain coins in addition to bullion.
Humphrey laid out a list coin categories that the IRS generally allows . . .
Full story at: Link
Boulder, CO (PRWEB) March 22, 2009 -- With so many coins and metal choices out there in the market, choosing a retirement investment can be confusing. Which metals and which types of metals are acceptable for an IRA investment? Does the IRA owner store the metal personally? How can a self-directed IRA owner tell if the gold in question is approved by the IRS? Bill Humphrey, a CPA who has worked with self-directed IRA owners for years, can help answer these questions.
First, the basics. Self-directed IRAs can only invest in Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium. Humphrey said, "The key word here is invest. IRAs cannot buy collectibles." In other words, the IRA is only investing in the metal itself, not rare or attractive coins. "As long as the metal is not collectible," Humphrey continued, "the main thing to worry about is the purity." The purity or fineness of the metal is how the quality of the metal will be measured for the IRA.
"Also, the metal must be in a certain form - usually coins or bars," Humphrey said. When most people hear about gold investment, they picture the 400 ounce gold bars commonly seen in movies. Extraordinarily heavy (about 25 pounds), those bars are also quite the expensive items, particularly with the recent price increases in gold. IRAs are often priced out of the gold bar market, but, fortunately, other options exist. One other option is smaller units of bullion, provided they meet the fineness, or purity level requirement. Another option is coins.
Humphrey said that initially, the IRS deemed all coins to be collectible and disallowed IRA investments in coins. In the mid 1990's, after realizing that a 400 ounce gold bullion bar would be prohibitively expensive for most IRAs, Congress revised the rules for IRAs and allowed certain coins in addition to bullion.
Humphrey laid out a list coin categories that the IRS generally allows . . .
Full story at: Link
posted by A.C. Dwyer at 11:39 PM
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