401(k) to Gold IRA Rollover: How It Works and What It Costs

Key points

• You can move money from a 401(k), 403(b), 457(b) or the federal Thrift Savings Plan into a self-directed IRA that holds physical gold. This is a rollover.
• Ask for a direct rollover. The money goes straight from your old plan to the new IRA custodian. No tax is withheld, and you owe no tax on the move.
• If the plan pays you instead, it must withhold 20%, and you have 60 days to put the full amount into the new IRA, including the 20% from your own pocket.
• Rollovers don’t count toward the yearly IRA contribution limit.
• From age 73 you generally must take required minimum distributions from a traditional gold IRA. Plan for that before you buy coins.
• You usually can’t roll over a 401(k) from a job you still have. Check your plan’s rules.

Before you start

A rollover is easy to undo on paper and hard to undo in practice. Once the money becomes coins, getting back out costs you the dealer’s spread and the account fees you’ve already paid.

Three facts to weigh first. Whether a rollover fits your situation is a question for you and, if you want one, a licensed adviser; we don’t give personal advice.

1. It holds one kind of asset. A gold IRA holds only physical metal. It pays no interest or dividends. It can fall for years: gold was $850 an ounce in January 1980 and didn’t pass that level again until January 2008, according to Reuters.
2. It has flat yearly fees. A gold IRA typically costs about $235 to $285 a year after setup. On $25,000, that is close to 1% a year. See gold IRA fees or run the calculator.
3. Getting in and out costs money. If you might need the money within a few years, the spread you pay on the way in and out can be larger than any change in price over that time.

Company minimums also matter: Birch Gold Group starts at $5,000, Goldco at $25,000 and Augusta Precious Metals at $50,000.

If you still want to go ahead, here is how to do it without tax surprises.

IRS limits that matter for 2026

These are the 2026 figures from IRS news release IR-2025-111 and Notice 2025-67.

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Rollovers are not contributions. The IRS says the IRA contribution limit does not apply to rollover contributions. You can roll over $300,000 from a 401(k) in one go. The $7,500 limit only applies to new money you add each year.

Direct rollover vs. 60-day rollover

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Why the 20% matters. Say your 401(k) pays you $100,000. The plan must withhold $20,000 and send you $80,000. To avoid tax, you have to deposit the full $100,000 into the IRA within 60 days, so you must find $20,000 from elsewhere. You get the withheld $20,000 back as a tax credit when you file. If you only deposit $80,000, the missing $20,000 counts as a taxable distribution.

The IRS describes a plan check made payable to the new IRA (rather than to you) as a direct rollover with no withholding.

Moving an existing IRA: transfer, not rollover

If your money is already in an IRA at a bank or brokerage, ask for a trustee-to-trustee transfer. The old custodian sends the money to the new one. It isn’t counted as a rollover, so the IRS’s one-rollover-per-12-months rule doesn’t apply, and nothing is withheld.

If an IRA pays the money to you instead, it withholds 10% unless you opt out, and the 60-day clock and the once-a-year limit both apply.

Before choosing a company, compare first with Augusta’s free company checklist (affiliate link). Augusta’s minimum is $50,000; Goldco ($25,000) and Birch Gold Group ($5,000) accept smaller accounts. A representative usually calls after you request it.

Step by step

1. Check your plan. Call your 401(k) or 403(b) administrator. Ask whether you can take a distribution now (usually you can after leaving the job), what forms they need, and whether they send funds by check or wire.
2. Pick a dealer and a custodian. The dealer sells the metal. The custodian holds the IRA. Some dealers name one custodian (Augusta, Lear and Priority use Equity Trust); others, including Goldco and Birch, work with several and you choose. Minimums vary from $5,000 (Birch) to $50,000 (Augusta). Compare them in our ranked list.
3. Open the self-directed IRA. The custodian sends you an application. Expect a setup fee of around $50.
4. Request a direct rollover from your old plan to the new custodian. Use the custodian’s exact account name and number.
5. Wait for the funds to land. Your old plan controls this timing. Ask the administrator how long it usually takes; plans differ.
6. Choose your metal and lock the price. Ask for the markup on each product in writing before you agree. Augusta locks the price on a recorded confirmation call.
7. The dealer ships to the depository. Goldco’s terms say it ships 5 to 14 business days after receiving good funds, and up to 45 business days in some cases.
8. Check your first statement. Make sure the products, quantities and storage type match what you agreed.

What can go in a gold IRA

The IRS treats most coins and metals as collectibles, which an IRA can’t hold without tax. There are exceptions under IRC 408(m)(3):

• certain US gold, silver and platinum coins described in federal law (for example, the American Gold Eagle);
• coins issued under the laws of a state;
• gold, silver, platinum or palladium bullion that meets fineness standards, if a bank or approved trustee keeps physical possession of it.

That last condition is why you can’t keep IRA gold at home. If an IRA buys something that doesn’t qualify, the IRS treats the cost as a distribution: taxable income, and possibly the 10% additional tax if you’re under 59½.

Ask the dealer which products it recommends and why. Collector or “semi-numismatic” coins can carry much higher markups than bullion. American Hartford Gold, the only company we checked that publishes ranges, lists 1% to 19.99% on bullion and up to 59.99% on certain numismatic coins.

RMDs: the age-73 problem with gold

The IRS generally requires you to start withdrawing from a traditional IRA at age 73. Your first RMD is due by April 1 of the year after you turn 73, then by December 31 each year. Missing one can mean a 25% excise tax on the shortfall, cut to 10% if you correct it within two years.

Gold makes this awkward because it doesn’t produce cash. You have two options each year:

• Sell some metal and take the cash. You pay the spread on what you sell.
• Take coins out as an in-kind distribution. Noble Gold, for example, lists a $75 in-kind distribution fee. The value of the coins counts as taxable income.

A Roth IRA has no RMDs while the owner is alive, though beneficiaries do. If RMDs worry you, ask whether a Roth gold IRA fits, and talk to a tax professional before converting, because a conversion is taxable.

Special cases

TSP to gold IRA. The Thrift Savings Plan follows the same contribution limits as a 401(k) and can be rolled to an IRA once you’re eligible for a distribution. The TSP has its own forms and rules for withdrawals and transfers out, so read them on tsp.gov or call the TSP before you start.

403(b) or 457(b) to gold IRA. The rollover works the same way. Check the plan’s distribution rules first.

Still working? Many plans don’t let you roll money out while you’re employed there. Some allow “in-service” distributions. Ask your plan administrator; it’s the plan’s rule, not a gold IRA rule.

Roth 401(k). Roll it into a Roth IRA to keep the Roth treatment. Rolling Roth money into a traditional IRA isn’t allowed.

Common mistakes

• Taking a check made out to you. That triggers 20% withholding and the 60-day clock.
• Missing the 60 days. The IRS can waive the deadline in some cases, but don’t count on it.
• Doing two IRA-to-IRA rollovers in a year. The second one can be taxed and treated as an excess contribution. Transfers avoid this.
• Buying collector coins without asking the markup.
• Storing IRA gold at home. IRS rules require a bank or approved trustee to hold IRA bullion.
• Putting most of your retirement money in one asset.
• Forgetting RMDs. Plan how you’ll take them before you buy.