Gold IRA Depositories: The Facilities, the Storage Fee Maths, and the List That Does Not Exist
Short answer. Your metal sits in a commercial vault, held for your IRA rather than for you. A handful of facilities take almost all of this business, and the meaningful choices are segregated or commingled and flat or percentage-based storage.
One correction first, because it appears on nearly every page in this industry: the IRS does not publish a list of approved depositories. No such list exists. The legal test is about who has custody, not which building.
The "IRS-approved depository" problem
Search this topic and you will read "IRS-approved depository" hundreds of times, phrased as though there is a register you could look up. There is not.
What the statute actually requires is in § 408(m)(3)(B): bullion must be in the physical possession of a trustee described under § 408(a). So the approval that matters attaches to the trustee, not to the vault. A bank qualifies as a trustee automatically. Anyone else has to be on the IRS list of approved nonbank trustees, which does exist and which we show you how to check on our custodians page.
That is not pedantry. It changes what you verify. Asking a salesperson "is this depository IRS-approved" invites a confident yes about a category that has no register behind it. Asking "which trustee has custody, and is that entity a bank or on the IRS nonbank trustee list" is a question with a checkable answer.
The facilities are still serious operations, and reputable ones carry all-risk insurance, submit to independent audits and maintain a documented chain of custody. Those are real, verifiable things. They are just not an IRS approval.
The facilities that actually hold this metal
Locations, because vault geography is one of the few things about a depository that is genuinely fixed and checkable.
| Facility | Where | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Delaware Depository | Wilmington, Delaware | One of the most widely used facilities for metals IRAs |
| Brink's Global Services | Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, New York | Global logistics operator, multiple US vaults |
| International Depository Services | Delaware and Texas | Two locations, so confirm which one holds yours |
| CNT Depository | Massachusetts | Long-standing operator in the wholesale metals trade |
| Texas Precious Metals Depository | Shiner, Texas | Privately owned, operated by Texas Precious Metals |
| Texas Bullion Depository | Leander, Texas | State-administered, see the naming warning below |
Confusing There are two Texas depositories and the names are nearly identical
Texas Bullion Depository in Leander is the state-administered facility, operating under the authority of the Texas Comptroller through a private-sector partnership with Lone Star Tangible Assets, and purpose-built at over 40,000 square feet on a ten-acre campus. It began holding precious metals IRA assets following a Comptroller announcement in June 2025.
Texas Precious Metals Depository in Shiner is a private company's facility and is not the state depository.
Both are real, both store metal, and the names are close enough that people conflate them constantly. For completeness: in 2026 Texas Precious Metals brought suit against the Texas Comptroller over the state's commemorative coin program, alleging it exceeds the authority granted under Texas law and infringes the company's trademarked mint mark. That dispute is unresolved and it concerns coin production rather than the safety of stored metal, but if you are choosing between the two you should know the parties are in litigation.
Segregated or commingled, and what you are actually buying
| Segregated | Commingled (allocated pool) | |
|---|---|---|
| What comes back to you | The same physical items | The same quantity and specification |
| Stored | Separately, identified to your account | Pooled with identical products |
| Cost | Higher | Lower |
| Matters if | You care about specific serial numbers, dates or assay certificates | You treat the metal as a fungible quantity of silver |
For a bar with a serial number and an assay certificate, segregated storage means you get that bar back. For standard one-ounce coins, one is genuinely interchangeable with another, and paying a premium for segregation buys you very little beyond peace of mind.
The important part is the language. "Segregated", "allocated" and "non-fungible" get used loosely in sales conversations and they are not synonyms. Get the specific term written into the storage agreement rather than agreed on a call.
What storage actually costs you over time
Storage is quoted either as a flat annual fee or as a percentage of account value, and at the moment you open the account those two can look almost identical. They do not stay that way, because a percentage grows with the balance while a flat fee does not.
Flat or percentage, over your holding period
Rough arithmetic to show the shape of the difference. Use the figures your own provider quotes. This runs in your browser and nothing is sent anywhere.
Two things the arithmetic makes obvious. On a small balance a flat fee is a large percentage, which is why most custodians set minimums. On a balance that grows for two decades, a percentage fee quietly becomes the more expensive structure, and it is charged against an asset that generates no income to pay it from. Ask for both structures quoted on the balance you actually expect to hold.
What the insurance does and does not cover
Depositories carry insurance and they will tell you so. The word does a lot of work in a sales conversation, so it is worth separating the risks.
| Risk | Covered? |
|---|---|
| Theft from the vault | Yes, under all-risk cover |
| Physical loss or damage | Yes |
| Loss in transit to the vault | Usually, but confirm who carries it and when it attaches |
| The price of silver falling | No, and no policy covers this |
| Your dealer having overcharged you | No |
Ask three things: who the insurer is, what the per-account limit is, and at what point custody and cover transfer from the dealer to the depository. That transfer moment is where the paperwork is thinnest and where a shipment problem becomes an argument about whose insurance applies.
What to ask before you agree to a facility
Which entity has legal custody
Name the trustee, then confirm it is a bank or appears on the IRS nonbank trustee list. This is the question the phrase "IRS-approved depository" distracts from.
Which specific vault, by city
Several operators run more than one location. Get the city in writing, not just the company name.
Segregated or commingled, in the contract
Whichever you choose, the word should appear in the storage agreement with a definition attached.
The audit arrangement
Who audits, how often, and can you see the most recent report or at least its date and the auditor's name.
How you get it out
Ask what happens at distribution: the notice period, shipping cost, insurance in transit, and whether an in-kind distribution of specific items is possible if that matters to you.
Questions people ask
Can I visit and see my metal?
Some facilities allow scheduled viewings with identification and notice, and some do not. It varies by operator, so ask before assuming, and note that a viewing is not the same as taking possession, which would end the tax shelter.
Can I choose the depository, or does the custodian decide?
You normally choose from your custodian's approved list. If a particular facility matters to you, check that the custodian works with it before opening the account rather than after.
Is offshore storage allowed for an IRA?
Some providers market it. It adds legal and practical complications and it is a question to put to a tax professional in writing rather than to a salesperson, because the answer depends on the custody arrangement rather than on the vault's marketing.
What happens if the depository goes out of business?
The metal is your IRA's property, not an asset of the depository, and is held separately from the company's own books. In practice the custodian would move it. Ask what the documented arrangement is.
Does the state-run Texas facility make my metal safer?
It is a purpose-built facility operating under the Texas Comptroller's authority, which some buyers find reassuring. It does not change the tax rules, the custody requirement, or the need to check the trustee. Judge it on the same five questions as any other facility.
Next
- Why home storage fails, since the possession rule is the same one
- How to verify a custodian against the IRS list, in two minutes
- How the account works, the three parties and the real drawbacks
- Which silver qualifies, straight from the statute
Primary sources
- 26 U.S.C. § 408(m)(3)(B), the physical possession requirement
- IRS, Approved nonbank trustees and custodians, the list that does exist
- Texas Bullion Depository, the state-administered facility
- Texas Comptroller announcement, June 2025, on the depository holding precious metals IRA assets
Metals Retirement is an independent research site. We are not a broker, dealer, custodian, depository, law firm or investment adviser, and nothing here is investment, legal or tax advice. Facility arrangements, fees and insurance terms change, and the calculator above is illustrative arithmetic rather than a quote. Verify against your own written storage agreement. We may be compensated by providers we compare, at no cost to you. Last reviewed 26 July 2026.