Gold and Silver IRA Rollover: The Rules, the 20% Trap, and Picking a Custodian
Short answer. In almost every case you want a trustee-to-trustee transfer, not a rollover. A transfer moves money straight from your current custodian to the new one. It is unlimited, there is no 60-day deadline, and nothing is withheld.
A rollover pays the money to you first. That starts a 60-day clock, counts against a one-per-12-months limit between IRAs, and if the money comes from an employer plan, 20% is withheld before you see it. Same destination, very different risk.
Which route applies to you
Tell us where the money sits today and we will name the method, the deadline, and the thing most likely to go wrong.
Transfer or rollover, and why the word matters
These two words get used interchangeably by almost everyone selling this product, and they are not the same thing. The difference decides whether you face a deadline, a withholding, and an annual limit.
| Trustee-to-trustee transfer | 60-day rollover | |
|---|---|---|
| Money touches your hands | No | Yes |
| Deadline | None | 60 days from receipt |
| How often | Unlimited | One per 12 months between IRAs |
| Withholding from a plan | None | 20% mandatory |
| Reported as a distribution | No | Yes, then reported as rolled over |
There is almost no situation where the rollover route is better. If a salesperson steers you toward taking the distribution yourself, ask why, and get the answer in writing.
The 20% trap, with the arithmetic
This is the single most expensive misunderstanding in this whole process, and it only applies to money coming out of an employer plan.
"A retirement plan distribution paid to you is subject to mandatory withholding of 20%, even if you intend to roll it over later." Internal Revenue Service, rollovers guidance
Work it through with a round number. You have $100,000 in an old 401(k) and you ask for it so you can move it into metals yourself.
- The plan withholds $20,000 and sends you $80,000.
- To roll over the full amount you must deposit $100,000 within 60 days.
- That means finding $20,000 of your own money, because the withheld portion is with the Treasury until you file.
- If you only deposit the $80,000 you received, the missing $20,000 is treated as a distribution. It becomes ordinary income, and under 59½ an additional 10% penalty generally applies on top.
You do get the $20,000 back as a credit when you file, but that is months later and it does not help you meet the 60-day deadline. A direct transfer avoids the entire situation, which is why it is the default recommendation on this page.
The one-per-12-months limit, and what it does not cover
Since 2015 you can make only one IRA-to-IRA rollover in any 12-month period, and that limit counts across every IRA you own rather than per account. Break it and the second rollover is a taxable distribution.
What most pages leave out is the list of things the limit does not touch:
- Trustee-to-trustee transfers between IRAs
- Rollovers from an employer plan into an IRA
- Rollovers from an IRA into an employer plan
- Plan-to-plan rollovers
- Roth conversions
So the limit is narrower than it sounds, and it is one more reason the transfer route keeps you clear of the rules entirely.
The five steps, in order
Open the self-directed IRA first
The receiving account has to exist before anything can move into it. Choose a custodian that actually administers precious metals and publishes an accepted-product list, because a custodian that only handles stocks cannot hold this.
Request a direct transfer
The new custodian normally initiates it with your signature. Ask explicitly for a trustee-to-trustee transfer and confirm nothing will be issued in your name.
Pick metal that qualifies twice
It has to satisfy the statute and appear on your custodian's own list, which is often stricter. Our guide to IRA approved silver covers the legal test and the products that quietly fail it.
Let the account do the buying
The IRA purchases the metal. You cannot buy it yourself and move it in afterwards, and you cannot sell your own metal to your IRA. That is a prohibited transaction.
Ship straight to the depository
The metal goes directly to an approved depository, held in the account's name. It never comes to your house, not even briefly.
How to vet the custodian
You are choosing an administrator, not an adviser, and the differences that matter are boring and contractual. Ask for these in writing before you sign anything.
Ask The full fee schedule, not the headline
Setup, annual administration, storage, and transaction fees are usually four separate numbers. Ask whether storage is charged as a flat fee or as a percentage of value, because on a growing balance those diverge sharply over a decade.
Ask Segregated or commingled storage
Segregated means your specific bars and coins are stored apart and returned to you. Commingled means you own a share of a pool. Segregated costs more. Get the answer in writing, because the words are used loosely in sales conversations.
Ask The accepted-product list
Custodians are frequently stricter than the tax code, particularly on proofs, rounds and less common sovereign coins. Get the list before you choose the metal, not after.
Ask The buyback terms
How do you sell, who sets the price, and what is the spread on the way out? Entry pricing is advertised, exit pricing usually is not, and that is where the real cost of a metals IRA often sits.
Ask Who is actually holding it
The dealer, the custodian and the depository are frequently three separate companies. Ask which is which, and confirm the depository directly rather than taking the dealer's word for the arrangement.
Questions people ask
Can I roll over my current employer's 401(k)?
Usually not while you still work there, unless the plan permits in-service distributions, which some do after age 59½. Plans differ, so ask your plan administrator for the summary plan description before making any other arrangements.
Will a transfer trigger tax?
A trustee-to-trustee transfer between accounts of the same type is not a taxable event and does not start any clock. Moving from a traditional account to a Roth is a conversion, and that is taxable.
How long does it take?
The transfer itself is typically a couple of weeks and depends mostly on how quickly the releasing institution acts. Opening the account and settling the purchase add time on either side.
Can I take some of it and roll over the rest?
Yes, but the part you keep is a distribution, taxed as ordinary income, with a possible 10% additional tax under 59½. Decide that deliberately rather than discovering it at tax time.
What happens to metal I already own?
It stays outside the IRA. An IRA cannot buy assets from you personally, so metal in your possession cannot be moved in. Only the account's own purchases count.
Next
- Which gold qualifies, and the two routes that decide it
- Which silver actually qualifies, with the statutory test and the products that fail it
- How a precious metals IRA works, the three parties and what each one does
- Compare providers by minimum, fee structure and buyback terms
Primary sources
- IRS, Rollovers of retirement plan and IRA distributions
- 26 U.S.C. ยง 408, including the collectibles rule at subsection (m)
- McNulty v. Commissioner, 157 T.C. No. 10 (2021), on physical possession
Metals Retirement is an independent research site. We are not a broker, dealer, custodian, law firm or investment adviser, and nothing here is investment, legal or tax advice. Rules change and plan terms vary, so confirm your own situation with your plan administrator and a tax professional before moving money. We may be compensated by providers we compare, at no cost to you, and that compensation never changes what these pages say the rules are. Last reviewed 26 July 2026.