Gold IRA Alternatives: Five Other Ways to Hold Gold Exposure

A gold IRA is one of six ways to hold gold in or alongside retirement savings. The five alternatives are physically backed gold funds in an ordinary IRA, physical coins and bars inside a standard brokerage IRA, gold mining funds, gold futures in an IRA, and physical gold held outside any retirement account. The routes differ on four things: whether you own metal or a security, who holds it, what it costs each year, and how a sale is taxed.

Key takeaways

• Ownership is the first fork. Fund shares give price exposure while the trust’s custodian holds the metal; brokerage metals, a gold IRA, and bullion outside retirement give you metal, and inside an IRA someone else still holds it.
• Fee shape differs as much as fee size. Physically backed funds charge 0.10% to 0.40% of net asset value, scaling with the balance; gold IRA custodian and storage fees are mostly flat dollars; the brokerage-metals route adds quarterly storage plus buy and sell fees.
• The tax wrapper decides the rate. Outside an IRA, long-term gains tied to gold are taxed as collectibles at a maximum 28% under IRS Topic 409; inside an IRA, the account’s distribution rules apply.
• Eligibility rests on documents, not assurances. GLD and IAU each cite an IRS private letter ruling on IRA purchases in their 10-Ks; GLDM’s 10-K states it has none; Schwab’s futures FAQ, read October 3, 2026, sets a $25,000 minimum and margin approval for IRA futures.

Six routes at a glance

The table lines up the gold IRA and the five alternatives on ownership, custody, recurring cost, and tax.

Route	What you own	Who holds it	Main recurring cost	Tax on gains
Gold IRA (self-directed)	Coins and bars	An approved depository arranged by the custodian	Custodian and storage fees, mostly flat dollars, plus the dealer’s premium at purchase	Follows the account’s IRA rules (see gold IRA tax rules)
Physically backed fund in an ordinary IRA	Shares of a trust that holds gold bullion	The trust’s custodian holds the metal; your broker holds the shares	Sponsor fee of 0.10% to 0.40% of NAV (dated below)	Follows the IRA’s rules
Physical metal in a standard brokerage IRA	Specific coins and bars	A dealer and vault the broker arranges (FideliTrade at Fidelity)	Fidelity: 0.125% of value a quarter, plus buy and sell fees (dated below)	Follows the IRA’s rules
Gold mining fund	Shares of mining companies	The fund holds the stocks; you hold fund shares	Expense ratio, 0.42% to 0.51%, dated in the sections below	Follows the IRA’s rules; standard capital gains rules outside an IRA
Gold futures in an IRA	Futures contracts, no metal	The broker’s margin desk	Trading costs per contract; margin held at 125% of the initial requirement at Schwab	Follows the IRA’s rules
Physical gold outside a retirement account	Coins and bars titled to you	You, a home safe, or a storage firm	Storage and insurance if you use them	Long-term gains taxed at a maximum 28% as collectibles

The gold IRA row assembles three parties: a self-directed custodian, a dealer, and an approved depository. Its fee lines are setup, annual, and storage fees, plus the dealer’s premium over spot at purchase. What is a gold IRA? explains the pieces, and gold IRA custodian fees compared shows how those lines vary across custodians.

Physically backed gold funds in an ordinary IRA

These trusts hold gold bullion and issue shares that trade on an exchange. You own shares; the trust’s custodian holds the metal.

Fund	Structure	Annual fee	Metal held by	Source
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)	Grantor trust	0.40% of NAV, sponsor fee	HSBC Bank plc and JPMorgan, London and New York vaults	10-K for the year ended September 30, 2025
iShares Gold Trust (IAU)	Grantor trust	0.25% of NAV, sponsor fee	JPMorgan Chase Bank, London branch	10-K for 2025
SPDR Gold MiniShares (GLDM)	Grantor trust	0.10% of NAV, sponsor fee	JPMorgan, per the issuer page	Issuer page
Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS)	Closed-end trust	0.39% management expense ratio as of October 2, 2026	The Royal Canadian Mint	Sprott fund page, read October 3, 2026

The IRA question turns on the collectibles rule, and the filings state each fund’s position. GLD and IAU each state in their 10-K that the sponsor or trust received a private letter ruling from the IRS that an IRA’s purchase of shares is not the acquisition of a collectible. GLDM’s 10-K states that the trust has not requested or obtained such a ruling, though the IRS has issued them to other taxpayers, including an affiliate of its sponsor. Fidelity’s metals page tells investors to confirm that such an investment is appropriate for a retirement account.

Sprott states that all of its physical trusts, PHYS among them, are passive foreign investment companies for US tax purposes and points investors to a Qualified Electing Fund election on IRS Form 8621.

All three filings warn that redeeming shares for gold delivered to the IRA, or distributing shares or gold out of the IRA, is taxable.

Outside an IRA, the GLD, IAU, and GLDM filings state that gains on shares held more than one year are generally taxed as collectibles, at a maximum rate of 28%, to the extent the gain reflects the gold the trust holds. IRS Topic 409 states the general rule: net capital gains from selling collectibles are taxed at a maximum 28%.

Physical metal inside a brokerage IRA

Per Fidelity’s metals page as listed on October 3, 2026, a Fidelity IRA can hold Gold American Eagles in 1, 1/2, 1/4, and 1/10 ounce sizes; one-ounce Gold American Buffalo, Silver American Eagle, and Platinum American Eagle coins; and bullion-quality bars. The minimum purchase in an IRA is $1,000. Buy fees run from 2.90% down to 0.99% by order size, sell fees from 2.00% down to 0.75%, with a $44 minimum per transaction. Storage is 0.125% of value a quarter, with a $3.75 minimum.

This route keeps a standard IRA custodian and a published fee schedule in place of a self-directed custodian and a dealer. See Fidelity gold IRA for the account in context.

Gold mining funds

A mining fund holds shares of gold-producing companies, so the cost line is an expense ratio rather than storage. VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) charges an expense ratio of 0.51% as of October 2, 2026. Vanguard Global Capital Cycles Fund (VGPMX) charges 0.42% and must hold at least 25% of net assets in precious metals and mining companies, under its summary prospectus dated May 28, 2026. Mining shares move with company results, costs, and leverage, not only the gold price. See Vanguard gold IRA for that fund’s retirement-account context.

Gold futures in an IRA

Schwab’s futures FAQ, read October 3, 2026, restricts IRA futures trading to SEP, Roth, Traditional, and Rollover IRAs. The stated requirements are a minimum net liquidation value of $25,000, approval for margin and option spreads, and positions held to 125% of the initial margin requirement. Schwab notes that meeting the requirements does not ensure approval. Futures have no physical delivery at Schwab, so a gold futures position in an IRA is price exposure that settles without metal entering the account. See Charles Schwab gold IRA for the account in context.

Physical gold outside a retirement account

Owning bullion outside any retirement account is the shortest custody chain: the metal is titled to you, and you either store it yourself or pay a storage firm. Storage and insurance pricing is set vendor by vendor, so the cost depends on the quotes you collect. On a sale after more than one year, physical gold is taxed under the collectibles rule; IRS Topic 409 puts the maximum long-term rate at 28%. The Form 1099-B instructions set the dealer-reporting details: a broker selling a single gold coin need not file the form, and reporting depends on the product and quantity. Gold IRA vs. physical gold compares this route with holding metal inside the wrapper.

What each route costs to hold

The comparison below is hypothetical: a $50,000 balance, no trading costs, and no taxes. The gold IRA line uses a hypothetical flat fee, not any company’s quote.

Route	Fee basis	Hypothetical annual cost on $50,000
SPDR Gold MiniShares (GLDM)	0.10% of balance	$50
iShares Gold Trust (IAU)	0.25% of balance	$125
SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)	0.40% of balance	$200
Fidelity metals in an IRA	0.125% a quarter, storage only	$250, before buy and sell fees
Gold IRA (hypothetical)	$250 a year in custodian and storage fees	$250, before setup fees and the dealer’s premium

The shape of the fee matters as much as the size. Percentage fees grow with the balance: at $100,000 the GLDM line doubles to $100 and the GLD line to $400. Gold IRA fees are mostly flat dollars, so that line stays $250 while the balance moves, with setup fees and the dealer’s premium added at purchase. Compare custodian fee structures in gold IRA custodian fees compared and entry costs in gold IRA minimum investment.

Questions that separate the routes

1. Do you need to own metal, or only price exposure? Fund shares and futures contracts deliver price exposure; at Schwab, no metal is ever delivered. Brokerage metals, a gold IRA, and bullion outside a retirement account deliver coins and bars.
2. Who holds it, and can you inspect the document? Each route names its holder. Trust filings name custodians and vaults: HSBC and JPMorgan for GLD, JPMorgan’s London branch for IAU, the Royal Canadian Mint for PHYS. A brokerage vault statement or a depository statement should identify the metal tied to your account. Ask for the document before funding, not after.
3. What is the all-in cost at your balance? Rebuild the cost table with your number. Percentage lines scale with the balance, flat lines mostly do not, and the gold IRA route adds setup fees and the dealer’s premium at each end of the trade.
4. How is a sale taxed in your account type? Inside an IRA, the account’s rules govern the distribution. Outside one, long-term gains tied to gold face the 28% collectibles maximum, and futures follow their own rules. Gold IRA tax rules covers the self-directed route.
5. How quickly can you sell? Fund shares trade at published prices during market hours. Physical metal requires a buyer, so spread and shipment enter the math. A futures position closes with an offsetting trade.

Related research

• What is a gold IRA? — the three parties and the fee lines of the self-directed route.
• Gold IRA vs. physical gold — metal inside the wrapper versus metal in your name.
• Fidelity gold IRA — the brokerage-metals route in context.
• Vanguard gold IRA — metals and mining funds at Vanguard.
• Charles Schwab gold IRA — futures eligibility and account rules.
• Gold IRA custodian fees compared — how the flat fee lines vary.
• Gold IRA tax rules — the wrapper that decides the rate.
• Gold IRA minimum investment — what each route takes to open.
• Is gold a good investment? — the question behind all six routes.