Gold IRAs can serve as an excellent hedge against inflation because this precious metal has historically held its value during times of economic uncertainty. If you’re considering taking a withdrawal from your IRA, understanding gold IRA withdrawal policies is crucial to your financial security.
Below, learn about the protocols for gold individual retirement account withdrawals, including penalties for early withdrawals and circumstances where you can take a withdrawal penalty-free.
Gold IRA Withdrawal Rules
The IRS has several rules for withdrawing from gold IRA accounts to keep in mind. To help you understand gold IRA withdrawal policies, we’ll cover the rules for a few different types of gold IRAs, including traditional and Roth IRAs, below.
Traditional Gold IRA
With a traditional gold IRA, you make pre-tax contributions. This means you put money into the IRA before paying taxes on it. You’ll pay taxes when you withdraw money from your IRA. This type of IRA is best for people who think they’ll be in the same or a lower tax bracket once they hit retirement age.
You can withdraw funds penalty-free once you reach age 59½. When you take a withdrawal, you’ll be taxed at your current income tax rate.
Roth Gold IRA
If you’ve opted for a Roth gold IRA, you’ll fund your account with after-tax dollars, so you won’t pay taxes on those funds when you withdraw them. Roth gold IRAs are best for people who think they’ll be in a higher tax bracket when they retire.
As with traditional gold IRAs, you must be at least 59½ to take penalty-free withdrawals.
Direct Rollovers
You can perform a direct rollover if you’d like to use funds from your current IRA to fund a gold IRA. With a direct rollover, your plan administrator sends the money directly to your new account. You won’t have to pay taxes or penalties for using a direct rollover.
You can also opt for a 60-day rollover. With this option, your plan administrator gives you a check for the funds, and you’re responsible for depositing the money into your new account. If you don’t transfer the money within 60 days, the IRS will penalize you for taking an early withdrawal.
Inherited Gold IRA
The gold IRA distribution guidelines get more nuanced if you’ve inherited a gold IRA. You must withdraw funds from the IRA within ten years of inheriting it. The required minimum distributions (RMDs) you must take vary depending on:
- How you’re related to the account holder
- Whether the first account owner died before they were required to take RMDs
- Whether the account owner died after 2019
Gold IRA Withdrawal Penalties
If you withdraw money from your gold IRA before age 59½, this is called a non-qualified distribution, and you’ll have to pay a 10% penalty based on the value of your withdrawal. When you take an early withdrawal from a Roth IRA, you’ll also have to pay taxes on that amount, which will vary depending on your current income tax bracket.
There’s one more penalty to be aware of: the capital gains tax. If the value of your gold increases while in the IRA, you’ll have to pay a 28% capital gains tax on the funds. This tax can be quite expensive if you have a significant amount of gold in your account.
Early Withdrawal Exceptions
There are several exceptions to gold IRA withdrawal rules and penalties. We’ll go over each of these next.
Buying, Constructing, or Rebuilding a Home
If you’re buying or rebuilding a home, you can withdraw up to $10,000 from your gold IRA penalty-free.
Health Insurance Premiums If You’re Unemployed
If you can’t afford your health insurance premiums after losing your job, you can use money from your IRA to pay them without penalty.
Permanent Disability
If you have a permanent disability that makes it hard for you to afford necessities, the IRS allows you to take early withdrawals from your IRA without penalty.
Unreimbursed Medical Expenses
If you have medical expenses that your health insurance won’t cover, you can use your IRA funds to pay them without penalty. However, this only applies if you use the funds to pay your medical bills in the same year as the withdrawal.
Age-Related Exemptions
As mentioned above, you can withdraw funds from your gold IRA without penalty once you reach age 59½. If you’re younger, you’ll pay a 10% penalty.
Strategies for Safe Withdrawals
Want to make the most out of your gold IRA withdrawals? Consider the following strategies.
Diversification of Assets
You’ve probably heard the saying, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket,” and that certainly applies to your retirement accounts. Gold is an appealing investment, but you shouldn’t solely rely on it to fund your retirement. It’s best to fund your IRA from a variety of sources in case one of those sources doesn’t pan out as you expected.
Consider Systematic Withdrawals
With a systematic withdrawal, you’ll take distributions at set intervals: monthly, quarterly, annually, or semi-annually. This allows you to receive a regular income to support yourself during retirement. It’s a smart way to supplement your Social Security earnings.
Following the proper gold IRA withdrawal rules requires that you calculate how much money to withdraw and how often. This should be based on your budget and retirement expenses. Many financial advisors say it’s a good idea to withdraw 3% to 4% of your total retirement assets annually.
Stay Informed on Market Conditions
Market conditions can affect how much you pay when taking distributions. For instance, if you withdraw from your IRA when gold’s value is high, you’ll pay more in capital gains tax than you would if you withdrew when its value was lower.
Keep an eye on gold price spot charts. These charts tell you the current value of gold, and you can also see its historical price for last year and beyond. This helps you determine whether the price of gold is going up or down.
Emergency Fund
Having an emergency fund to tide you over through unexpected setbacks is a good idea. For instance, if your car breaks down, you’ll need money to repair it. You may also need cash to pay for a medical treatment that Medicare/Medicaid won’t cover.
You can use money from your IRA to beef up your emergency fund. Have at least $500, ideally more, on hand for emergencies.
Review and Adjust
To get the most out of your IRA, review it and adjust your contributions annually. For 2024, you can contribute up to $7,000 (or $8,000 if you’re over the age of 50). This applies to Roth and traditional IRAs.
How Are Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) Handled?
If you have a traditional gold IRA, you’ll have to plan to take the required minimum distributions. The IRS says you must start taking RMDs annually once you reach 59½, 70½, or 72 years of age (depending on your date of birth). RMDs are set by your plan administrator and calculated based on factors such as your life expectancy and account balance.
If you fail to follow withdrawal regulations for gold IRAs, you’ll have to pay a 25% penalty on the amount you were supposed to withdraw. Financially, it makes sense to withdraw the money as required, even if you don’t need or want to take withdrawals yet.
If you have a Roth IRA, you don’t need to worry about any of this because Roth IRAs don’t have required minimum distributions. That means you can continue to let your money grow after you’ve reached 72 years of age.
Tax Considerations for Gold IRA Withdrawals
When withdrawing funds from your gold IRA, you might have to pay taxes on the money. Here’s what to know when taking distributions from a gold IRA.
Taxable vs. Non-Taxable Withdrawals
As mentioned previously, you fund Roth IRAs with after-tax dollars. Since you’ve already paid taxes on the money, you won’t owe taxes again when taking the funds out. This is called a non-taxable withdrawal.
With a traditional IRA, on the other hand, you contribute pre-tax dollars. You don’t owe taxes on the money until you withdraw it from your account.
What Documentation and Forms Are Required for the Withdrawal Process?
If you wish to withdraw funds from your IRA, you must fill out a form from your plan administrator or custodian. Once you’ve received the money, you must report the amount on your individual tax return (Form 1040).
Remember that you’ll have to pay a penalty on early withdrawals unless you qualify for one of the exceptions listed above. If you do qualify, you’ll need to complete Form 5329 and send it to the IRS along with your tax return.
Find the Perfect Gold IRA Partner
Now that you’ve learned about gold IRA withdrawal rules, are you ready to set up a gold IRA of your own? If you don’t have an IRA partner yet, let us help. Just take our quick quiz to find the right gold IRA partner for you.
