IRA-Eligible Gold and Silver Bars
Gold bars qualify for an IRA when they are at least .995 fine, and silver bars when they are at least .999 fine, provided they come from a refiner or mint that custodians recognize and are stored at an approved depository. In practice that means bars from national mints and accredited refiners, stamped with weight, fineness, maker's mark, and usually a serial number. Unbranded or unverifiable bars are generally refused.
Why Bars Are Treated Differently From Coins
Coins come from a small number of sovereign mints with published specifications, so a custodian can check eligibility from the coin name and year. Bars come from many refiners, both government and private, so the custodian has to rely on the maker's reputation and accreditation. The tax law is the same for both: section 408(m)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code allows bullion meeting futures-exchange fineness held by a trustee. The verification problem is what drives custodians' refiner lists. Our IRS purity standards page covers the legal side.
What Makes a Bar Acceptable
- Fineness: at least .995 gold or .999 silver, stamped on the bar. Most retail bars today are .9999 gold and .999 silver.
- Recognized maker: a national mint or a refiner accredited by a major market body or futures exchange.
- Markings: weight, fineness, the refiner's hallmark, and typically a unique serial number.
- Documentation: many smaller bars are sealed in tamper-evident packaging with an assay card that repeats the serial number and specifications.
- Condition: no signs of tampering, drilling, or damage that would require re-assay.
The LBMA Good Delivery Context
The London Bullion Market Association maintains the Good Delivery List of refiners whose large bars are accepted in the London wholesale market. A gold Good Delivery bar weighs roughly 350 to 430 troy ounces at .995 or better, and a silver Good Delivery bar roughly 750 to 1,100 ounces at .999 or better. Those wholesale bars are rarely bought for individual IRAs.
What matters for retail buyers is the refiner. A refiner that earns and keeps Good Delivery status has passed testing on assay accuracy, production, and financial standing. Smaller bars from those same refiners carry a strong reputation, and custodians commonly accept them. Futures exchanges such as those run by CME Group keep their own lists of approved brands for delivery against their contracts. Our page on sovereign mints and private refiners explains how these accreditations work.
Common Bar Sizes in Retirement Accounts
Gold: 1 ounce, 10 ounce, 1 kilogram (about 32.15 troy ounces), and 100 ounce bars are typical. Smaller gram bars exist but carry higher premiums per ounce.
Silver: 10 ounce, 100 ounce, and 1 kilogram bars are common. Larger 1,000-ounce bars exist but are bulky and less practical to sell in parts.
Bars are weighed in troy ounces, each equal to 31.1035 grams, about 10% heavier than the everyday ounce. See what a troy ounce is. For general product information, see our guides to gold bars and silver bars.
Cast Bars Versus Minted Bars
Cast bars are poured into molds and have a rougher, more traditional look. Minted bars are cut from rolled metal and struck, giving a sharp, coin-like finish, and are usually packaged with an assay card. Both can be eligible. Minted bars tend to cost slightly more to make, which can show up in the premium.
Serial Numbers, Assay Cards, and Segregation
Serial numbers let a depository record exactly which bar belongs to which account. That matters most if you choose segregated storage, where your specific bars are set aside and the same bars come back to you on distribution. In non-segregated storage, you are entitled to bars of the same type and quantity, not necessarily the same serial numbers. The details are on segregated vs non-segregated storage.
Keep the assay card sealed with the bar. Breaking the packaging can make a bar harder to resell at full value, because a buyer may want to re-test it. Our page on how to spot fake gold and silver explains why buyers care about intact packaging.
Bars Versus Coins for an Account
Bars usually carry a lower premium over spot per ounce than sovereign coins, especially at larger sizes, so more of your money goes into metal. Coins are easier to sell in small pieces and are backed by a government mint's stated weight and purity, which some buyers prefer. Many accounts hold both. The trade-offs are laid out in gold coins vs gold bars.
Questions to Ask the Seller
- Who refined the bar, and is that refiner on the custodian's accepted list?
- Is it sealed with an assay card and serial number?
- What is the premium per ounce compared with a 1-ounce sovereign coin?
- Will the seller buy the bar back under its written terms, and at what basis?
Goldco lists gold and silver bars alongside coins. If you are considering that company, our Goldco review describes its product range and advertised buyback program so you can compare against its written terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are bars from small private refiners acceptable?
Sometimes, but custodians are more cautious with makers they cannot easily verify. Stick to recognized refiners or confirm in advance.
Can a 400-ounce Good Delivery bar go into an IRA?
It meets the fineness rule, but its size makes it impractical for most accounts and hard to sell in part.
Do bars need to be re-assayed when sold from the account?
Usually not if they stayed sealed in the depository's custody. Bars that left a secure chain of custody may be tested before purchase.