You can move money from a 401(k), the federal Thrift Savings Plan, a 403(b), a governmental 457(b) or another IRA into a gold IRA without tax, as long as you move it the right way. The safest method is almost always a direct transfer or direct rollover, where the money never passes through your hands.
Transfer vs. Rollover: The Difference That Matters
| Direct transfer / direct rollover | Indirect (60-day) rollover | |
|---|---|---|
| How money moves | Old provider pays the new custodian directly | Old provider pays you; you redeposit it |
| Deadline | None | 60 days from the day you receive it |
| Limit | Unlimited | One IRA-to-IRA rollover per 12 months, across all IRAs |
| Withholding | None | 20% mandatory from employer plans |
| Risk of an accidental tax bill | Low | High if you miss the deadline or can't replace the 20% |
The rule of thumb: ask for a direct transfer from an IRA, or a direct rollover from an employer plan, every time. There's rarely a good reason to take a check made out to yourself.
The 60-Day Rule and the One-Per-Year Limit
If you do receive the money, the IRS gives you 60 days to deposit it into an IRA. Miss the deadline and it's treated as a distribution: taxable, and subject to the 10% additional tax if you're under 59½ and no exception applies.
Separately, you can only make one IRA-to-IRA 60-day rollover in any 12-month period, and since 2015 that limit counts all your IRAs together, traditional and Roth. A second one is taxable and can create an excess contribution. The limit doesn't apply to:
- Trustee-to-trustee transfers between IRAs
- Rollovers from employer plans to IRAs (or from IRAs to employer plans)
- Conversions from traditional to Roth IRAs
What happens to an indirect rollover depending on when the money is redeposited.
The 20% Withholding Trap
When an employer plan pays a rollover-eligible distribution to you, it must withhold 20% for federal income tax. To roll over the full amount, you have to make up that 20% from other savings within 60 days. If you don't, the withheld part counts as a taxable distribution.
Example: you leave a job with a $100,000 401(k) and ask for a check. You receive $80,000. To avoid tax, you must deposit $100,000 into the new IRA within 60 days, finding $20,000 elsewhere. You'd get the withheld $20,000 back as a tax refund later. A direct rollover avoids all of this.
Step by Step: Rolling Over Into a Gold IRA
- Check what your current account allows. For an employer plan, ask whether you can move money while still employed and which forms are needed.
- Open the self-directed gold IRA first. You need the new custodian's account details before the old provider can send money.
- Match account types. Traditional money goes to a traditional gold IRA, and Roth money to a Roth gold IRA. Moving pre-tax money into a Roth is a conversion and is taxable.
- Request a direct transfer or direct rollover. The new custodian often sends the request for you. Make sure any check is payable to the new custodian "for the benefit of" (FBO) you, not to you.
- Confirm the funds arrive. Watch both accounts and keep every confirmation.
- Only then buy metal. Approve a specific order with product names, quantities and prices in writing. Don't let anyone rush this step.
- Keep your tax paperwork. Rollovers are reported to the IRS on Form 1099-R from the old provider and Form 5498 from the new custodian.
Rules by Account Type
401(k)
After you leave the employer, you can generally roll your balance into an IRA. While you're still working, you can only move money if the plan allows in-service distributions; many allow them from 59½. If your 401(k) includes a Roth portion, that part should go to a Roth IRA. Weigh what you give up: some 401(k)s have very low-cost funds and creditor protections that differ from IRAs. More in can you hold gold in a 401(k)?
Thrift Savings Plan (TSP)
Federal employees and service members can generally move TSP money to an IRA after separating from service, and the TSP allows age-based in-service withdrawals from 59½. Traditional TSP money goes to a traditional IRA, and Roth TSP money to a Roth IRA. Retirement savers moving large balances are frequent targets of precious metals fraud: in a 2023 case, the CFTC charged a dealer with persuading older customers to move retirement savings into coins sold at hidden markups. Get every price in writing. Full details: TSP to gold IRA.
403(b) and governmental 457(b)
Both can usually be rolled into an IRA after you separate from the employer, and sometimes earlier if the plan allows. Note that governmental 457(b) money generally isn't subject to the 10% early withdrawal tax while it stays in the 457(b); once it's rolled into an IRA, IRA early-withdrawal rules apply. If you might need the money before 59½, that matters.
Existing IRA
Moving from one IRA to a gold IRA should be a trustee-to-trustee transfer. It's unlimited, untaxed and doesn't use your one-per-year rollover.
Pensions
If your defined-benefit pension offers a lump-sum payout, that lump sum can usually be rolled into an IRA. Taking a lump sum instead of a lifetime payment is a major decision on its own, separate from the gold question, and is worth discussing with a fee-only adviser.
Common Rollover Mistakes
- Taking a check payable to yourself instead of a direct rollover.
- Doing a second 60-day IRA rollover within 12 months.
- Rolling pre-tax money into a Roth IRA without realizing it's a taxable conversion.
- Rolling over more than you intended to hold in metals because a salesperson recommended "moving everything."
- Agreeing to a metals order by phone before seeing products, quantities and markup in writing.
- Rolling over a required minimum distribution, which isn't allowed.