Educational estimate only. Your custodian reports the official year-end value on Form 5498 and can calculate the RMD for you. Confirm with a tax professional.
How RMDs work with physical metal
The formula is the same for every Traditional IRA: the account's fair market value on December 31 of the previous year, divided by the distribution period for your age from the IRS Uniform Lifetime Table. For a Gold IRA the custodian values the metal at year-end market prices.
What differs is how you pay it. A brokerage IRA holds cash and funds that can be sold in seconds. A Gold IRA holds bars and coins, so you either sell some metal back through your dealer or take delivery of specific pieces as an in-kind distribution. Coins and bars are not divisible, which means the amount you distribute will usually be slightly more than the minimum.
Three ways to make RMDs easier
- Aggregate. If you own more than one Traditional IRA, total the RMDs and take the whole amount from the most liquid account.
- Keep a cash cushion. Leaving a small cash balance inside the Gold IRA covers fees and part of the distribution without a forced sale.
- Hold some smaller units. A position made only of 10 oz bars is harder to distribute precisely than one that includes 1 oz coins.
Uniform Lifetime Table (selected ages)
| Age | Distribution period | RMD as % of balance | RMD on $250,000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 73 | 26.5 | 3.77% | $9,434 |
| 75 | 24.6 | 4.07% | $10,163 |
| 78 | 22.0 | 4.55% | $11,364 |
| 80 | 20.2 | 4.95% | $12,376 |
| 85 | 16.0 | 6.25% | $15,625 |
| 90 | 12.2 | 8.20% | $20,492 |
| 95 | 8.9 | 11.24% | $28,090 |
Full rules: Gold IRA rules.