Gold IRA Depository Fees Compared
Short on time? The essentials
- Three fee models exist: flat annual dollar amount (Delaware Depository via STRATA), basis-point on account value with a dollar floor (Brinks via IRA Express), and tiered percentage (Texas Precious Metals Depository, Texas Bullion Depository).
- Flat wins at higher balances; percentage wins at low balances thanks to the dollar floor; basis-point sits in the middle and scales with the account.
- At 100,000 dollars, the depository storage line alone runs about 100 dollars flat (Delaware via STRATA), 125 dollars (Brinks via IRA Express minimum), or 500 dollars (Texas Precious Metals Depository tiered percent).
- Add the custodian account fee on top (typically 100 to 300 dollars per year), plus any wire, out-shipment, and buy or sell transaction fees, to get your true annual cost.
- The Texas Bullion Depository IRA fee is negotiated per account between the dealer, the custodian, and Lone Star Tangible Assets; the public non-IRA schedule at 0.49 percent effective April 1, 2026 is a reference only.
- Texas has no state personal income tax, so IRA distributions are taxed federally only regardless of which depository holds your metal (source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, checked July 2026).
- The depository fee does not include the dealer coin premium; that premium at purchase usually outweighs the storage line over a ten-year hold.
On this page
- The three fee models depositories use
- Published depository fees at a glance
- Annual carrying cost by balance
- How custodian pass-through pricing actually works
- What the depository fee does not include
- Worked example: a Houston 100,000-dollar rollover
- How to read a depository fee schedule
- Estimate your own annual fee drag
- When a cheaper depository is actually more expensive
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
The three fee models depositories use
Every Texas-relevant depository prices IRA storage under one of three published models. The model you see is set by the depository itself, but the invoice usually arrives from your self-directed IRA custodian, not from the vault.
The flat annual dollar model charges the same amount whether the account holds 30,000 dollars or 300,000 dollars of metal. Delaware Depository is the standard example. Through STRATA Trust, non-segregated storage at Delaware runs 100 dollars per year and segregated storage runs 175 dollars per year, both as flat pass-through lines.
The basis-point on account value model charges a small percentage of the marked-to-market balance, usually 10 to 25 basis points, subject to a dollar-floor minimum. Brinks Global Services via IRA Express is the standard example. Commingled storage runs 12 basis points with a 125-dollar minimum; segregated storage runs 20 basis points with a 200-dollar minimum.
The tiered percentage model uses a higher percentage on the first bracket and steps down as the balance grows. Texas Precious Metals Depository in Shiner and the Texas Bullion Depository in Leander both use tiered percentages. TPMD publishes a schedule from 0.50 percent at the entry tier down to 0.28 percent above 2.5 million dollars, with a 10-dollar monthly billing floor.
Two other depositories quote their fees only through the paired custodian. IDS Group in New Castle, Delaware and Dallas, Texas passes fees through custodians such as Preferred Trust Company and Kingdom Trust rather than publishing a public schedule. CNT Depository in Bridgewater, Massachusetts follows the same custodian-quoted approach.
Published depository fees at a glance
The table lists the storage line only. Add the custodian account fee (typically 100 to 300 dollars per year) and any per-transaction wire or shipping fees to get your total annual cost. All numbers were checked live against the source page in June or July 2026.
| Depository | Fee model | Rate as published | Minimum or floor | Where the number appears |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware Depository (Wilmington, DE) | Flat annual dollar | 100 dollars per year non-segregated; 175 dollars segregated | None separate from the flat line | STRATA Trust Fee Schedule (custodian pass-through) |
| Brinks Global Services USA (Salt Lake City, UT) | Basis-point on balance | 12 basis points per year commingled; 20 basis points segregated | 125 dollars commingled; 200 dollars segregated | IRA Express IRAxp Precious Metals form |
| IDS Group (New Castle, DE and Dallas, TX) | Quoted through custodian | Not published publicly | Custodian-set | Preferred Trust or Kingdom Trust fee page |
| CNT Depository (Bridgewater, MA) | Quoted through custodian | Not published publicly | Custodian-set | Custodian fee page or written quote |
| Texas Precious Metals Depository (Shiner, TX) | Tiered percentage, segregated only | 0.50 percent to 100,000 dollars; 0.45 percent to 500,000; 0.35 percent to 2.5 million; 0.28 percent above 5 million | 10 dollars per month (120 dollars per year) | texasdepository.com Pricing page |
| Texas Bullion Depository (Leander, TX) | Tiered percentage, negotiated per IRA | Retail non-IRA 0.49 percent to 499,999 dollars; 0.44 percent 500,000 to 999,999; lower above (effective April 1, 2026) | Retail floor set by state schedule; IRA floor set per account | texasbulliondepository.gov Schedule of Fees (retail) and IRA Storage Services page |
Sources checked June or July 2026: STRATA Trust Company Fee Schedule; IRA Express IRAxp Precious Metals form; Texas Precious Metals Depository Pricing page; Texas Bullion Depository IRA Storage Services and Schedule of Fees pages. IDS Group and CNT Depository fees are quoted through the paired custodian only, and are not published on the depository's public site.
Reading the table: flat-dollar setups like Delaware via STRATA give the most predictable line item across balances. Basis-point setups like Brinks via IRA Express scale gently with the account, hitting the floor at low balances and moving up with the balance. Tiered percentage setups like TPMD are the cheapest at 30,000 dollars (thanks to the floor) but the most expensive at 250,000 dollars.
Annual carrying cost by balance
The chart below plots the depository storage line plus the paired custodian account fee only. Dealer coin premium at purchase, out-shipment fees, and wire transfer fees are excluded. The three setups shown are the ones where every input dollar is a published number a reader can verify against the source page.
Three patterns stand out. Flat pricing at Delaware via STRATA holds constant at 225 dollars per year regardless of balance; a 250,000-dollar account pays the same as a 25,000-dollar account. Basis-point pricing at Brinks via IRA Express hits its floor at low balances, then scales up: 250 dollars at 25,000, 245 dollars at 100,000, and 425 dollars at 250,000.
Tiered percentage pricing at Texas Precious Metals Depository is the flip side. The 10-dollar monthly billing floor keeps the entry-tier cost at 125 dollars at 25,000 dollars, cheaper than the other two setups. At 100,000 dollars the same 0.50 percent rate costs 500 dollars, and at 250,000 dollars the blended rate lands near 1,225 dollars per year.
The crossover matters: TPMD is the cheapest of the three at balances under 50,000 dollars and the most expensive above 100,000 dollars. Delaware via STRATA is the cheapest at balances above 100,000 dollars, thanks to the flat structure. Brinks via IRA Express sits in the middle across the range shown.
How custodian pass-through pricing actually works
You do not usually sign a contract with the depository. You sign one with the self-directed IRA custodian, which in turn maintains a storage agreement with the depository on behalf of your account. The invoice arrives from the custodian and shows the storage line as a pass-through item.
STRATA Trust in Waco, Texas is the largest example on Texas paperwork. The STRATA Fee Schedule lists a 50-dollar setup fee and a 125-dollar annual account fee. Delaware Depository storage is added as a flat pass-through: 100 dollars per year non-segregated or 175 dollars per year segregated (source: stratatrust.com fee schedule, checked June 2026).
IRA Express, another custodian on Texas paperwork, prices Brinks storage as a basis-point pass-through. Commingled runs 12 basis points per year with a 125-dollar minimum. Segregated runs 20 basis points per year with a 200-dollar minimum (source: iraexpress.com IRAxp Precious Metals form, checked July 2026). Wire fees and out-shipment fees are billed separately from the storage line.
Equity Trust Company, the first self-directed IRA custodian publicly working with the Texas Bullion Depository as of June 2026, negotiates the IRA storage fee per account with Lone Star Tangible Assets, the depository operator. Ask Equity Trust in writing for the current IRA quote before signing a buy instruction; the state's public non-IRA schedule is a reference, not the IRA number.
The practical result: the same vault can appear on your paperwork at different dollar figures depending on which custodian you use. Always ask for the depository line and the custodian account fee as two separate written numbers before you sign.
What the depository fee does not include
The storage line is only one of five recurring or transactional line items on a Texas gold IRA. Four other charges either sit outside the storage number or hit at specific events, and they usually dwarf the storage line over a ten-year hold.
| Fee line | Typical range | When it hits |
|---|---|---|
| Custodian account fee | 100 to 300 dollars per year | Annual, from account opening onward |
| Dealer coin premium at purchase | 3 to 15 percent above spot for common bullion; 20 to 40 percent for proof and graded coins | One-time, at each buy |
| Wire transfer fee | 25 to 50 dollars per wire | Per funding event and per distribution |
| Out-shipment fee for in-kind distribution | 40 dollars to a percent-of-value schedule | Only if you take physical distribution |
| Buy or sell transaction fee (some custodians) | 40 to 95 dollars per transaction | Per trade inside the IRA |
Source: published custodian fee schedules at STRATA Trust, IRA Express, and Equity Trust Company; dealer coin premium ranges from published US Mint bulk pricing and dealer disclosure pages, all checked July 2026. Ranges are typical, not universal; ask for the exact number in writing before signing.
The single largest recurring number for most readers is the dealer coin premium at purchase. A 5 percent premium on a 100,000-dollar bullion buy is 5,000 dollars gone at the door, larger than any depository line for the next twenty years combined. A 30 percent premium on proof or graded coins is 30,000 dollars gone at the door.
This is the fee to negotiate hardest. Ask three dealers for a written quote on the same coin at the same weight and compare the total dollar cost, not the marketing "no-fee" or "waived-fee" language. The depository line is real but usually secondary to the premium at purchase.
Worked example: a Houston 100,000-dollar rollover
Worked example
Consider a Houston resident, age 61, who rolls 100,000 dollars from a former employer 401(k) into a self-directed IRA and buys IRA-eligible American Gold Eagles. The reader is comparing three transparent setups.
Setup A: STRATA Trust custodian plus Delaware Depository non-segregated storage. Custodian fee 125 dollars, storage line 100 dollars. Annual total 225 dollars, or 0.225 percent of the balance. Ten-year stacked cost at level fees: 2,250 dollars.
Setup B: STRATA Trust custodian plus Brinks commingled via IRA Express-equivalent pricing. Custodian fee 125 dollars, storage line 120 dollars at 12 basis points. Annual total 245 dollars, or 0.245 percent. Ten-year stacked cost: 2,450 dollars.
Setup C: Texas Precious Metals Depository standalone segregated. No separate STRATA layer; TPMD bills directly. Storage line 500 dollars at 0.50 percent. Add a paired custodian if the buy flows through one (assume 125 dollars). Annual total 625 dollars, or 0.625 percent. Ten-year stacked cost: 6,250 dollars.
The 4,000-dollar ten-year gap between Setup A and Setup C is meaningful. Setup C buys segregated storage inside Texas on a bailment structure at a Lloyds-insured facility, a real product difference. Whether that difference is worth 400 dollars per year is the reader's call.
Federal ordinary income tax applies to distributions from any of these setups (source: IRS Publication 590-B, checked July 2026). Texas has no state personal income tax, so no Texas layer applies (source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, checked July 2026). Consult a Texas licensed tax advisor for your specific federal bracket.
How to read a depository fee schedule
Fee schedules are short but easy to misread. The steps below reflect the way a written quote actually arrives and the questions to check before signing.
- Ask for the storage line and the custodian account fee as two separate numbers. The pass-through structure means the vault fee is only half the recurring cost. STRATA lists 125 dollars custodian and 100 dollars storage separately; IRA Express does the same for Brinks. Never accept a single blended number.
- Confirm the fee model in writing: flat, basis-point, or tiered percentage. The model determines whether your fee scales with the account balance or stays fixed. A flat quote at 30,000 dollars turns into the same flat quote at 300,000 dollars; a percentage quote does not.
- Read the dollar floor for basis-point and tiered schedules. Brinks commingled has a 125-dollar minimum, so at 50,000 dollars you pay 125 dollars (the floor), not 60 dollars (12 basis points). TPMD has a 10-dollar monthly floor, so at 25,000 dollars you pay 120 dollars, not 125 dollars.
- Identify the storage model priced: segregated or non-segregated. Segregated storage runs a premium of 60 to 100 percent at Delaware via STRATA and Brinks via IRA Express. TPMD and the Texas Bullion Depository are segregated-only for IRA metal, so the "segregated premium" is baked into the tiered percentage.
- Ask for the wire, out-shipment, and buy or sell transaction fees. These sit outside the storage line and hit at specific events. A 50-dollar wire and a 40-dollar buy transaction can double your first-year cost on a small account. Ask for the schedule in writing.
- Reconcile the first invoice against the schedule. After the depository confirms receipt of your metal, the first monthly or annual invoice should match the storage line, custodian fee, and floor rules on the schedule you signed. Flag any variance with the custodian in writing within 30 days.
Estimate your own annual fee drag
Use the calculator below to enter your planned rollover balance and see the estimated annual carrying cost and fee drag as a percentage. Enter the depository storage line, the custodian account fee, and any additional recurring lines you were quoted. Verify the exact numbers in writing before signing paperwork.
Texas gold IRA fee-drag calculator
Texas gold IRAs charge mostly flat dollar fees (setup, annual custodian, storage). Flat fees take a much bigger bite out of a small account than a large one. Enter your numbers to see the drag.
Estimate only. Fee amounts vary by provider and are often not published; enter figures you confirm in writing. This tool ignores metal price changes and the dealer spread, which also affect returns. Not financial advice.
When a cheaper depository is actually more expensive
A low storage line can hide a higher total cost. Here is how to spot the trap.
A flat 100-dollar storage line at Delaware looks like the winner at a glance, but the paired custodian may charge a higher account fee than a competitor. If the flat vault fee saves you 50 dollars while the custodian fee costs 100 dollars more, the total annual cost is 50 dollars worse. Compare the two-number pair, not the storage line alone.
A percentage schedule looks expensive on the sticker but wins at small balances because of the dollar floor. At 25,000 dollars, TPMD's 10-dollar monthly floor is 120 dollars per year, cheaper than Brinks via IRA Express at the 125-dollar commingled floor. Reading the sticker rate (0.50 percent) without the floor overstates the small-balance cost.
A "no storage fee" promotional offer is almost always paired with a higher dealer coin premium. The dealer covers the storage line internally, then recovers the cost through a wider spread on the coins you buy. Ask for the spot-plus-premium quote in writing before you accept a "free storage" year.
An IDS or CNT depository line is not published publicly, so the number depends entirely on which custodian carries the depository on its paperwork. A custodian that quotes IDS at 100 dollars per year is not offering a different depository than one that quotes IDS at 200 dollars; the difference is the custodian's markup on the same vault.
The Texas Bullion Depository IRA fee is negotiated per account. A retail non-IRA quote at 0.49 percent from the state schedule is not the number that will appear on an IRA buy instruction. Ask the depository operator or Equity Trust for the IRA quote in writing before you assume the retail rate applies.
The depository line is not the largest lever on a ten-year retirement outcome. Dealer coin premium at purchase, custodian account fees, and the underlying volatility of the metal carry more weight. A 100-dollar-per-year storage saving is real, but a 500-dollar-per-year premium overspend is five times larger and often invisible on the fee schedule.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions from Texas readers
What is a typical depository fee for a gold IRA?
At the transparent Texas-relevant setups, three ranges cover most cases. Delaware Depository via STRATA Trust runs 100 to 175 dollars flat per year. Brinks via IRA Express runs 125 to 200 dollars minimum per year. Texas Precious Metals Depository runs 0.50 percent per year with a 120-dollar floor. Add the custodian account fee, usually 100 to 300 dollars per year, for the total recurring cost.
Do all gold IRA depositories publish their fees online?
No. Delaware Depository through STRATA Trust, Brinks through IRA Express, and Texas Precious Metals Depository publish specific rates on public pages. IDS Group and CNT Depository quote through the paired custodian and do not publish a public IRA rate. The Texas Bullion Depository IRA fee is negotiated per account with the depository operator.
Is a flat fee always better than a percentage fee?
No. Flat is cheaper at balances above about 40,000 dollars (100 dollars flat vs 0.50 percent tiered). Percentage with a low dollar floor is cheaper at balances below the crossover. At 25,000 dollars, the 10-dollar monthly TPMD floor (120 dollars per year) undercuts the 125-dollar Brinks commingled floor and matches the Delaware flat pass-through.
Does the depository or the custodian bill me?
Usually the custodian bills you and passes the depository line through as a separate item. STRATA Trust invoices for both the 125-dollar STRATA account fee and the Delaware Depository storage line on one statement. Texas Precious Metals Depository bills its own storage line directly when a client uses TPMD standalone without a full custodian layer.
What is a basis point in a gold IRA storage fee?
A basis point is one-hundredth of one percent (0.01 percent). Brinks commingled storage at 12 basis points per year means 12 dollars per 10,000 dollars of account balance, or 120 dollars per year on a 100,000-dollar account. Basis-point pricing is subject to a dollar-floor minimum, so at low balances the floor takes over from the percentage.
Are gold IRA depository fees tax-deductible?
Depository storage fees for an IRA are not personally deductible on Schedule A for tax years starting 2018 through 2025 under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act miscellaneous 2 percent floor suspension. Fees paid from inside the IRA (billed to and paid by the IRA account, not personally) reduce the balance rather than the tax bill. Confirm the current treatment with a Texas licensed tax advisor.
Does storage at the Texas Bullion Depository cost more than at Delaware or Brinks?
At 100,000 dollars, the Texas Bullion Depository IRA quote is negotiated per account and not publicly disclosed. The state's retail non-IRA schedule of 0.49 percent (effective April 1, 2026) is a reference point only. Delaware via STRATA at 100 dollars flat and Brinks via IRA Express at 125 dollars (floor) at that balance are lower published numbers, but the choice of vault also carries geography and oversight differences.
Do IRS rules require a specific depository fee level?
No. IRC section 408(m) requires that the physical metal be held by a bank or an IRS-approved non-bank trustee, but the statute is silent on fee amounts (source: 26 U.S.C. section 408 via Cornell Legal Information Institute, checked July 2026). Each qualifying depository and custodian sets its own schedule. The market's fee range reflects competition, not a regulatory floor or ceiling.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 590-A (contributions to individual retirement arrangements), irs.gov/publications/p590a, checked July 2026.
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 590-B (distributions from individual retirement arrangements), irs.gov/publications/p590b, checked July 2026.
- 26 U.S.C. section 408 (individual retirement accounts, approved trustees, IRA-eligible bullion under 408(m)), law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/408, checked July 2026.
- STRATA Trust Company, Fee Schedule (50-dollar setup, 125-dollar annual account fee; Delaware Depository pass-through 100 dollars non-segregated or 175 dollars segregated), stratatrust.com/fees, checked June 2026.
- IRA Express, IRAxp Precious Metals form (Brinks pass-through: 12 basis points commingled with 125-dollar floor, 20 basis points segregated with 200-dollar floor), iraexpress.com, checked July 2026.
- Delaware Depository, IRA Services page (IRC 408 qualification, off-balance-sheet custody, segregated and non-segregated modes), delawaredepository.com IRA Services, checked July 2026.
- Texas Precious Metals Depository, Pricing page (tiered percentage: 0.50, 0.45, 0.35, 0.28 percent; 10-dollar monthly floor; segregated only; Lloyd's of London insurance; bailment custody), web archive of texasdepository.com Pricing, checked June 2026.
- Texas Bullion Depository, IRA Storage Services page (state agency oversight; IRA storage available through Lone Star Tangible Assets LP; segregated only for IRA), texasbulliondepository.gov IRA Storage, checked July 2026.
- Texas Bullion Depository, Schedule of Fees effective April 1, 2026 (retail non-IRA segregated tiered storage schedule), texasbulliondepository.gov Pricing, checked July 2026.
- International Depository Services Group, Services and Insurance pages (allocated and segregated storage; unallocated explicitly not offered; fees quoted through paired custodian), internationaldepositoryservices.com Insurance, checked July 2026.
- Bullion.Directory listing for CNT Depository (segregated, allocated, commingled storage models; fees quoted through custodian), bullion.directory CNT Depository, checked July 2026.
- Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (Texas has no state personal income tax), comptroller.texas.gov, checked July 2026.
- US Tax Court, McNulty v. Commissioner (2021) (home storage of IRA metal counts as a distribution; underscores the IRC 408(m) qualifying-custody requirement that drives the depository fee at all), ustaxcourt.gov, checked July 2026.