GoldStar Trust Company Review

Affiliate disclosure: we may earn a commission when a reader opens an account through links on this page. The commission has no effect on what you pay or on what we publish. We are not a financial or tax advisor; consult a licensed advisor for your situation. Last reviewed July 2026.

What GoldStar Trust Company actually is

GoldStar Trust Company is a self-directed IRA custodian. It holds legal title to IRA assets on behalf of the account owner, executes buy and sell instructions the owner signs, and files the annual tax paperwork with the IRS. It is a directed (passive) custodian, which is the operational label used on its own precious metals disclosure page.

The corporate address published on the goldstartrust.com contact page is 701 S. Taylor, Suite 260, Amarillo, TX 79101, with mail routed to 701 S. Taylor, LB 110, Amarillo, TX 79101-2425. The main phone line is (800) 486-6888, with an international line at 1-011-806-354-3540 for clients outside the United States.

GoldStar Trust Company is not a stand-alone independent trust company today. The site footer states plainly that GoldStar is a division of Centennial Bank. Centennial Bank is the banking subsidiary of Home BancShares, Inc., an Arkansas-headquartered bank holding company. The consumer-facing brand remains GoldStar, but the bank charter behind it is Centennial's.

GoldStar custodies more than one asset class. The published product lines cover Precious Metals, Privately Offered Investments, Publicly Traded Securities, Real Estate IRAs, REITs, Church Bonds, and Crowdfunding. The trust company also runs escrow and paying agent services on the institutional side. Precious metals IRAs are one of several product lines rather than the entire business.

The directed custodian role, in plain terms

GoldStar states on every product page that it is a directed custodian and that it does not provide tax, legal, or investment advice. The precious metals investment disclosure adds that GoldStar does not offer investment products and does not buy or sell precious metals for accounts. GoldStar is disqualified by the Internal Revenue Code from trading with an IRA for which it is the custodian.

What this means in practice is that GoldStar processes what you sign. It opens the IRA, receives your rollover money, notifies the dealer you selected within 48 business hours of receiving your investment direction, and executes the wire when the buy instruction is complete. It does not police the coin premium, does not underwrite the dealer, and does not check whether the price you paid was fair against spot.

Under 26 U.S.C. section 408(a)(2), an IRA can only be custodied by a bank, a federally insured credit union, a state-chartered trust company, or an IRS-approved non-bank trustee. GoldStar operates as a division of Centennial Bank, and its custody function relies on the bank charter of its parent (source: law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/408, checked July 2026).

This division of labor is why the custodian question and the dealer question are separate. GoldStar can be an efficient custodian while the dealer paired with your account still charges a rich premium. The two decisions deserve their own scrutiny, and one is not a proxy for the other.

The Amarillo headquarters and what it means

GoldStar Trust Company is physically based in Amarillo, Texas, in the northern Panhandle. The corporate address on the contact page is 701 S. Taylor, Suite 260. Mail is routed to 701 S. Taylor, LB 110. The precious metals fax number carries the 806 area code, which is Amarillo's exchange.

Having a Texas physical headquarters is not the same as being a Texas-chartered trust company. GoldStar operates as a division of Centennial Bank, which is chartered in Arkansas per publicly available bank regulatory records. The Amarillo location is the operational home, and the parent bank charter sits under a different state's supervisor.

For a Texas reader, having a custodian with staff and operations in Amarillo means paperwork and phone support hours track Central Time. Business hours listed on the contact page are Monday through Thursday 7 am to 5 pm Central and Friday 7 am to 4 pm Central. That is friendlier for a Texas resident than a coast-based custodian on Eastern or Pacific hours.

Separately, Texas has no state personal income tax on wages or on retirement account distributions (source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, checked July 2026). A distribution from a GoldStar IRA held by a Texas resident is taxed at the federal ordinary income rate only, with no Texas state income tax layered on top. Consult your tax advisor for your specific situation.

History from Colonial Trust to Centennial Bank

The corporate story on the goldstartrust.com about page traces the business back to 1989. In that year, Colonial Trust Company was established in Phoenix, Arizona, spun off from Church Loans and Investment Trust, now known as CLI Capital. The original niche was custodial services for church bonds and other non-traditional IRA assets.

Colonial Trust Company built a reputation in self-directed IRAs and in church bond trustee work. Sarbanes-Oxley in 2002 tightened regulations across the industry, and the board pursued a strategic combination with a bank that could add a deposit base and broader service capabilities.

Happy State Bank, headquartered in Happy, Texas, acquired Colonial in 2004 and renamed it GoldStar Trust Company. The trust company then operated as a division of Happy State Bank throughout the Panhandle-anchored bank's growth. Happy State Bank was later combined into Centennial Bank, which is the affiliation reflected in the current site footer.

Centennial Bank is the banking subsidiary of Home BancShares, Inc., a publicly traded bank holding company (NYSE: HOMB) headquartered in Conway, Arkansas. That is the current parent of GoldStar Trust Company as of this review. Ownership arrangements at trust companies can change over time; readers who want the current control structure on the record should ask GoldStar directly for the current organizational chart in writing.

Reported scale as published by GoldStar

The goldstartrust.com about page reports three scale figures. GoldStar states that it has over 6 billion dollars in assets under custody and provides custodial and institutional services to over 60,000 customers. The business has been operating since 1989, or 37 years at the time of this review (source: goldstartrust.com about page, checked July 2026).

The about page also names the leadership team. Jeff Kelley is listed as President. Senior Vice Presidents named are Dave Schnierle for Business Development and Jeff Worley for Compliance and Risk Management. Angela Shafer is Vice President Operations Manager, and Sarah Blount is Vice President Support Manager.

Scale numbers on custody platforms move quarter to quarter, and self-reported staff titles change as teams evolve. Treat these as the point-in-time snapshot the website carried when we read it. Operational maturity is a fair inference from the number of forms and tax filings processed each year, but it does not certify pricing on any specific dealer purchase you make.

GoldStar fees for a precious metals gold IRA

The GoldStar precious metals page does not publish a single flat dollar fee schedule the way some other custodians do. What the page states directly is that annual maintenance, asset holding, and depository storage fees are due when the account is established and billed annually thereafter on the account-opening anniversary date. Annual fees are not prorated.

The same page adds that a precious metals IRA requires special handling to set up and manage, and directs readers to contact the Investor Services team for an estimation of annual fees. Maintenance and storage fees may vary in the years to come according to changes in account value, and are based on the market value of the account prior to the billing period.

That last sentence matters. Fees that vary with account value are asset-based rather than flat. As metal prices rise or as the reader adds to the account, the annual maintenance and storage totals can rise with the balance. This is a different fee model from custodians who publish a fixed dollar account fee that does not change with balance.

The absence of a public flat schedule is a real information gap the reader should close before opening the account. Ask GoldStar directly for the current maintenance fee, the asset holding fee, and the storage fee for the depository named on your buy instruction. Get the answers in writing so the numbers are on record.

Estimate the annual fee drag on your own balance

Use the calculator below to enter your planned rollover balance and estimated combined annual fee, and see the fee drag as a percentage of the account. Enter the specific dollar figure GoldStar quotes you in writing, not a guess. The result is illustrative and rounds to the nearest dollar.

Approved depositories on the GoldStar list

GoldStar does not physically hold IRA metal itself. The trust company holds legal title to the account, and the physical bars or coins sit at an IRS-approved third-party depository chosen at intake. The dealer you buy metals from usually determines which depository will be used on the paperwork you sign.

The GoldStar precious metals page lists four depositories that are approved to receive metal for GoldStar-custodied accounts as of July 2026. The list carries specific segregation notes that matter when the reader compares options.

Segregation matters at intake. Segregated storage means your specific bars or coins sit under your name and you get back the exact pieces you shipped in. Commingled storage means you own a claim on like-kind metal from a pooled inventory. If your intended purchase is a smaller silver product like American Silver Eagles, the Delaware Depository option is commingled only, per the notes on the GoldStar page.

Where GoldStar fits Texas storage preferences

Two of the four GoldStar-approved depositories have a Texas vault. IDS operates a Dallas, Texas facility in addition to its Delaware location. TPMD of Texas is located in Shiner, Texas, in the south-central part of the state. Both are private commercial depositories.

For a Texas reader who wants the custodian, the depository, and the metal all inside Texas, the combination of GoldStar (Amarillo) plus IDS Dallas or TPMD Shiner is a fully in-state configuration. This is not required for a valid IRA, and it does not change the federal tax treatment of the account.

An important honest note. The state-owned Texas Bullion Depository in Leander is not listed among GoldStar's approved depositories at the time of this review. It is the only state-administered and state-audited precious metals depository in the United States. State law creating the facility was signed by Governor Greg Abbott on June 12, 2015. Lone Star Tangible Assets has operated the site as vendor since 2017.

Readers who specifically want that Leander vault will need a custodian and dealer combination that routes there instead of to one of the four GoldStar options.

The Texas advantage on the tax side is straightforward. Texas has no state personal income tax. A distribution from a GoldStar IRA at retirement is taxed at the federal ordinary income rate only, with no Texas state income tax layered on top (source: Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, checked July 2026). Consult your tax advisor on your specific bracket and situation.

IRA-allowable metals per the GoldStar site

The precious metals page lists the specific metals GoldStar will accept into an IRA it custodies. Gold must be at least .995 fine, silver must be at least .999 fine, and both platinum and palladium must be at least .9995 fine. These thresholds match the general federal IRA fineness rules.

Bars, rounds, and coins must be produced by a refiner, assayer, or manufacturer accredited or certified by NYMEX, COMEX, NYSE/Liffe, LME, LBMA, LPPM, TOCOM, ISO 9000, or a national government mint. Proof coins must be ungraded, complete with certificate of authenticity, and in original mint packaging. Bullion coins must be uncirculated and in excellent condition.

Two eligibility notes are useful for a Texas reader shopping a dealer. The Krugerrand is unacceptable because its gold content is .9167, which falls below the .995 threshold, and it is not one of the statutory exceptions like the American Gold Eagle. Proof American Eagles are allowed inside an IRA at GoldStar only when they are ungraded and delivered in original mint packaging with the matching certificate of authenticity.

How to open a GoldStar gold IRA through a dealer

The typical intake path for a GoldStar gold IRA runs through a precious metals dealer that names GoldStar as the trustee of record on its account paperwork. The following steps describe what happens between signing the intake form and seeing metal show up on your first statement.

1. Choose your IRA type. GoldStar handles Traditional, Roth, SEP, and SIMPLE self-directed IRAs. Your dealer's paperwork will identify the account type on the GoldStar application.
2. Complete the GoldStar application. Submit identity information, beneficiary designations, and the funding source. Applications are available directly from GoldStar or from the dealer's onboarding packet.
3. Fund the account by rollover, transfer, or contribution. A rollover from a former 401(k), 403(b), TSP, or an existing IRA can move directly to GoldStar. Trustee-to-trustee movement avoids the 60-day rollover risk under IRC section 402.
4. Submit the Precious Metals Investment Direction. Once funds are in cash inside the IRA, you sign a written buy instruction naming the dealer, the coins or bars, the price, and the depository. GoldStar does not select any of these for you.
5. GoldStar notifies the dealer. GoldStar's policy is to notify the dealer within 48 business hours of receipt of the investment direction, unless you have instructed otherwise. If funds are still arriving from multiple sources, ask GoldStar to hold notice until all funds land.
6. Dealer ships metal to the depository. The dealer ships approved metal directly to the depository named on the buy instruction. Payment is made from the IRA on delivery. The full process typically takes 2 to 4 weeks or longer, depending on how quickly funds arrive from your resigning custodian.
7. Depository confirms receipt. The depository advises GoldStar and you when metal is received. That is the moment the account holds physical metal rather than cash.
8. Review annual statements and IRS forms. GoldStar reports the account value at spot on the annual statement and files Form 5498 each May with the IRS. Form 1099-R follows in January of the year after any distribution.

Worked example: Texas rollover cost stack

Balanced pros and cons

When GoldStar is a bad idea for you

Frequently asked questions

By Harry's Coins Editorial. Independent, editorial. Last reviewed July 2026.