Precious Metals Depository: How It Works and What It Costs In 2026

A precious metals depository is a secure, insured vault that stores gold, silver, platinum, and palladium for investors. If you own a Gold IRA, your metals are held at a precious metals depository that you pick from your custodian’s list. If you bought metals with personal funds, you can open an account with a depository yourself.

Storage costs depend on which path you take. IRA storage is a yearly fee billed through your custodian, while personal storage is usually a percentage of your metals’ value. 

Gold IRAs were 21% of our business in 2025, so we’re sharing below how depositories work, what storage costs, and what to check before you choose one.

Key takeaways

• What it is: A depository stores, insures, and audits physical metals, and it’s a separate company from your dealer and your custodian.
• IRA vs. personal storage: For a Gold IRA, you pick a depository from your custodian’s list, while personal metals can go into an account you open directly.
• Cost: IRA storage is a flat yearly fee through your custodian, and Gold Star Trust charges $125 a year for commingled storage. Personal storage is a percentage of your metals’ value, and each depository sets its own rate and minimum fee.
• Before you choose: Check the storage type, fees, access, and withdrawal terms.

What is a precious metals depository?

A depository is a facility that stores physical gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Most are private companies that specialize in storing and moving precious metals, and they’re separate from your dealer and your IRA custodian. 

When your metals arrive, the depository records each item to your account and keeps it insured in the vault until you or your custodian ask for it back.

Commingled vs. segregated storage

When you open an account, you’ll choose between two types of storage:

• Commingled storage: Your metals are pooled with other clients’ metals of the same type. When you withdraw, you get back the same amount of equivalent metal, which may be different coins or bars from the ones you deposited.
• Segregated storage: Your metals are stored on their own, apart from everyone else’s, so you get back your exact coins and bars. At Gold Star Trust, segregated storage costs a minimum of $225 a year, compared with $125 for commingled. IDS charges nothing extra for segregated storage.

How does a precious metals depository work?

The process is a little different depending on whether you’re storing metals for a Gold IRA or metals you bought with personal funds.

With a Gold IRA

Here are the companies involved if you decide to set up a Gold or precious metals IRA:

• Dealer: Helps you choose the metals and ships them directly to the depository.
• Custodian: Holds title, handles the account paperwork, and reports to the IRS.
• Depository: Stores and insures the metals and reports your holdings to the custodian.

Custodians have a default depository and a list of others they support, and you pick one from that list when you open your account. For example, Gold Star Trust, a custodian Swiss America often works with, lists Delaware Depository in Wilmington with commingled storage as its default and offers other storage options if you’d like a different one.

When you’re ready to take metals out of your IRA, you can sell them inside the account for cash or take an in-kind distribution, and the depository ships the metals to you.

With personal funds

For personal gold, you can open an account directly with the depository. You’ll ship your metals or drop them off with a deposit slip that lists each item. The depository bills you an annual storage fee, and when you want your metals back, you can request a withdrawal by shipment or book an appointment to pick them up.

The Swiss America team recently talked about how buying gold with personal funds differs from buying it with retirement funds, including how storage works for each, on our podcast:

Common precious metals depositories

Here are some of the best-known precious metals depositories in the U.S., with details from their sites:

Depository	Location	Storage types	Accounts
Delaware Depository	Wilmington, DE, and Boulder City, NV	Segregated and non-segregated	Personal and IRA
International Depository Services (IDS)	Dallas, TX, and New Castle, DE	Segregated only, at no extra fee	Personal and IRA
Dakota Depository	Fargo, ND	Allocated and segregated	Retail and commercial
Brink’s	Several locations, including New York	Commercial vault storage	IRA and institutional
CNT Depository	Bridgewater, MA	Allocated and segregated	Personal, corporate, and IRA

How depositories protect your metals

Security

Before you choose a depository, confirm it has UL-rated vaults and:

• 24/7 monitoring
• Controlled access such as biometric entry
• Armed security

Insurance

If you hold gold in a depository, it’s covered by the facility’s own insurance as part of their storage fee.

When you compare facilities, ask whether the policy covers the full value of your metals, who the underwriter is and whether your metals are covered while they’re in transit.

Audits

Before you open an account, ask who audits the depository’s holdings and how often. Once your metals arrive, your statement should list each coin and bar by type and quantity, so you can check it against your purchase invoice to make sure everything matches.

What depository storage costs

Storage is billed differently for IRA metals vs personal metals:

Storage type	How it’s billed	Typical cost
IRA storage	Through your custodian, as an annual fee	Gold Star Trust: $125 a year commingled, $225 a year minimum segregated
Personal storage	Directly by the depository, as a percentage of value	Each depository sets its own rate and minimum annual fee. Request a quote.

On Gold Star’s published fee schedule, the commingled fee is flat no matter how much your metals are worth, and segregated storage adds $1.80 per $1,000 of value above $125,000. Storage is one of several Gold IRA fees to consider as well as setup and annual maintenance fees.

What to check before you choose a depository

Here’s what to look at when you compare depositories:

• Storage type: Make sure the depository offers the type you want for your metal, since several facilities offer segregated storage only.
• Fees and minimums: Ask for the full fee schedule, including any minimum annual fee and charges to deposit or ship metals.
• Access and location: Some depositories let you visit by appointment, and others release metals only by shipment, so if you plan to visit, choose a site you can reach.
• Withdrawal timelines and fees: Ask how long a withdrawal takes and what shipping costs. For IRA metals, your custodian may also charge for an in-kind distribution, and Gold Star charges $75 plus shipping.

Depository vs. home safe vs. safe deposit box

Here’s how the main options for storing gold compare:

Storage option	Security	Insurance	IRA eligible	Access
Depository	Professional vault security	Insured by the facility	Yes	By appointment or through your custodian
Home safe	Your responsibility	You arrange separately	No	Anytime
Bank safe deposit box	Standard bank security	Not covered by the bank or the FDIC	No	Business hours only

You cannot store IRA gold at home. Federal rules require IRA metals to be held by a bank or approved trustee, which in practice means a depository your custodian works with.

Final thoughts on precious metals depositories

For a Gold IRA, choosing a depository comes down to the facilities your custodian supports, whether you want commingled or segregated storage, and what the custodian charges for each. 

To learn more about Gold IRAs, connect with the Swiss America team today!

Precious metals depository: FAQs

Which depositories are IRS-approved for a Gold IRA?

Banks and IRS-approved trustees hold IRA bullion, and each custodian then chooses which depositories it works with. For example, Delaware Depository and IDS both say on their sites that they store IRA metals.

What is the Delaware Depository, and what does it charge?

Delaware Depository is a private depository in Wilmington, Delaware, and Boulder City, Nevada, that stores metals for both IRA and personal storage customers. For a Gold IRA, you won’t get a bill from Delaware itself, because your custodian charges storage as part of its annual fees. For a personal account, Delaware doesn’t list its rates on its website, so you’ll need to ask the depository for a quote.

What is International Depository Services (IDS)?

IDS is a private depository in Dallas, Texas, and New Castle, Delaware, and both individual investors and IRA holders can use it. Its site says all metals are kept in segregated storage at no additional fee, so whichever way you use it, you get back your exact coins and bars.

Where can I store my Gold IRA?

Any depository on your custodian’s list can hold your Gold IRA. If you’re rolling over a 401(k) or IRA and want a specific facility, look at the new custodian’s list before you open the account, since you’ll name the depository on the account paperwork.

What is Dakota Depository?

Dakota Depository is a private depository in Fargo, North Dakota, that stores metals for both retail and commercial customers, so you can open a personal account there directly. Its site says all custody storage is both allocated and segregated.

The information in this post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered tax or legal advice. Please consult with your own tax professionals before making any decisions or taking action based on this information.