50 states + DC · Facts checked October 2026
Gold IRA companies, state by state
Federal IRA rules are identical everywhere — the money differences are state law: sales tax on bullion, tax on your distributions, and where approved storage actually sits. We map all 51 jurisdictions against the same rated set of companies, with a source and a check date on every fact.
51 jurisdictions covered 51 state pages fully verified 10 companies rated, no paid placements 100% of facts carry a source
The state table
What each state does to a gold IRA
Verified states link to full guides. "Verification pending" states are next in the editorial queue — we don't publish half-checked tax facts.
| State | Sales tax on bullion | Tax on IRA distributions | City guides |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 4 |
| Alaska | No sales tax on bullion | No state income tax | 1 |
| Arizona | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 10 |
| Arkansas | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 1 |
| California | Exempt over $2,000 | Ordinary income rates | 15 |
| Colorado | No sales tax on bullion | $20k exclusion (59½+) | 13 |
| Connecticut | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 15 |
| Delaware | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 5 |
| District of Columbia | Sales tax applies | Ordinary income rates | — |
| Florida | No sales tax on bullion | No state income tax | 15 |
| Georgia | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 7 |
| Hawaii | Sales tax applies | Ordinary income rates | 1 |
| Idaho | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 1 |
| Illinois | No sales tax on bullion | Retirement income exempt | 15 |
| Indiana | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 15 |
| Iowa | No sales tax on bullion | Retirement income exempt | 3 |
| Kansas | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 5 |
| Kentucky | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 2 |
| Louisiana | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 5 |
| Maine | Sales tax applies | Ordinary income rates | 5 |
| Maryland | Exempt over $1,000 | Ordinary income rates | 2 |
| Massachusetts | Exempt over $1,000 | Ordinary income rates | 7 |
| Michigan | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 8 |
| Minnesota | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 3 |
| Mississippi | No sales tax on bullion | Retirement income exempt | 1 |
| Missouri | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 5 |
| Montana | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 1 |
| Nebraska | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 2 |
| Nevada | Exempt over ≤ 50% over melt value | No state income tax | 8 |
| New Hampshire | No sales tax on bullion | No state income tax | 1 |
| New Jersey | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 9 |
| New Mexico | Sales tax applies | Ordinary income rates | 2 |
| New York | Exempt over $1,000 | $20k exclusion (59½+) | 15 |
| North Carolina | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 9 |
| North Dakota | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 1 |
| Ohio | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 15 |
| Oklahoma | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 4 |
| Oregon | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 5 |
| Pennsylvania | No sales tax on bullion | Retirement income exempt | 3 |
| Rhode Island | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 1 |
| South Carolina | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 3 |
| South Dakota | No sales tax on bullion | No state income tax | 1 |
| Tennessee | No sales tax on bullion | No state income tax | 6 |
| Texas | Exempt over $1,000 | No state income tax | 15 |
| Utah | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 4 |
| Vermont | Sales tax applies | Ordinary income rates | 5 |
| Virginia | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 8 |
| Washington | Sales tax applies | No state income tax | 8 |
| West Virginia | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 5 |
| Wisconsin | No sales tax on bullion | Ordinary income rates | 3 |
| Wyoming | No sales tax on bullion | No state income tax | 5 |
No paid placements
State facts from primary sources. Company scores from fixed weights.
Every state page names its source — a revenue department publication, a comptroller's rule — with the date we checked it. Company ratings use the same five weighted criteria across every state, so the only thing that changes between two state pages is the state.
| Criterion | Weight | What we measure |
|---|---|---|
| Fees & Fee Transparency | 25% | Setup, admin and storage fees from published schedules; no hidden line items. |
| Customer Feedback & Ratings | 25% | Volume and shape of BBB, Trustpilot and ConsumerAffairs records: complaint themes, resolution behavior. |
| Transparency & Education | 20% | Publishes real numbers, explains costs honestly, educates before it sells. |
| Buyback & Liquidity | 15% | Published buyback terms and how cleanly a position unwinds when you sell. |
| Products & Storage | 15% | IRA-eligible product range and depository options, including state-specific vaults. |
Straight answers
State-by-state questions, answered without a sales pitch
Do gold IRA rules change by state?
Federal IRA rules — what metals qualify, where they must be stored, contribution and distribution rules — are identical in all 50 states and DC. What changes at the state line is money around the metal: whether bullion purchases are exempt from sales tax (and above what threshold), how the state taxes IRA distributions, and where approved depositories physically sit.
Which states charge no sales tax on gold IRA purchases?
A number of states exempt investment bullion entirely — Florida removed its last purchase minimum in August 2025 — while others exempt only sales above a threshold: $1,000 in Texas and New York, $2,000 in California. Some states tax bullion like any other goods. Each state page lists the rule with its source and check date.
Does my state tax my gold IRA distributions?
Nine states levy no income tax at all, so distributions leave the account state-tax-free. Most others tax IRA distributions as ordinary income; a few (like New York) exclude the first slice of retirement income for savers 59½+. The state table shows the treatment, with the sourced detail one click away.
How are companies rated here?
On five weighted criteria — fees and fee transparency (25%), customer feedback (25%), transparency and education (20%), buyback and liquidity (15%), products and storage (15%) — with hard caps for hidden pricing and unresolved complaints. The full rules are on the methodology page.
Why are some states listed as "verification pending"?
We publish a state page only after its facts are checked against primary sources — the revenue department's bullion rule and the retirement-income treatment — each with a check date. States still in verification stay in our table but do not link to a page yet. No thin templates.
The desk