By now, no one needs to tell you that gold is one of the most precious and valuable metals. When you lose your gold bars or coins, that’s it. You’re not getting it back because it’s impossible to cash in a claim check. This emphasizes the significance of storing items at home.

Although we think using a safe deposit box is your best bet for keeping your gold secured, we understand that some investors prefer to store their gold at home, which is also acceptable. However, if storing your gold at home is your preferred storage method, there are certain things you must know.

Things You Should Consider Before Storing Gold at Home

Protection

Precious metals like gold are vulnerable to damage if stored carelessly. You should never forget to keep your gold and silver away from moisture and heat.

If you intend to sell your gold and silver products, you should consider storing them in a watertight container and not taking them out of their protective packaging. You may see a significant drop in value if your bars and coins are damaged or altered from their original condition.

Insurance

There’s also the question of whether or not your homeowner’s insurance adequately covers your jewelry and other precious items. Are your gold bars or coins insured?

insurance policy might not cover the total value of collectible coins and other precious metals you keep home if you bought them outside your IRA. The bank won’t protect you if you use their safety deposit box. The items stored in safety deposit boxes are not covered by either the bank or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Gold storage insurance is available, though rates vary significantly.

Gold IRA is not eligible for home storage.

The IRS stipulates that a gold-backed IRA cannot be stored at home. For those who make an attempt to store their IRA gold at home, they are met with a gamut of IRS requirements that often dwarfs whatever benefits are attached to home storage.

Gold stored at home under a self-directed IRA is subject to taxation by the IRS, and for individuals below 59 ½ years, there’s an additional penalty of 10% for early withdrawal.

Also, storing your IRA gold at home for self-dealing is prohibited under IRS laws and could jeopardize your retirement investments.

Of course, this applies only to an IRA plan. You are free to store gold outside of an IRA plan.

Ideal Places to Store Your Gold at Home

Metals like gold can be stored in various unique locations, depending on what is available to you. Some forms of storage may not be accessible to you if you have limited space in your home.

However, if you want to keep your gold and silver savings well-protected but are stumped as to where the best hiding spot might be, this guide will help give you insights to make the best decision.

In a Top-Quality Safe

Although a safe is still the most common and secure option for stowing valuables at home in the modern era, you may want to invest in a high-quality safe. Some experts warn that a simple fireproof document safe may be useless against professional burglars.

These secure containers, which can weigh hundreds of kilograms, are typically hidden underground or in other inconspicuous locations. With so many potential threats, you must find a safe place to bury your gold where not even the most cunning thief would ever think to look.

Suppose the safe is built into the floor. In that case, you can conceal it with floorboards and carpets, making it nearly impossible for burglars or thieves to access your gold.

Other Places

If you don’t have room for a largely safe and don’t want to go through the hassle of tearing down walls, you can use faux stones to conceal your gold stash. The chances of a thief identifying the faux stones are low if you have lots of rocks in your yard.

People believe that some pots weigh hundreds of kilograms, making them difficult to move. So if rocks aren’t your thing, using big flower pots to conceal your gold and silver is an option.

Another spot to consider is nonfunctioning gas or water pipes. These spots make excellent safe havens for your gold. A thief pressed for time will not check your entire gas and water supply lines.

In Empty Spaces

Some gold investors prefer the anonymity of hiding their wealth in their homes’ many hidden nooks and crannies. Empty places like where? You may wonder.

If you take the time to look around your home, you will find many clever hiding places. Places like:

• Behind a gypsum board: The space behind a gypsum board can be helpful as a hiding place, especially if you have removable panels. However, you need to consciously remember which wall you used. Funny as this warning might seem, you’ll be shocked to discover how many people frequently lose track of where they hid their treasure.
• False ceiling: If your home has a faulty or dropped ceiling, you can easily conceal valuables above your head and out of reach.
• Behind electric radiators and large appliances: Some electric radiators have extra space between them and the wall, which can be a good hiding place for your metals. And if someone does try to use a metal detector on your home, the radiator’s metal will deter them.
• Hiding valuables behind the stove, refrigerator, and other large appliances could be considered a smart move because burglars probably won’t bother to move them around to get to them.

Advantages of Home Storage

Having your gold stored at home benefits those who value convenience and don’t want to deal with an intermediary. They are as follows.

• Gold bars and coins are readily available and can be stored safely at home. Having your gold at home gives you easy access to them, especially in an emergency or if you simply enjoy looking at your acquisition.
• You don’t need to worry about putting your trust in anybody aside from yourself, except you go about telling people you have gold in your home. Storing your precious gold at home eliminates relying on a financial institution or private company.

Disadvantages of Home Storage

Before deciding to store your gold at home, it is critical to know that this storage method has cons, particularly if you intend to cash in on a price increase. Below are some disadvantages of storing your gold at home:

• Storing your gold bars or coins at home makes them more vulnerable to theft, so you may need to take extra precautions to keep your gold hidden and safe from prying eyes. People who opt to keep their gold at home should consider purchasing a robust safe and taking out supporting insurance.
• With home storage you can’t keep your gold in a tax-advantaged retirement account such as a 401k or IRA. The IRS requires that your investment be kept in a 3rd party depository.
• For several reasons, securing a reliable physical gold store to sell your precious metals can be daunting if you’ve been hoarding them at home. Some of the reasons are that it takes time to test and estimate the value of your gold before making an offer is substantial, and traditional gold shops are only open during specific times of the day.
• Additionally, since prices vary widely, you may need to shop around before finalizing a sale. Gold stored at home may not be the best option for those quickly responding to market fluctuations.

• The chances of losing track of your valuables are high, especially if you hid them skillfully. Your gold bars could be hidden in the wall or a small, hidden safe box and forgotten.

Conclusion

While it may be appealing to keep your gold close at hand, experience has shown that doing so can make it difficult to safeguard against natural disasters and theft.

Furthermore you cannot store your gold IRA at home due to regulations by the IRS.

Even with the desire to have your gold arm’s length, a depository offers a more safer means of gold storage with full license to store gold for a self-directed IRA.

We are committed leaders in the precious metal industry and our brand thrives on trustworthiness. To begin the journey to safeguarding your retirement reach out to us at 888-503-1553.