Storing Gold and Silver Outside the US: A Guide for Americans

3 hours ago

9 min read

This guide is for Americans considering storing physical gold, silver, platinum, or palladium in a vault outside the United States. It explains how international storage works, what the key terms mean, what it typically costs, and the US tax and reporting rules to know before you start.

Global Vaults provides general information only, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Terms, fees, and rules change, so confirm current details with any provider, and with a qualified US tax professional, before acting.

Why some Americans store metal abroad

People hold physical precious metals for different reasons: as a long-term store of value, to diversify away from stocks, bonds, and cash, or as protection against currency or banking-system problems. Whether metals suit you is a personal financial decision, and this guide doesn't try to answer it.

Storing metal abroad is a separate decision. Americans who choose it usually give some combination of these reasons:

Jurisdictional diversification. Keeping part of your wealth under a different legal and political system, so it isn't exposed to every risk that affects assets at home.
Distance from the US financial system. Metal held directly in a vault isn't a bank deposit or a brokerage position. Some Americans also point to history: in 1933, Executive Order 6102 required Americans to turn in most of their gold to the government. Few people expect a repeat, but it's a common reason people give for keeping options outside the US.
Access if you're abroad. If you might one day live or spend long periods outside the US, metal stored in a convenient international hub can be easier to reach, sell, or borrow against.
Professional storage instead of a home safe. Specialist vaults offer insurance, audits, and security that are hard to match at home, in any country.

There are trade-offs too. Your metal is far away, you depend on a foreign company, and there are extra costs and US reporting obligations. The rest of this guide covers those so you can weigh them.

How international bullion storage works

Most international storage works through an online account with a bullion company. You open the account remotely, send money by bank wire, and buy metal through the company's website. The company then stores the metal for you in a high-security vault. Some companies own and run their own vaults, while others rent space in independent facilities, sometimes in specially regulated free-trade zones known as freeports.

The main types of provider are:

Bullion dealers with storage. Private companies that sell metal and store it for customers, often in several countries. Many let you sell back to them at any time.
Government-owned mints. Some national mints, such as those in Australia and the UK, run online storage services for retail customers.
Refiner-owned platforms. Some large refiners run retail platforms that sell their own bars and store them in the refiner's vault.
Peer-to-peer exchanges. A few platforms let customers trade metal with each other, with the metal staying in the vault throughout.

Many established providers accept American clients and can be opened without visiting in person. Still, confirm it early with any provider you consider. Some foreign financial and bullion companies don't accept Americans, mainly because of the cost and legal exposure of complying with US rules.

Popular storage locations include Singapore, Switzerland, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK. People typically weigh a location's political stability, legal protection for property, distance from the US, and how easy it would be to travel there if needed.

Allocated, unallocated, and segregated storage

These three terms describe who legally owns the metal and how it's kept. They matter most if the storage company ever runs into trouble, which makes this one of the most important choices you'll make.

Unallocated. You own a claim on a quantity of metal, not specific bars. The metal sits in a shared pool, and you're effectively an unsecured creditor of the company, so your metal is only as safe as the company itself. If it fails, you may have to line up with its other creditors and could get back less than you're owed. It's usually the cheapest option, and some providers store it free.
Allocated. Specific bars or coins, often identified by serial number, are assigned to you and legally belong to you, not to the company. If the company fails, your metal should not be part of its assets. Allocated metal may still be stored alongside other customers' allocated metal.
Segregated. Allocated metal kept physically separate from everyone else's, for example on its own shelf or in its own sealed container. Segregation makes it easier to show which metal is yours, and it often costs more.

Allocated and segregated storage generally offer the most protection, because the metal legally belongs to you rather than to the company. Unallocated storage exposes you to the company's own financial risk, and many precious metals specialists advise against it for anyone whose main goal is safety, which is usually the point of a Plan B. One exception is worth knowing about: some government-owned mints offer unallocated storage backed by a government guarantee. That reduces the company risk, but ties your protection to that government instead.

When comparing providers, look at the storage agreement rather than the marketing. It should say plainly whether you hold legal title to specific metal, and what happens to your metal if the company goes out of business.

What "insured" and "audited" really mean

Nearly every provider says its storage is insured and audited. Those words can mean very different things, so it pays to ask follow-up questions.

Insurance usually means the vault carries a specialist policy covering theft, damage, and loss. Ask:

Who is the insurer, and is the policy in the vault's name or does it cover customers directly?
Does it cover the full value of all metal stored, or is there a cap?
What's excluded? Policies often exclude events such as war or government seizure.

Best of all, ask the provider for a copy of the insurance policy and read it yourself, so you understand exactly which risks are covered and which aren't. Some providers will only share a certificate or summary of coverage rather than the full policy. If so, read that carefully, and ask follow-up questions about anything it doesn't address.

Audits mean an independent firm counts the metal in the vault and checks it against the provider's records of what customers own. Ask:

Who does the audit, and how often?
Are the results published, or available to customers?
Does the audit check individual bars and serial numbers, or just total weight?

Government guarantees replace insurance at some government-owned mints. Instead of an insurance policy, the government that owns the mint stands behind its obligations to customers. That can be strong protection, but it depends on that government, so it's a different kind of risk rather than no risk.

No arrangement removes all risk. The goal is understanding exactly which risks are covered, and by whom.

What it costs

The total cost of storing metal abroad comes from four main places. Based on the providers Global Vaults has reviewed, typical ranges are:

Storage fees. Usually a yearly percentage of your metal's value. For gold, roughly 0.4% to 1% a year is common, and silver often costs more because it takes up more space. Some providers store small holdings free, some charge a flat monthly fee up to a certain value, and some have a minimum annual fee, such as several hundred dollars.
Spreads. The difference between the price you pay and the market (spot) price, and again when you sell. For gold bars, roughly 1% to 4% above or below spot is common, with coins and silver usually higher.
Account and transaction fees. Some providers charge a one-time membership fee, a small annual account fee, or a trading fee on each purchase and sale. In some countries, sales tax is added to storage fees.
Delivery. Shipping metal internationally is expensive because it requires insured, specialist transport. As one real example, a quote for shipping ten 1-ounce gold bars to the US came to about $1,200, before any customs charges.

The differences add up. For $50,000 of gold, the estimated yearly storage cost across the providers Global Vaults reviewed ranged from about $115 to $1,200, depending on the provider. Compare total costs over the years you expect to hold, not just the headline storage rate.

Opening an account from the US

Opening a storage account is usually done entirely online and takes anywhere from a day to a few weeks. The typical steps are:

Apply online. Create an account and accept the provider's storage agreement. Most require you to be at least 18.
Verify your identity. Expect to upload a passport and proof of address, and often a selfie. Some providers only require full verification above a certain amount. A few ask for notarized copies of your documents sent by mail, which adds time.
Fund the account. Most providers take bank wires. Some also accept credit cards or cryptocurrency, often for an extra fee. Many set a deadline for using deposited money to buy metal, commonly between 30 days and six months.
Buy metal. Choose bars or coins on the provider's website. Your holdings then appear in your online account, usually with bar serial numbers for allocated storage.

To make the process smoother, have your documents ready, use the exact name and address that appear on your passport and bank statements, and be prepared to explain where your money comes from. Questions about the source of funds are normal and required by anti-money-laundering rules.

Getting your metal back

Before you buy, know how you'd get value out again. There are three main ways:

Selling through the provider. The simplest option. Many providers buy metal back directly, and some run an exchange where you sell to other customers. The money is then wired to your bank. Check the sell-back spread and any fees, and whether selling requires a signed instruction or can be done online.
Delivery. Most providers can ship metal to you, though it's costly, as the cost section shows. Customs duties or taxes may apply in the destination country, and you're responsible for declaring the shipment.
Picking it up in person. Some vaults let you collect your metal yourself, by appointment. Others don't allow pickup at all, so check before choosing if this matters to you. Taking metal across borders yourself brings customs rules too, both in the country you leave and the one you enter.

For a Plan B, it's worth thinking through how you'd actually reach your metal in a difficult situation, such as when travel is restricted, and choosing a provider and location that fit that scenario.

US tax and reporting basics

Americans are taxed on their worldwide income wherever their assets are, so storing metal abroad doesn't change what you owe. It can, however, add reporting forms. These are the basics. The rules have gray areas, so confirm your situation with a US tax professional.

Taxes when you sell. Buying and holding metal isn't a taxable event. When you sell at a gain, the IRS treats physical precious metals as collectibles, so long-term gains (on metal held more than a year) can be taxed at up to 28%, higher than the usual rate for stocks. Sales are reported on your tax return, generally on Form 8949 and Schedule D.

The FBAR (FinCEN Form 114). Americans must file this form if their foreign financial accounts total more than $10,000 at any point in the year. Whether a metal storage account counts as a "financial account" depends on how it's set up:

An account where a foreign company holds metal on your behalf, whether allocated or unallocated, is widely treated by tax practitioners as reportable. Any cash balance held with the provider counts too.
Metal in a safe deposit box or private vault that only you can access is generally viewed as not reportable, though this hasn't been settled by the courts.

Form 8938 (FATCA). The IRS states that directly held precious metals are not "specified foreign financial assets," so physical metal itself generally isn't reported on this form. A foreign account that holds metal or cash, or foreign-issued gold certificates, may be, once your total foreign financial assets pass the form's thresholds.

Penalties for missed FBAR and Form 8938 filings can be severe, often $10,000 or more per form and far higher if the failure is willful, and the forms are separate: filing one doesn't satisfy the other. When the rules are unclear, many advisors recommend reporting rather than risking a penalty.

Before you choose a provider

Use these questions to compare providers on more than price:

☐ Do they accept American clients, and can the account be opened remotely?

☐ Is storage allocated, and is segregated storage available?

☐ Does the storage agreement confirm you hold legal title, and say what happens if the company fails?

☐ Who insures the metal, for how much, and with what exclusions? Will they share a copy of the policy?

☐ Who audits the vault, how often, and are results available to you?

☐ What are the total yearly costs for the amount you plan to store, including minimum fees?

☐ What are the spreads when buying and selling?

☐ How do you sell, and how quickly does the money reach you?

☐ Can you take delivery or pick up in person, and at what cost?

☐ Is the location one you could reach if you needed to?

Plan for your family, too. If something happened to you, would your family know the metal exists, which company holds it, and how to claim it? Keep a written record of your provider, account details, and the provider's process for heirs, stored with your other important documents. It's one of the most overlooked parts of holding assets abroad.

Global Vaults provides general information only, not financial, tax, or legal advice. Last reviewed November 2026.