Gold IRA Fee Waivers: Who Pays Your Fees, and on What Conditions
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Which gold IRA companies waive fees?
Five of the eight companies we track publish a fee waiver. Each one has conditions, and most depend on how much you put in. Birch Gold covers first-year fees over $50,000. Priority Gold gives a year of free storage per $50,000. Patriot Gold advertises no fees on qualified accounts of $100,000 and up. Augusta says qualifying accounts may get up to ten years of eligible fees paid, but it doesn't publish the criteria. Most of these thresholds sit at $50,000 or more. Goldco publishes no waiver. Its offer is bonus silver on premium coins. Get any waiver in writing.
A representative usually calls after you request it.
We're paid by Goldco and Augusta when you request information; see how.
Every published waiver, with its conditions
These are the waivers as each company states them, quoted from its own pages. We list only waivers we could read on the company's site; a figure quoted by a third party isn't here.
| Company | Published account fees | Published fee waiver |
|---|---|---|
| American Hartford Gold $10,000 minimum | Not fully published | None published by the company (checked October 29, 2026) |
| Augusta Precious Metals $50,000 minimum Paid partner | $50 setup, $125 admin, storage type unspecified: $110 | Qualifying accounts may receive up to ten years of eligible fees paid by Augusta. |
| Get Augusta's free Gold IRA guide ($50k minimum)Paid partner Augusta's published minimum is $50,000. | ||
| Birch Gold Group $5,000 minimum | $50 setup, $125 admin, $110 commingled storage (Equity Trust rate) | Birch covers first year's fees for accounts over $50,000. |
| Goldco $25,000 minimum Paid partner | $50 setup, $125 admin, $110 commingled storage (Equity Trust rate) | None published by the company (checked October 29, 2026) |
| Request Goldco's free Gold & Silver KitPaid partner A representative usually calls after you request it. | ||
| Lear Capital $10,000 minimum Caution on Lear Capital: NY AG $6M consent order (2022) and 2022 Chapter 11 with multistate $5.5M restitution. | $50 setup, $125 admin, $110 commingled storage | Tiered by invoice amount: >$10K $50 setup covered; $25K-$50K first-year fees free (reimbursed after first month); $50K-$75K first and second year free; $75K+ first three years free. |
| Noble Gold Investments $20,000 minimum | $80 setup, $125 admin, $150 segregated storage, the only type offered | None published by the company (checked October 29, 2026) |
| Patriot Gold Group Minimum not published | $0 setup, $0 admin, storage not published | No Fees for Life (storage, shipping, new rollover and new account setup fees) 'With Qualified Accounts of $100K+'. |
| Priority Gold $10,000 minimum Caution on Priority Gold: Site claims 'fully accredited' BBB A+ and 4.9 Trustpilot; BBB shows NOT accredited and Trustpilot shows 4.8 (2026-10-29). | $50 setup, $125 admin, $110 commingled storage | One year free storage per $50,000 invested, max 5 years ($250,000); free insured shipping for qualifying new clients. |
Some detail behind the table. Lear Capital also offers $500 added to account with free investor kit request, usable for shipping, insurance or IRA custodial fees. Priority Gold's storage waiver tops out at five years, at $250,000 invested, and it adds free insured shipping for qualifying new clients. Patriot Gold states its $100,000 threshold on a landing page but not on its main No Fees page, so ask for the written terms. Patriot's $0 fees apply to qualifying accounts; it publishes no standard schedule for the rest.
What a waiver is worth in dollars
At Equity Trust's published schedule, the first year of a gold IRA costs $285 with commingled storage and each later year $235. That gives a rough scale for each offer:
- One year of fees (Birch Gold over $50,000; Lear Capital at $25,000 to $50,000): about $285.
- Three years (Lear Capital at $75,000 and up): about $755.
- Up to ten years (Augusta, qualifying accounts): up to about $2,400 if "eligible fees" meant the whole schedule. Augusta doesn't say which fees are eligible.
- Storage only (Priority Gold, a year per $50,000): $110 to $160 per year covered.
Those are the most the waivers could be worth on the published fees. The exact value depends on which fees are covered and for how long, which only the written terms will tell you.
Waivers are why "lowest fee" depends on your amount
Before waivers, most of these companies pass on the same custodian schedule, so the base fees don't pick a winner. Waivers do the separating, and Goldco has none to offer. On a $60,000 account, Lear Capital's terms cover the first and second year and Birch Gold's cover the first; Goldco's fees run from day one. On $100,000 or more, Patriot Gold advertises no fees for qualifying accounts, and Augusta may pay up to ten years.
That is why we don't call Goldco a low-fee choice. Its setup and admin fees are the custodian's standard ones, and its storage depends on which custodian holds the account; Gold IRA Companies Ranked has a breakdown of Goldco's fees that shows where each figure comes from. What Goldco offers instead is the lower $25,000 minimum against Augusta's $50,000, and flat fees it publishes itself.
Bonus metal is not a fee waiver
Goldco's published offer is up to 5% back in free silver on $50,000-$99,999 of Goldco premium coins; 10% on $100,000+. The terms: qualified orders only, premium coins only, not combinable, see customer agreement. Several other companies advertise bonus metal too. If Goldco's offer is what drew you in, the Goldco review on Gold IRA Companies Ranked quotes the promotion's conditions alongside its buyback terms.
Bonus metal doesn't touch the account fees. It adds metal to a purchase, and in Goldco's case only on premium coins. Before you count it as a saving, ask what markup those coins carry compared with plain bullion. A bonus on a product with a wider margin can cost more than it gives. Our markup guide has the questions.
Getting a waiver in writing
- Which fees are covered: setup, admin, storage, all three?
- For how many years, counted from when?
- What amount qualifies, and is it the purchase, the transfer or the balance?
- Is the waiver applied directly or reimbursed later?
- Does anything end the waiver early, such as selling metal?
- Does the waiver depend on buying particular products?
Then compare the account with and without it. Our calculator leaves waivers out on purpose; subtract the covered years yourself. If one waiver looks better than another on paper, the side-by-side fee table on goldiracompaniesranked.com puts each company's waiver next to its schedule, so you can see what the waiver comes off.
Verdict
If you have $50,000 or more, published waivers can make Augusta, Birch Gold, Lear Capital or Priority Gold cheaper on account fees for a few years than Goldco, which publishes none. Get the terms in writing, and weigh them against the markup, which no waiver touches.
Goldco's case is its $25,000 minimum and its published flat fees, not a waiver. Augusta's case, for accounts of $50,000 or more, is its fee-payment offer.
A representative usually calls after you request it.
Augusta's published account fees: $50 setup, $125 a year admin and $110 a year storage. Its stated offer: "Qualifying accounts may receive up to ten years of eligible fees paid by Augusta." Augusta doesn't publish the qualifying criteria. Minimum: $50,000.
Augusta's published minimum is $50,000. Below that, it isn't an option.
A representative usually calls after you request it.
Fee waiver questions
Which companies publish a waiver, and which don't?
Augusta, Birch Gold, Lear Capital, Patriot Gold and Priority Gold each publish a waiver with conditions. American Hartford Gold, Goldco and Noble Gold publish none that we could verify on their own pages.
Does Goldco waive gold IRA fees?
We found no published Goldco fee waiver (checked October 29, 2026). Goldco's published offer is bonus silver on qualifying purchases of its premium coins instead.
What is Augusta's fee offer?
Augusta says: "Qualifying accounts may receive up to ten years of eligible fees paid by Augusta." It does not publish what makes an account qualify. Its minimum is $50,000.
Is a fee waiver worth more than a lower markup?
Usually not. A year of account fees on Equity Trust's standard schedule is $235. A markup is a percentage of every dollar of metal you buy, so even a small difference in markup can outweigh several years of waived fees.
What happens when a fee waiver ends?
The normal schedule starts. Ask which fees resume, from what date, and whether anything you must do (keep a balance, avoid selling) is a condition of the waiver.
Do I have to request a fee waiver?
Some companies apply it automatically and some reimburse fees after the fact. Lear Capital, for example, says first-year fees on $25,000 to $50,000 are reimbursed after the first month. Ask how yours is paid.
Sources
- Augusta Precious Metals: What a gold IRA costs each year, checked October 29, 2026
- Augusta Precious Metals: FAQ, checked October 29, 2026
- Birch Gold Group: FAQs, checked October 29, 2026
- Birch Gold Group: Prices, checked October 29, 2026
- Lear Capital: IRA FAQ, checked October 29, 2026
- Lear Capital: About, checked October 29, 2026
- Priority Gold: Gold IRA fees, checked October 29, 2026
- Patriot Gold Group: No Fees for Life landing page, checked October 29, 2026
- Patriot Gold Group: No Fees for Life IRA, checked October 29, 2026
- Goldco: Gold IRA FAQs, checked October 29, 2026
- Goldco: How much does a gold IRA cost?, checked October 29, 2026
- Equity Trust: Fee FAQs, checked October 29, 2026
Facts checked October 29, 2026