Lear Capital fees are unusually easy to find and unusually wide in one place. The company prints its IRA account charges to the dollar, a $10,000 IRA minimum, and a contract clause saying its markup generally runs from 2% to 35% of the price you pay. Below: every number with its source, the spread priced at three account sizes, the regulatory record, and whether Lear is still operating.
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A Lear Capital gold IRA costs $315 in year one and $235 a year after with non-segregated storage, or $365 and $285 with segregated storage. Those totals are built from a $50 application fee, a $125 annual maintenance fee, $110 or $160 of storage, and a $30 wire. The IRA minimum is $10,000. The custodian Lear names as preferred is Equity Trust Company, and metal ships to the Delaware Depository. All of it is from Lear's own pages, verified Oct 2026.
The account fees are ordinary. The spread is not. Lear's current transaction agreement says its spread "generally range[s] between 2% and 35%" of the quoted price. In the 2023 bankruptcy plan, Lear itself reported an average of 23.4% for 2022. On a $50,000 order, that average is about $11,700, more than four decades of account fees.
Sources linked in the table and the sources box below. Company history and our overall verdict sit in the full Lear Capital review.
Lear discloses more than most dealers, but its pages disagree in three places. We print both versions and name the controlling document, the signed transaction agreement.
| LINE ITEM | LEAR'S STATED FIGURE | STATUS, OCT 2026 | WHERE IT IS WRITTEN |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRA application (setup) | $50, one time | Published | Lear fee structure article, Dec 17, 2025 |
| Annual maintenance (custodian) | $125 a year | Published | Same article |
| Storage, non-segregated | $110 a year | Published | Same article |
| Storage, segregated | $160 a year | Published | Same article |
| Wire | $30, one time | Published | Same article |
| Year-one total | $315 non-segregated, $365 segregated | Published | Same article; the IRA FAQ quotes $315 and $235, conditional on e-statements and non-segregated storage |
| Year two onward | $235 or $285 a year | Published | Fee structure article |
| IRA minimum | $10,000 | Published | Fee structure article |
| Dealer spread on purchases | "Generally" 2% to 35% of the quoted price | Published, as a range | Transaction agreement, form V 101725, and the online terms and conditions |
| Separate metal-type fees | "Start at 1%" | Conflicts with the 2% floor above | Reputation FAQ |
| Buyback service fee | "Lear may charge a service fee on buyback transactions" | Conflicting | The transaction agreement says so. The online terms say Lear charges no spread on buybacks of metal it sold you. |
| Custodian | Equity Trust Company ("preferred") | Conflicting | The rollover page names Equity Trust. The IRA FAQ names Self Directed IRA Services, Inc. |
| Depository | Delaware Depository | Published | IRA FAQ and rollover page |
| Cancellation window | 24 hours, risk free | Published | Transaction agreement and fee article |
All Lear documents loaded and read Oct 5, 2026. The transaction agreement is the contract you sign, so where a web page disagrees with it, rely on the agreement and ask Lear to resolve the conflict in writing.
Most dealers never put a markup range in writing. Lear does, for reasons covered below. The agreement defines the spread as Lear's gross profit on the trade: the gap between the retail price quoted to you and what Lear paid its supplier for the same metal. It says the spread is built into the quoted price, that Lear "charges no additional fees or costs" on top, and that your exact spread is stated during the recorded confirmation call and printed on your invoice.
Two points follow. First, 35% is not a ceiling. The word is "generally," and the range is said to vary by metal, by customer, by transaction type and over time. Second, the spread is measured against Lear's acquisition cost, not against the spot price on a chart. Lear's own cost on a coin is normally above spot, so the gap between what you pay and the melt value of the metal can be wider than the stated spread.
The agreement's own worked example makes the point. A coin quoted at $40 with a 20% spread cost Lear $32, and the agreement says its buyback price would be lower than $32. The online terms give a buyback figure of about $30.50 on the same coin. So on the day you buy, the coin is worth about a quarter less than you paid if you sold it straight back. Our explainer on how gold IRA markups work runs the same arithmetic for other dealers.
Lear's IRA FAQ publishes a tiered waiver, which most competitors only describe on the phone. Accounts of $25,000 to $50,000 get the first year's fees free. Accounts of $50,000 to $75,000 get the first and second years free. Above $75,000 the first three years are free, and any account over $10,000 has the $50 setup covered. A site-wide banner also offers $500 usable for "IRA custodial fees" among other costs.
The asterisk on the waiver table reads "Limited Mintage coins only." That ties the fee relief to the product category that sits at the wide end of a 2% to 35% spread range. On the most generous tier, three waived years at the non-segregated rate are worth about $785. A spread ten points wider than the bullion alternative, on a $75,000 order, costs $7,500. Before you accept it, ask Lear to price the same dollar amount twice: once in limited mintage coins with the waiver, once in plain bullion bars or coins without it. Then compare the spread figures on the two quotes.
Account fees use Lear's published non-segregated schedule. Spread rows apply four rates: the bottom of Lear's range, the 12% refund benchmark in the bankruptcy plan, the 2022 average Lear reported, and the top of the range. None of this is a quote.
| COST LINE | $25,000 ACCOUNT | $50,000 ACCOUNT | $100,000 ACCOUNT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account fees, year one (list) | $315 | $315 | $315 |
| Account fees, ten years (list) | $2,430 | $2,430 | $2,430 |
| Ten years after the published waiver tier | $2,115 (year one free) | $1,880 (years one and two free) | $1,645 (years one to three free) |
| Spread at 2%, paid once | $500 | $1,000 | $2,000 |
| Spread at 12% (plan benchmark) | $3,000 | $6,000 | $12,000 |
| Spread at 23.4% (2022 average) | $5,850 | $11,700 | $23,400 |
| Spread at 35%, paid once | $8,750 | $17,500 | $35,000 |
Modeled by Gold IRA Consulting, not a Lear quote. Account fees: $315 in year one and $235 a year after, from Lear's fee structure article (verified Oct 2026). Segregated storage adds $50 a year. The waiver row assumes the waived "fees" equal the published annual totals and that the order qualifies, which under Lear's footnote means limited mintage coins. Spread figures are a share of the order: 2% and 35% from the transaction agreement, 12% and 23.4% from the confirmed Chapter 11 plan.
The account-fee rows barely change from column to column. The spread rows grow with every extra dollar you invest. At $100,000, the gap between the bottom and the top of Lear's own range is $33,000, more than a century of its annual fees. That is why the only Lear number worth negotiating is the spread on the products in your order. You can run your own figures in our gold IRA fee calculator, which takes a spread input alongside the annual lines.
Lear's markup disclosure follows a run of government actions over how it disclosed fees. In the bankruptcy plan Lear neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing, and the plan records no finding of wrongdoing.
Before 2022 the alleged problem was disclosure. Since 2023 the spread is on paper, but the range is still wide. Our is Lear Capital legit page covers the conduct history in more depth.
Nothing we checked on October 5, 2026 suggests it is. The bankruptcy ended in a confirmed reorganization, not a liquidation. Lear's website is live and taking IRA applications, with a promotion that expires October 18, 2026. Its press release feed shows releases through September 24, 2026. Its BBB profile showed an A+ rating, accreditation since 1997, and 33 complaints closed in the past three years when we checked. We found no filing, regulator notice or credible report of a closure, a sale or a second bankruptcy.
One detail is worth knowing. The current transaction agreement names the seller as Lear Capital, LLC, while the bankruptcy debtor was Lear Capital, Inc. We could not find a public explanation of the change. Check the legal name on your own contract. If you already hold metal bought through Lear, it sits with the Delaware Depository under a third-party custodian, not on Lear's balance sheet.
Lear does not promise to buy your metal back. The agreement says the law prohibits that guarantee, while adding that Lear "has never refused" a buyback as of the date of the agreement. The documents disagree on what a buyback costs. The signed agreement says Lear "may charge a service fee on buyback transactions" at a percentage that "may vary." The online terms say Lear makes no profit on buying back metal it sold you. Get the answer in writing before you buy.
The custodian charges its own exit fees. If Equity Trust administers your account, its published schedule lists a $250 full termination fee, $30 per wire, and $110 or $160 a year for non-segregated or segregated storage. Those storage figures match Lear's own. Equity Trust posts its fee schedules on its own site. Our guide to closing a gold IRA lists the order these charges usually arrive in.
Use the 24-hour cancellation window to check the invoice spread against the emailed quote. After that, all sales are final.
All four publish an account schedule. Only Lear publishes a spread range, a disclosure it adopted under regulatory pressure.
| COMPANY | IRA MINIMUM | PUBLISHED RECURRING FEES | WAIVER | SPREAD RANGE PUBLISHED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lear Capital | $10,000 | $235 (or $285 segregated) | 1 to 3 years by size, limited mintage coins only | Yes, 2% to 35% |
| Birch Gold Group | $5,000 | $235 ($125 + $110) | First year on transfers over $50,000 | No |
| Noble Gold | $20,000 | $285 ($125 + $160) | None published | No |
| Augusta Precious Metals | $50,000 | $225 in its Equity Trust example | Not stated on its own pages | No; says no commission is added to listed prices |
Sources, verified Oct 2026: Lear as above. Birch Gold Group's precious metals IRA page and FAQ. Noble Gold's gold IRA page. Augusta's fee sheet, captured by the Internet Archive in July 2025, and its FAQ, captured May 2026. Fees change, so confirm current pricing with each company.
For a low entry point and a published schedule without that history, see the Birch Gold vs Lear Capital breakdown. Our gold IRA fees guide shows where all ten providers we track sit.
Ask for the spread percentage on every product in the order, and a bullion-only quote for the same amount, before anyone schedules a confirmation call.
Visit Lear Capital →FEES VERIFIED OCT 2026 · CONFIRM CURRENT PRICING
Lear publishes a $50 application fee, a $125 annual maintenance fee, storage of $110 a year non-segregated or $160 segregated, and a $30 wire. That totals $315 in the first year and $235 a year after with non-segregated storage, or $365 and $285 segregated. The bigger cost is the dealer spread built into the metal price, which Lear's transaction agreement says generally runs from 2% to 35% of the quoted price.
Lear states a $10,000 minimum to open and fund a gold IRA. Its online store lists a $1,000 minimum order for direct purchases, and its fee waivers start at $25,000.
Lear's transaction agreement says its spread, meaning its gross profit over its own cost for the metal, generally ranges from 2% to 35% of the quoted purchase price. In its 2023 bankruptcy plan, Lear reported a 2022 average spread of 23.4%. Ask for the spread on every product by email before you confirm an order.
We found no sign of that as of October 5, 2026. Lear reorganized under Chapter 11 rather than liquidating, the plan was confirmed in June 2023, and the court case was closed in September 2024. Its website is taking IRA business and it issued a press release on September 24, 2026. Metal held in a Lear-arranged IRA sits with a third-party custodian and depository, not with Lear.
Yes. Lear Capital, Inc. filed for Subchapter V Chapter 11 reorganization in the District of Delaware on March 2, 2022, case number 22-10165. The plan confirmed in June 2023 created a $5.5 million customer fund that refunded spread charged above a hypothetical 12%, with 42 participating state and territorial regulators. Lear neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing.
Lear's documents disagree. The signed transaction agreement says Lear may charge a service fee on buyback transactions at a percentage that may vary. The online terms say Lear makes no profit buying back metal it sold you. Get the buyback terms, and any service fee percentage, in writing before you buy.
Related reading: the full Lear Capital review, Lear Capital vs Goldco, and the category-wide gold IRA fees breakdown.
Could not verify: which of the two custodians Lear's pages name is current, the size of any buyback service fee, and why the contracting entity changed from Lear Capital, Inc. to Lear Capital, LLC. Modeled figures are ours and are labeled as such. This is education, not financial advice. Consult a licensed advisor before making decisions.
Our free kit includes the fee and minimum data for every provider we score, plus a printable list of what to ask a dealer, a custodian and a depository before you approve a transfer.