Strata Trust charges a flat $150 annual IRA fee plus $115 for commingled storage or $175 for segregated storage, so the recurring custodian cost is $265 or $325 a year. On top of that come $40 for every buy, sell or exchange, a $35 depository handling charge and $250 to close the account. Next to dealer markups on the metal these amounts are small, but they stack. A typical account that makes one purchase pays about $340 to $450 in custodian charges in year one.
The figures below come from the fee schedule Strata publishes on its own site, checked on 16 October 2026. The page shows no effective date and says fees are subject to change without notice, so ask for the current schedule in writing before you sign anything.
Strata Trust Fee Schedule at a Glance
This is the precious metals schedule. Strata assigns tiers by account type, and the precious metals tier includes a depository storage requirement.
Annual and Storage Fees
The $150 annual fee is flat for the precious metals tier. It is not prorated, so Strata charges it when the account opens and again on each opening anniversary. Storage is billed separately: $115 a year for commingled storage, where your metal is pooled with other customers' metal of the same type, or $175 a year for segregated storage, where your bars and coins are held apart. Strata notes that the segregated rate applies to gold, platinum and palladium, with possible exceptions at certain depositories.
The published schedule shows no value-based fee for precious metals. The asset-based fees on the page apply to private assets and real estate under a separate tier. That matters because a percentage fee grows when gold rises, while a flat fee does not.
What this means for you: the choice between commingled and segregated is a $60 a year decision. Commingled is cheaper, and segregated is worth it only if holding the exact bars you bought matters to you.
Per-Transaction Fees on Buying and Selling
Strata charges $40 each time you buy, sell or exchange metal. Swapping one metal for another counts as an exchange, so a sale followed by a purchase costs $80 before anything else. A $35 depository handling charge also appears on the schedule. The page does not say how often it applies, so ask whether it is added to every trade or only to deliveries. Shipping is $10 plus whatever the depository charges, and an outgoing wire costs $35.
Leaving costs money too, and our gold IRA closing fees comparison sets these exit fees beside other custodians. Closing or reinstating an account is $250, and moving assets out through a transfer, a distribution or a reinstatement triggers a $100 re-registration fee, charged once per request. The schedule has no separate line for an in-kind distribution, so the $100 re-registration fee is the closest match. Confirm that with Strata before you plan a distribution of physical metal.
First-Year and Five-Year Cost Examples
The table assumes one purchase in year one and one sale in year five. It treats the $35 handling charge as applying to each trade, which is the cautious reading, and it uses the $50 paper setup fee. It leaves out dealer markups, shipping, the closing fee and re-registration.
Electronic setup waives the $50, which brings year one down to $340 commingled or $400 segregated. Closing the account in year five would add $250, plus $100 if assets are re-registered on the way out.
Flat fees weigh more on small accounts. The five-year commingled total works out to about $305 a year. On a $50,000 account that is roughly 0.6 percent. On $10,000 it is about 3 percent, which is why the account minimum a dealer asks for, covered in our minimum investment comparison, matters as much as the custodian schedule.
Strata vs Equity Trust
Equity Trust is the other custodian dealers commonly route accounts through. Its figures below come from our Equity Trust fee breakdown, checked on 9 October 2026, and Equity can change them each January.
On the published numbers, Equity Trust is cheaper by $30 to $40 a year in recurring fees and lists no per-trade charge, while Strata is $25 cheaper when assets leave in kind. Over five years with one purchase and one sale, the gap is roughly $300 to $350 in Equity's favor, if both schedules hold as published. Equity adds $60 a year for paper statements, which e-statements avoid. Neither gap is large next to a dealer spread, and in practice your dealer usually decides the custodian, so the useful move is to price both before agreeing.
Questions to Ask Your Dealer About Custodian Fees
- Is the $35 handling charge added to every trade or only to deliveries?
- Will you cover the first-year fees, and what do I owe in year two? Our fee waiver comparison shows how long these offers last.
- Is setup electronic, so the $50 is waived?
- Is the quote for commingled or segregated storage?
- What date is the fee schedule you are quoting from?
Put the answers next to the dealer's premium and buyback terms using the table in how to compare gold IRA quotes. If you are still deciding on a first account, the account setup walkthrough shows where the custodian fits.
Is Strata Trust the same as Self Directed IRA Services?
Yes in practice. Self Directed IRA Services rebranded as Strata Trust Company, so older reviews under the previous name describe the same custodian, though their fee figures may be out of date.
Who pays the Strata annual fee, me or the dealer?
The fee is charged to your account. Some dealers pay or waive it for a period as a promotion, but that is an arrangement with the dealer. When it ends, the schedule above applies.
Can I switch from Strata to another custodian?
Yes. A direct custodian-to-custodian transfer is not a taxable event. Expect Strata's $250 closing fee and $100 re-registration fee on the way out, so factor them in if you move because fees changed.
The Bottom Line
Strata's custodian fees are modest and predictable at roughly $265 to $325 a year, with $40 on each trade and $250 to leave. They are slightly higher than Equity Trust on the published schedules. The detail to confirm is the $35 handling charge, and the habit to keep is checking the schedule date, since both custodians can change fees without much notice.
