An IRA fee worksheet: compare the account you will actually use
By IRACircle · Updated 2026-10-28 · 4 min read
Start with a specific portfolio
An account described as free can still hold expensive investments. A provider with a visible account charge can sometimes offer a cheaper total arrangement for a particular portfolio. The comparison needs the investments, services, cash balance, and likely transactions you intend to use. Write down those assumptions before collecting quotes.
Separate recurring and transaction costs
Create columns for account charges, advice fees, investment expense ratios, trading charges, spreads, custody, storage where relevant, transfer fees, and closure charges. Record whether each item is a flat dollar fee or a percentage and the balance to which it applies. Ask whether a fee includes underlying investment expenses or is charged in addition to them.
A hypothetical annual calculation
Consider a $100,000 account with a $50 annual account charge, a 0.60% advice fee, and funds with a weighted 0.10% expense ratio. Using a constant balance for illustration, these add to approximately $750 a year: $50 plus $600 plus $100. A second arrangement with no advice charge but a 0.25% fund expense ratio would cost about $250 on the same assumptions, before any other charges. The arithmetic compares stated costs only. It does not establish that the services or investments are equivalent or predict returns.
Include the cash position
Find the default cash holding, its rate, restrictions, and whether it can change. If $10,000 remains uninvested, a two-percentage-point difference in annual yield is $200 before compounding and any tax considerations. Use current written terms rather than a temporary promotional rate. Keep cash differences separate from stock-market return assumptions.
Inspect the exit as well as the opening offer
A transfer charge, bid/ask spread, surrender condition, or illiquid asset can change the cost of leaving. For physical metals, request both purchase and repurchase quotes for the same product and quantity. For private assets, a quoted valuation does not prove you can sell at that price. If leaving a workplace plan, compare its actual fees and features with the proposed IRA rather than assuming an IRA always costs less.
Make the result useful
Save dated fee schedules and a one-page calculation. State which services you value, which costs are estimates, and what would change the result. Revisit the comparison when balances, investments, or services change. A transparent comparison supports a decision; a list of providers ranked without a methodology does not. IRACircle does not claim to have tested or ranked providers in this worksheet.
Annual fee comparison on a hypothetical $100,000 constant balance
Two arrangements are compared using the same balance for one year. Enter actual written quotes in the last column. The example compares charges, not investment quality or equivalent service.
Download this worksheet as CSV. Open a copy in your spreadsheet app and complete the blank rows locally. The download contains examples and empty fields; it does not calculate your eligibility or submit your entries to this site.
| Cost item | Calculation basis | Hypothetical arrangement A | Hypothetical arrangement B | Your quote and source date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual account charge | Flat annual charge | $50 | $0 | |
| Annual advice charge | $100,000 multiplied by annual advice rate | 0.60%: $600 | No advice charge: $0 | |
| Fund expenses | $100,000 multiplied by weighted annual expense ratio | 0.10%: $100 | 0.25%: $250 | |
| Illustrated annual total | Account charge plus advice charge plus fund expenses | $750 | $250 | |
| Trading charges and spreads | Expected trades and purchase/repurchase quotes | Not included; obtain a quote | Not included; obtain a quote | |
| Custody or storage | Asset-specific annual and transaction charges | Not included; check whether applicable | Not included; check whether applicable | |
| Transfer or closure charges | One-time cost of leaving | Not included; obtain a quote | Not included; obtain a quote | |
| Cash treatment | Compare the default cash balance, yield and restrictions separately | Record actual terms | Record actual terms | |
| Other cost |
- The illustrated $500 annual difference follows from the stated charges only. It is not a recommendation or a prediction of investment returns.
- The constant-balance assumption ignores deposits, withdrawals, market movement and fee timing. Actual percentage charges use the provider’s specified billing basis.
- A weighted expense ratio belongs to the actual holdings and allocations. Check whether an advice charge includes fund expenses or is added to them.
- Record estimates and one-time charges separately from recurring annual charges. Save the full dated fee schedule and compare services as well as prices.
Sources and scope
Content revised October 28, 2026. Prepared with AI assistance; no independent professional review is claimed. Examples are hypothetical. General U.S. federal education; verify the source edition and seek qualified advice for your circumstances. Editorial policy and corrections.