Tax implications for IRA rollover - anyone done this recently?

• •I've been kicking around the idea of rolling over some of my traditional IRA into a Gold IRA for a while now.
• •My advisor here in Greenwich is generally on board, but the tax implications are what I'm really trying to pin down.
• •No 60-day complications, no distribution, no withholding, etc.

I've been kicking around the idea of rolling over some of my traditional IRA into a Gold IRA for a while now. Just under $2.5M in the IRA currently, and I'm thinking of moving a solid chunk, maybe $750k-$1M of that, into physical gold and silver allocated through a self-directed IRA. My advisor here in Greenwich is generally on board, but the tax implications are what I'm really trying to pin down.

My understanding (and someone please correct me if I'm off base here) is that a direct IRA-to-IRA transfer is generally not a taxable event, assuming it's done correctly. No 60-day complications, no distribution, no withholding, etc. But then if I want to actually take physical possession of some of this gold down the line, that's when things get real. Has anyone here done a significant partial rollover from a traditional IRA and then later taken distributions of the physical metal? What was the actual tax hit like? I'm talking top bracket stuff here, so every percentage point is significant.

I'm looking at this as a long-term play, obviously. The market's been a wild ride, and while my hedge fund's doing great, diversifying my personal assets with something tangible just feels right right now. It's not about chasing short-term gains, more about wealth preservation and a hedge against inflation. I was actually looking at that Gold vs Stocks Comparison tool and it really reinforces the long-term stability aspect, especially over a decade.

Any insights from those who've navigated the tax waters of a substantial Gold IRA rollover and subsequent physical distributions would be hugely appreciated. Are there any particular pitfalls I should be aware of beyond the standard distribution taxes? I want to make sure I'm not overlooking anything before I pull the trigger.