Are purchases of gold and silver tax-free? Sadly, no. But knowing what taxes you can expect helps you understand how much bullion you can buy. This article gives you a state-by-state listing and details on other taxes to factor into your investment decisions.
As of this writing, the spot price of gold is $2,606.20/oz. If you’re looking to buy gold, your price won’t be $2,606.20/oz… it will be more. You’ll have a premium above spot that covers the manufacturing and distribution costs, and most reputable dealers like Swiss America provide transparency around this pricing.
But you may also have to pay a sales tax, depending on where you live.
This article covers sales tax on gold and silver by state so you can get an idea of what you might be paying. The good news for Swiss America customers is that we always provide transparent pricing, so when you go to buy, you won’t have surprises.
Understanding taxes on precious metal
There are three possible taxes you might pay on precious metals:
1. State sales tax
Some states charge sales tax on precious metals, but there are only three that do this today, including Hawaii, New Mexico, and Vermont.
If you live in Washington, DC, you’ll also have online sales tax for your metal purchases.
2. Local sales tax
You’ll almost always need to pay local sales tax unless you live in one of five states without a local sales tax.
3. Capital gains tax
The IRS requires you to pay capital gains taxes on any gains you make from selling gold and silver at a profit. Most states also impose capital gains tax. The exceptions to this include states that don’t have any income tax, which include:
Alaska
Florida
Nevada
New Hampshire
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Wyoming
The amount of capital gains you’ll pay on the sale of gold or other precious metals at the federal level depends on how long you hold the metals and your marginal tax rate.
Short-term capital gains: If you only hold the metals for less than one year, you’ll get taxed at your ordinary income rate.
Long-term capital gains: If you hold the metal for over one year, you’ll pay a maximum of 28% because the IRS classifies these investments as collectibles.
Protect Your Retirement Today!
Physical GOLD offers financial stability and growth potential!
Receive your complimentary Precious Metals IRA FAQ and Timeless Truth About Gold and Silver report.
or call 800-289-2646.
Local sales tax rules
Even if a state doesn’t levy a sales tax, you may pay local sales tax. The only states where you won’t pay any local taxes include:
Alaska
Delaware
Montana
New Hampshire
Oregon
Sales tax rules defining precious metals
States may have different rules that define which metals they exempt. Generally, bullion products that qualify for an IRA fall under this exemption if your state has one. But, you might find numismatic coins, which you can’t hold in an IRA, have different tax implications.
Does the IRS know if you buy and sell gold?
If you are wondering about the IRS and if you the agency knows if you buy or sell gold, here are the details:
When you buy: The IRS doesn’t track every gold transaction, so they don’t know when you buy gold unless you hold your gold in a tax-advantaged retirement account like a Gold IRA. Since they give you tax benefits….they know about your gold.
When you sell: When you sell gold and silver, dealers like Swiss America may have to file a Form 1099-B to report your transaction to the IRS. This is usually for larger transactions.
If you make a profit: If you make a profit, you’ll need to report this income on your tax return as a capital gain.
Sales tax laws by state
Most states don’t charge state-level taxes, but you’ll almost always have local sales tax. Here’s an at-a-glance map.
The specific regulations for each state include:
Alabama
Alabama currently does not have a sales tax on precious metals. SB 13 passed in 2019 and provides this exemption through 2028.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Alaska
The state of Alaska doesn’t have a statewide tax on precious metal bullion.
Do you pay local taxes? No
Arizona
There is no statewide tax on precious metals.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Arkansas
Arkansas passed a law effective October 1, 2021, that exempts sales tax on gold and silver bullion products. The state also made gold and silver legal tender so that citizens could use bullion coins to pay for goods and services.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
California
Effective July 1, 2023, the state does not collect sales tax if you buy gold and silver at values above $2,000. If the value of your investment is less than this sales price, then you will have to pay a sales tax.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Colorado
Colorado does not collect sales tax on precious metals, but this doesn’t include all numismatic coins. Check the state bulletin for definitions and to understand which metals might still have tax implications.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Connecticut
Connecticut residents who spend less than $1000 on precious metals purchases pay a 6.35% tax. If you make purchases of gold coins or other precious metals, these purchases do not have sales tax.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Delaware
The state of Delaware does not impose sales taxes on precious metals.
Do you pay local taxes? No
Florida
The state of Florida does not collect sales taxes on precious metals if your purchase is above $500.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Georgia
Georgia residents do not pay sales taxes on the purchase of precious metals.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Hawaii
At the state level, Hawaii levies a General Excise Tax of 4% on gold and silver bullion purchases.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Idaho
Idaho’s statutes exempt gold and silver bullion from sales taxes.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Illinois
There isn’t a statewide sales tax for bullion purchases in Illionis.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Indiana
State law specifies that there isn’t an Indiana sales tax on gold if the purchase qualifies for an IRA per IRS rules. U.S. legal tender coins are also exempt.
You may have to pay sales taxes if you purchase collectible coins or bullion that do not meet these standards.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Iowa
There is no Iowa sales tax on precious metals. The state also doesn’t have capital gains tax on these investments per House File 659.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Kansas
In 2019, the Kansas legislature passed House Bill 2140 which exempts precious metals purchases from sales tax.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Kentucky
Kentucky recently passed House Bill 8, which places a tax exemption for gold and silver bullion.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Louisiana
The state recognizes that gold and silver bullion is tangible personal property and exempts these investments from sales taxes.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Maine
In 2023, Maine lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1051 which exempts precious metals from sales taxes.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Maryland
Residents of Maryland who buy $1,000 or less of gold and silver bullion will have sales tax. If you make a purchase over this amount, House Bill 1169 exempts the metals from sales taxes.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Massachusetts
Massachusetts has an exemption for gold and silver purchases over $1000 per the state’s statue.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Michigan
Michigan residents who buy gold, silver or platinum bullion at 90% or greater purity do not have to pay sales taxes on these purchases per state law.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Minnesota
Minnesota state law does not impose sales tax on precious metals that are 99.9% pure.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Mississippi
In 2023, Mississippi’s Senate Bill 2862 created sales tax-exempt status for precious metal purchases.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Missouri
Missouri’s law exempts the purchase of gold and silver bullion from state and local taxes as long as they meet certain purity requirements.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Montana
Montana doesn’t have a state sales tax on any purchases, so there’s no tax on precious metals.
Do you pay local taxes? No
Nebraska
The state of Nebraska does not levy sales taxes on bullion. New laws go into effect on January 1, 2025, to expand the definition of bullion to include bars, ingots, medallions, coins, notes, leaf, foil, and film made of gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or a mix of these metals.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Nevada
Nevada law doesn’t levy sales tax on gold or silver bullion as long as you buy them as a medium of exchange.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
New Hampshire
The state of New Hampshire doesn’t have a statewide sales tax on any purchases do you won’t pay taxes on gold and silver bullion products.
Do you pay local taxes? No
New Jersey
New Jersey’s Senate Bill 721 elimates sales tax on investment metal bullion and coins.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
New Mexico
New Mexico residents that buy gold and silver bullion pay a gross receipt tax. This gets added to the price upon purchase and ranges from 5.125% and 8.8675%.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
New York
There is a New York sales tax of 4% for gold and silver bullion purchases under $1,000. Purchases over this amount are exempt from sales taxes.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
North Carolina
North Carolina’s law exempts gold and silver bullion products from sales taxes if the value of the bullion is primarily determined by its metal content rather than its form. Starting January 1, 2025, this exemption also applies to coins, leaf, foil, and other forms where value gets calculated on metal content.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
North Dakota
The state of North Dakota does not have sales tax on gold or silver bullion coins or bars.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Ohio
Ohio passed a law under House Bill 110 in 2021 that eliminated state sales tax on precious metals.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Oklahoma
The state of Oklahoma does not charge state sales tax on gold or silver.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Oregon
Oregon does not levy sales taxes for gold and silver precious metals.
Do you pay local taxes? No
Pennsylvania
Investors in Pennsylvania do not pay sales taxes on precious metal purchases.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island doesn’t levy sales tax on silver or gold bullion, legal tender and non-legal tender.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
South Carolina
South Carolina does not impose sales taxes on precious metals at the state level.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
South Dakota
In South Dakota, most of the bullion coins or bars sold by Swiss America do not have a sales tax at the state level.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Tennessee
In June of 2022, Tenesse’s governor signed HB 1874/SB 1857 which eliminated state sales tax on precious metals. This exemption applies to gold, silver, platinum, palladium bullion products.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Texas
Per Texas Administrative Code 3.336, the state does not charge sales tax on precious metals.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Utah
There is no Utah sales tax on gold, silver or other precious metals. The state also offers a nonrefundable credit against your Utah state tax if you report capital gains tax on your federal income tax return for U.S.-issues gold and silver coins.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Vermont
Vermont does have a sales tax on gold and silver products. The sales tax rate is 6%.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Virginia
Investors in Virgina do not pay sales taxes on gold, silver and platinum bullion products over $1,000 per Virginia Code § 58.1-609.1 19.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Washington
The state of Washington does not charge sales tax on coin and precious metal bullion products.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Washington, DC
Investors must pay Washington DC sales tax on gold and silver bullion products.
West Virginia
West Virginia does not have a sales tax on gold at the state level.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Wisconsin
Wisconion’s governor recently signed Assembly Bill 29, which exempts precious metals from sales taxes at the state level.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Wyoming
There is no Wyoming sales tax on precious metals per the Wyoming Legal Tender Act.
Do you pay local taxes? Yes
Why invest in gold, silver and platinum
People usually invest in gold or precious metals because they want a safe-haven investment. It’s like buying insurance to protect your wealth. No one can ever guarantee any investment, but the peace of mind you get from owning physical precious metals can include:
Inflation protection: When there’s high rates of inflation, people turn to gold coins or bars as a way to preserve the value of their wealth. Investors and central banks rush to buy gold and the market value increases which creates a hedge against the affects of inflation.
No counterparty risk: Since these precious metal investments are physical assets that you can hold, you don’t need anyone else to perform for your investment to be worth money. This means you don’t need a company to produce great earnings results and you don’t need a bank to stay solvent. Many investors like the security of owning this type of physical asset.
Diversification: You’ll often hear experts recommend that you diversify some of your portfolio gold or potentially other precious metals. This is because holding assets that don’t follow the same patterns as the stock market gives you a way to reduce some of your risk.
No cyber risk: This is a big one in today’s world where a cyber issue can ground thousands of U.S. flights or an attack can steal investor’s money. Many investors like the idea of assets that don’t rely on the digital world as a way to reduce risk to their wealth.
Buying gold or silver from Swiss America
We’ve helped thousands of investors buy gold, silver or platinum bullion for over 40 years. Here’s how easy it is to work with us:
Step 1: Chat with one of our experts
Learn about the best investment options for your situation. For example, we’ll provide resources to help you decide if you should buy gold or silver depending on your investment goals and the amount of funds you have available.
Step 2: Open an account
If you are buying gold or silver for your IRA, you’ll open an account with a precious metals custodian and with Swiss Amercia.
If you are buying your metals outside of this type of account, you’ll just open a Swiss America account.
Step 3: Purchase metals
For retirement accounts like a Silver IRA, you’ll direct your custodian to buy metals on your behalf. Note that the metals need to meet the IRS eligibility rules which our team can help explain.
For non-retirement accounts, you can purchase the metals directly.
Step 4: Receive your metals
For precious metals IRA accounts, your custodian takes possession of your metals and places them in an IRS-approved depository for secure storage. You can’t take possession directly because the IRS sees this as a distribution which may trigger taxes and penalties.
For non-retirement accounts, we can ship your metals to you directly or a third-party depository if you want instead of home storage.
Step 5: Track status
You can easily see status of your precious metals investments using our online portal. Inside your account you can view your purchases and see real-time market value status to get an idea of overall investment status.
Why Swiss America
Some of the reasons why investors like working with our team include:
Longevity: We’ve been around for over 40 years, and we’ve seen many market ups and downs. You’ll find that we provide a number of resources that speak to various situations like economic uncertainty or geopolitical situations that can impact why people buy gold.
Customer satisfaction: Check out our customer reviews to see why thousands of customers trust us for their investments.
Trade organizations: We’re proud members of the Better Business Bureau, American Numismatic Association, Industry Council for Tangible Assets, and the Numismatic Guaranty Corp, among others.
Fair pricing: We provide fair and transparent pricing, and we can help you understand various sales tax implications.
Education: We’re committed to sharing educational resources and support so that you can make the best decisions for your investment needs.
Is there sales tax on gold bars final thoughts
Most of the time, you’ll have some type of sales tax on gold bars. Only three states charge state-level taxes, but local taxes apply in most areas. Five states have no sales tax at all. As long as you know this before you buy, you won’t get caught off guard.
When you go to invest, keep in mind your state’s regulations and any potential taxes you might have on capital gains in the future. You can also consider consulting tax professionals to get an idea of your potential tax consequences.
If you want to learn more about gold, silver or platinum bullion, contact Swiss America today!
Is gold taxable in the USA?
Most of the time yes. You might have sales taxes at the state and local level plus capital gains taxes. Sales taxes on gold vary by state, and while only three states charge state taxes, there are only five states where no local taxes apply. You’ll also have capital gains taxes if you make a profit when you sell.
How can you avoid sales tax when buying gold?
You can avoid sales tax on gold purchases if you live in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, or Oregon, since these states do not charge sales tax. In other states, you’ll need to pay local sales taxes, and in three states, you’ll also have state-level taxes on gold purchases.
How much silver can I buy without reporting?
As an investor, you don’t have to report how much silver you buy. But, the dealer might have to report your purchase if it meets certain thresholds like larger purchases. You can always ask your dealer for details to get an idea of this reporting.
Note: The information in this post is for informational purposes only and should not be considered tax or legal advice. Please consult with your own tax professionals before making any decisions or taking action based on this information.
