Unveiling the Taxation of Precious Metals
Share on:Sales tax or VAT (Value-added tax) is sometimes applied to precious metals when purchasing from a registered dealer, such as APMEX or StoneX Bullion. Depending on the country, the type of metal, or the fineness of the metal, a different tax percentage might be applied to the markup price (spot price + premium). 📊✨💰
United States
🇺🇸 In the case of the US, sales tax varies in each state. The following figures represent the state-wide rate and reflect the minimum you can expect to pay as of today, December 7th, 2023. Therefore, they do not include any county-specific tax rates.
| State | Rate | Form Factor | Max Transaction* | Min Purity** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 0% | |||
| Alaska | 0% | |||
| Arizona | 0% | |||
| Arkansas | 0% | |||
| California | 7.5% | All* | 2000 | All |
| Colorado | 2.9% | Collectibles Legal Tender |
All | |
| Connecticut | 6% | All* | 1000 | All |
| Delaware | 0% | |||
| Florida | 6% | Bullion* Collectibles* |
500 | All |
| Georgia | 0% | |||
| Hawaii | 4% | All | All | |
| Idaho | 0% | |||
| Illinois | 6.25% | Bullion** Collectibles |
0.980 | |
| Indiana | 7% | Bullion** Collectibles |
AU: 0.995 AG: 0.999 PT: 0.9995 |
|
| Iowa | 0% | |||
| Kansas | 0% | |||
| Kentucky | 6% | All | All | All |
| Louisiana | 0% | |||
| Maine | 5% | All | All | |
| Maryland | 6% | All* | 1000 | All |
| Massachusetts | 6.25% | All* | 1000 | All |
| Michigan | 6% | Bullion** Collectibles |
0.900 | |
| Minnesota | 6.88% | Collectibles | All | |
| Mississippi | 0% | |||
| Missouri | 4.23% | Bullion** Collectibles |
0.900 | |
| Montana | 0% | |||
| Nebraska | 0% | |||
| Nevada | 6.85% | Collectibles | All | |
| New Hampshire | 0% | |||
| New Jersey | 7% | All | All | |
| New Mexico | 5.13% | All | All | |
| New York | 4% | All* | 1000 | All |
| North Carolina | 4.75% | Collectibles | All | |
| North Dakota | 5% | Bullion** Collectibles |
0.999 | |
| Ohio | 5.75% | Bullion** Collectibles Legal Tender |
AU: 0.995 AG: 0.999 PT: 0.9995 PD: 99995 |
|
| Oklahoma | 0% | |||
| Oregon | 0% | |||
| Pennsylvania | 6% | Collectibles | All | |
| Rhode Island | 7% | Collectibles | All | |
| South Carolina | 6% | Collectibles | All | |
| South Dakota | 4.5% | 0.999 | ||
| Tennessee | 0% | |||
| Texas | 0% | |||
| Utah | 4.75% | 0.500 | ||
| Vermont | 6% | All | All | |
| Virginia | 5.3% | Bullion Excl. PD |
All | |
| Washington | 7.5% | Collectibles | All | |
| West Virginia | 6% | Collectibles | All | |
| Wisconsin | 5% | All | All | |
| Wyoming | 0% |
Alabama
No additional sales tax information available for Alabama.
Alaska
No additional sales tax information available for Alaska.
Arizona
No additional sales tax
information available for Arizona.
Arkansas
No sales tax on bullion since May 3 2021 (SB336). Gold and silver were approved as legal tender (HB1718) on 2023/03/30.
California
Click here for Tax Information Bulletin, Publication 388, December 2022.
Colorado
Sales tax only on collectibles or numismatic Section 39-26-706(4), C.R.S..
Connecticut
No additional sales tax information available for Connecticut.
Delaware
No additional sales tax information available for Delaware.
Florida
US bullion; numismatic coins or currency that are legal tender are exempt §212.05(1).
Georgia
No additional sales tax information available for Georgia.
Hawaii
Hawaii does not have a sales tax but rather a GET or a General Excise Tax that is applied to the business which is often added to the purchase price.
Idaho
No additional sales tax information available for Idaho.
Illinois
No sales tax on US or foreign legal tender or high purity bullion 86 Chap 1 Ill Adm Code §130.120(aa).
Indiana
No tax on legal tender and high-purity bullion IC 6-2.5-5-47.
Iowa
No additional sales tax information available for Iowa.
Kansas
No additional sales tax information available for Kansas.
Kentucky
No additional sales tax information available for Kentucky.
Louisiana
No additional sales tax information available for Louisiana.
Maine
No additional sales tax information available for Maine.
Maryland
No additional sales tax information available for Maryland.
Massachusetts
No additional sales tax information available for Massachusetts.
Michigan
No sales tax on high-purity bullion and legal tender with a market value greater than the face value of the coin Act 173 of 2004 §4s.
Minnesota
Bullion and legal tender are exempt since June 20, 2021 Analysis of H.F 2481 (Olson) / S.F. 2419 (Rosen).
Mississippi
Coins, currency and bullion are excempt since July 1, 2023 Senate Bill 2862.
Missouri
No sales tax on high-purity bullion and legal tender with market value greater than the face value of the coin STATUTE 144.815.
Montana
No additional sales tax information available for Montana.
Nebraska
No additional sales tax information available for Nebraska.
Nevada
Bullion is not taxable when is used as a medium of exchange. Non bullion legal tender coins are taxable if the price exceeds the face value of the coin by 50%.
New Hampshire
No additional sales tax information available for New Hampshire.
New Jersey
No additional sales tax information available for New Jersey.
New Mexico
New Mexico does not have a sales tax instead it has a “gross receipts tax” that is usually passed onto the consumer by adding it to the selling price.
New York
Click here for Tax Law, § 1115(a)(27).
North Carolina
No sales tax on numismatic coins or legal tender coins when market value is greater than their nominal value. No sales tax on bullion sold for investment and according to their metal content § 105-164.13(69).
North Dakota
No sales tax on high-purity bullion and legal tender NDCC 57-39.2-04(31).
Ohio
High purity bullion is exempt since July 1 2021.
Oklahoma
No additional sales tax information available for Oklahoma.
Oregon
No additional sales tax information available for Oregon.
Pennsylvania
Bullion sold according to its metal content is exempt. Numismatic coins or legal tender with a market value greater than their face value is exempt 1971 Act 2 Part III §204(65).
Rhode Island
Tax applies only to metal bullion for industrial professional or artistic uses RIGL 44-18-30(24) and (43).
South Carolina
Bullion valued by its metal content and legal tender coins are exempt SC Code Section 12-36-2120 (70).
South Dakota
High purity bullion and legal tender coins are exempt 57-39.2-04(31).
Tennessee
No additional sales tax information available for Tennessee.
Texas
No additional sales tax information available for Texas.
Utah
Click here for more information.
Vermont
No additional sales tax information available for Vermont.
Virginia
All metals except for palladium are exempt House Bill 936 amends §58.1-609.1 of the Code of Virginia.
Washington
Tax only applies to collectibles WAC 458-20-248.
West Virginia
Tax only applies to collectibles §11-15-9r.
Wisconsin
No additional sales tax information available for Wisconsin.
Wyoming
No additional sales tax information available for Wyoming. |
Europe
🇪🇺 In the European Union, instead of sales tax, it is named VAT (Value-added tax). Countries in the European Union always apply VAT to silver, which can range from 19% to 25%. However, there are countries in Europe, like Switzerland, where the VAT on silver is 7.7%, and in Norway, coins are VAT exempt. Norway is also part of the EEA, making it easier to move goods to the European Union. However, delivering silver to your country within the EU could still be subject to tax upon receiving it. In the UK, which is not part of the European Union anymore, the VAT is 20% on silver.
Fortunately, in the European Union and the UK or Switzerland, investment-grade gold bullion is exempt from VAT as it is considered an investment asset.
Australia
As of January 2022, in 🇦🇺 Australia, investment-grade gold and silver bullion, meeting specific purity requirements, are exempt from Goods and Services Tax (GST), as outlined in the Goods and Services Tax Ruling GSTR 2003/10. Precious metals meeting the following purity criteria are considered exempt:
- gold (in an investment form) of at least 99.5% fineness
- silver (in an investment form) of at least 99.9% fineness
- platinum (in an investment form) of at least 99% fineness
Canada
In 🇨🇦 Canada, most 💰 precious 💎 metals are exempt from GST (Goods and Services Tax), HST (Harmonized Sales Tax), and PST (Provincial Sales Tax) when they are in the form of a bar, ingot, coin, or wafer and possess a purity level of 0.995 for Gold and Platinum, and 0.999 for silver, as outlined in GST/HST memorandum 17.1. Any other gold, silver, or platinum not meeting these criteria is taxable at either 7% or 15%. 📜🔍📊
Effortless Sales Tax and VAT Tracking with the Precious Metals Manager iOS App
You can use the Precious Metals Manager app on iOS to track your bullion, set sales tax and VAT, and see how much you’re spending on taxes over time.
