How the rules work, not where to buy
Gold is not taxed the way shares are.
Almost every page about gold is trying to sell you some. This one explains what happens at the point of sale instead: the classification, the holding period, the forms, and the state tax nobody mentions until the invoice arrives.
Search for anything about gold and tax and you land on a page built to sell you metal or to sell you an account to keep it in. The tax question is answered in a paragraph on the way past, usually without a date on it.
What this site does
It explains how the United States taxes precious metals, and it stops there. The classification that puts bullion under a different maximum rate from the one most people assume. The holding period that decides which rate applies at all. What a dealer files, what you file, and the difference between them. Which states charge sales tax on a purchase and which do not.
What it will not publish
No spot prices and no per-ounce figures: they are stale within the hour and they are never the point of a page about how a gain is taxed. No dealer, custodian or depository is named, and nothing is called the best - that is where the advertising money in this subject sits, and it is the page this site does not write.
Every rate carries the year it applies to and says plainly that statute moves. A tax figure published bare is authoritative and wrong at the same time.
What it cannot do
It cannot tell you what you personally owe. Your bracket, your state, your basis and how long you held it all change the answer, and none of them are known here. Every page points at the same place for that: your own CPA or enrolled agent.
How the classification works
Metal is not taxed the way shares are. What the collectible classification covers, how the holding period changes the answer, and why cost basis decides the size of the bill.
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Using Gold in a Transaction: A Disposal Without Cash
Paying with metal is a disposal at fair market value, so a gain can arise with no cash received to pay the tax on it.
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Capital Gains Tax on Gold: Long-Term vs Short-Term
Learn how gold gains are taxed: short-term as ordinary income, long-term as collectibles, with rates, holding period rules, and key distinctions.
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Collectibles Tax Rate: What It Is and What It Covers
Learn the collectibles tax rate for 2026, what assets fall under it, and how it applies to precious metals. Understand the rules before you sell.
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Gold Cost Basis: How the Gain Is Calculated
Learn how gold cost basis is determined, adjustments that apply, and how to calculate gains for taxes. Includes rules for inherited metal and missing records.
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Holding Period and Gold: The Line and What Is Past It
The long-term line is the same as for other property. What sits past it is collectibles treatment rather than the ordinary long-term rates.
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How Gold Is Taxed in the US: The Collectibles Rule
Physical gold is a capital asset that is also a collectible, which caps its long-term rate at 28% instead of 20%. What triggers that rate, and what does not.
When you sell, inherit or give it away
Which moment creates the liability and what the gain is calculated from. Sales at a profit, sales at a loss, metal that arrived by inheritance, and metal given away.
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Inherited Gold and Estate Tax: Two Separate Questions
Whether an estate owes tax and what basis an heir receives are different questions. For most heirs the second one is what matters.
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Gifting Gold: Tax Rules for the Giver and Receiver
Learn how gifting gold works for tax: no gain at gift, but the recipient inherits your basis. Annual exclusion, reporting thresholds, and future sale tax.
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Capital Losses on Gold: Netting and the Personal-Use Trap
Losses offset gains of the same character first, then across. A loss on jewellery held for personal use is generally not deductible at all.
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Why Gold Is Taxed Differently from Stocks
Understand why gold is taxed as a collectible at a higher rate than stocks, how the gain is calculated, and what records matter.
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Gold Capital Loss: Can a Loss on Selling Gold Be Deducted?
Learn how a loss on selling gold is treated for tax purposes. Understand the difference between personal-use and investment gold, and what the IRS allows.
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Selling Gold: Taxes on the Gain
Learn how gold sales are taxed in the U.S.: what triggers the gain, the collectibles rate, and why records matter. Includes a comparison table and common mistakes.
What gets reported, and by whom
Two obligations that get confused constantly: what a dealer must file about a transaction, and what you must declare about a gain. One happening does not remove the other.
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When a Dealer Reports Your Sale: Two Obligations
Dealer reporting and taxpayer reporting are different duties. The gain is reportable whether or not a form is issued, and the product list is specific.
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How to Report a Gold Sale on Your Tax Return
Learn where to report gold sales on your tax return, which schedule to use, and the holding period rules. Understand dealer reporting vs. your reporting duty.
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Foreign-Held Gold, FBAR and FATCA: Where the Line Is
Metal in a private vault is generally not a financial account. Metal in an account at a foreign institution can be, and the penalties are severe.
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Form 1099-B for Gold and Precious Metals: Reporting Rules
Learn when dealers must issue Form 1099-B for gold and precious metals sales, the thresholds for 2025, and your reporting obligations even without a form.
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Form 8300 and Cash Gold Purchases: Reporting Rules
Learn when dealers must file Form 8300 for cash gold purchases, what counts as cash, and how aggregation works. Rates and thresholds for 2026.
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Gold Purchase Records: What to Keep for Taxes
Learn which gold purchase records to keep for tax purposes, how long to keep them, and what to do if receipts are lost. Understand cost basis and reporting rules.
The tax you pay when you buy
Sales tax is a state question and the exemptions change by legislative session. The categories and tests states use, and what to check for your own.
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Sales Tax on Gold and Silver in Alabama
Alabama exempts refined bullion and money from state sales tax through May 31, 2028, if it meets purity and pricing conditions. Jewelry does not qualify.
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Sales Tax on Gold and Silver in Arkansas
Arkansas exempts coins, currency and bullion from sales and use tax under Ark. Code 26-52-454. Learn what qualifies and what does not.
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Sales Tax on Gold and Silver in Arizona
Arizona's state transaction privilege tax excludes precious metal bullion and monetized bullion. City taxes can still apply, including to numismatic coins.
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Sales Tax on Gold and Silver in Alaska
Alaska has no state sales tax, but about 110 local governments levy their own. Whether bullion and coins are taxed depends on the local ordinance.
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Sales Tax on Gold and Silver in California
California exempts gold and silver bullion and coins from sales tax only when a single transaction totals $2,000 or more. Below that, the sale is taxable.
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Tax on Buying Gold: Sales Tax by State
Understand when sales tax applies to gold purchases, how it varies by state, and why selling gold triggers a different tax. Learn the rules and exceptions.
Silver, platinum, coins and scrap
The federal classification is usually identical to gold. The practical experience is not, because reporting thresholds are written in quantities and product names.
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Gold Coins and Bars: How Form Affects Tax
How the IRS treats gains on gold coins and bars, and why reporting thresholds differ by product and quantity. Rates for 2026, with statutory changes noted.
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Tax on Selling Scrap Gold: What Counts as Gain
How the IRS taxes gains on scrap gold sales, what happens when you have no basis, and why losses on personal-use gold are not deductible.
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Numismatic Coin Tax: Rare Coins vs Bullion
Learn how the IRS taxes numismatic coins: collectibles rates, basis, appraisal, and loss treatment compared to bullion.
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Platinum and Palladium: Tax Rules and Rates
Learn how platinum and palladium are taxed: collectibles rates, capital gains, IRA rules, and reporting thresholds. Rates are set by statute and can change.
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How Silver Is Taxed: Rates, Rules, and Reporting
Silver is taxed as a collectible, not as a stock. Learn the federal rates, reporting thresholds, and state sales tax rules for selling silver coins and bullion.
When the wrapper does not change the rule
A fund holding bullion is often taxed like bullion, which surprises people who bought it inside a brokerage account. What each structure holds underneath and which rules that pulls in.
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Digital Gold Tax: How Wrappers Change the Rules
Learn how digital gold, tokenized gold, and gold-backed tokens are taxed in the US. Understand the wrapper's role, the collectibles rate, and unsettled areas.
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Gold ETF Tax Treatment: How the IRS Views Bullion Funds
Learn how gold ETFs are taxed. A fund holding bullion is taxed like the metal itself, not like a stock. Collectibles rates apply. See the rules and exceptions.
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Gold Futures Tax: Section 1256 and the 60/40 Rule
How gold futures are taxed under Section 1256: the 60/40 rule, mark-to-market, and how it compares to physical metal. Rates for 2026, with statutory changes noted.
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Gold Mining Stocks and Tax: Securities, Not Metal
Shares are securities and taxed as securities, so ordinary capital gains rates apply rather than the collectibles rate. The cleanest contrast on this site.
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Royalty and Streaming Companies: Shares, Not Metal
An unusual business model with ordinary tax treatment. These are corporate shares, so the analysis follows equities rather than the collectibles regime.
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Gold Mutual Funds and Mining Funds: Tax Rules
Tax on gold mutual funds depends on what the fund holds: metal or mining stocks. Learn the rules, rates, and key differences.
Metal inside a retirement account
The mechanics only. What the account changes about the tax treatment, why the metal cannot sit in your own safe, and the failure modes that cost the most. No providers are named or ranked anywhere on this site.
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Gold IRA Distributions: Taxes, Rules, and RMDs
Understand how gold IRA distributions are taxed, including cash vs. in-kind, early withdrawal penalties, and RMD rules for physical metal.
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Holding Gold in a Trust: Titling a Thing With No Title
Revocable against irrevocable, and the practical problem underneath: physical metal has no title document to retitle into the trust's name.
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Gold IRA Fees: Four Layers and One That Is Not Called a Fee
Setup, annual custody, storage, and the dealer spread that is rarely labelled a fee at all. What to ask for in writing before opening an account.
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Required Distributions From a Gold IRA: A Dollar Duty
The obligation is a dollar amount and the asset is a physical object. Either metal is sold, or it is distributed in kind and valued.
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Gold IRA Rollover Rules: Direct vs Indirect
Understand the difference between direct and indirect gold IRA rollovers, deadlines, and the once-per-year rule. Know the rules before moving retirement funds.
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Gold IRA Rules: What the IRS Requires
Learn the IRS rules for gold IRAs: eligible metals, purity standards, custodian and depository requirements, and tax treatment. Know the rules before you invest.
The questions people arrive with
Is gold taxed differently from stocks?
Yes. The IRS treats physical gold and silver as collectibles rather than as ordinary capital assets, which puts a long-term gain under a different maximum rate from the one that applies to shares. The gap is widest for higher-rate holders, who are usually the ones most surprised by it.
Do I have to report selling gold if the dealer does not send a form?
Dealer reporting and taxpayer reporting are two separate obligations with different triggers. A sale that generates no form for the dealer can still produce a gain you are required to declare. The absence of paperwork is not the absence of a liability.
Does buying gold get taxed?
Sales tax may apply at the purchase and it is set by each state, with exemptions that differ between neighbours and change by legislative session. Income tax applies at the sale, not the purchase. Conflating the two is the most common confusion in this subject.
Does this site recommend a gold IRA provider?
No, and it will not. The retirement pages cover what the account does to the tax treatment, what a custodian is required to do and where the arrangement fails - the mechanics. Which company to use is a question this site does not answer.