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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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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How Gold Is Taxed in the US: The Collectibles Rule
Physical gold is taxed as a collectible, not a capital asset. Learn the 28% maximum long-term rate for 2026, what triggers it, and what doesn't.
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.