GoldInvestingHow Gold Is Taxed When You Sell, and What Gets Reported
Gold taxes: the IRS treats gold as a collectible, so long-term gains face a 28% maximum rate. How basis works, when dealers report, Form 8300 and sales tax.
Yes, you pay tax when you sell gold for more than you paid. The IRS treats gold coins and bullion as collectibles, and net long-term gains from collectibles are taxed at a maximum rate of 28%. Sell within a year of buying and the gain is short-term.
How is gold taxed when you sell it?
As a capital asset, for most owners. IRS Publication 544 says "Gold, silver, gems, stamps, coins, etc., are capital assets except when they are held for sale by a dealer," and a gain or loss on selling them "is generally a capital gain or loss."
Gold falls into a special group, though. The Schedule D instructions define a collectibles gain or loss as "any long-term gain or deductible long-term loss" from selling a collectible that's a capital asset, and their list of collectibles includes coins and "metals (such as gold, silver, and platinum bullion)."
That label sets the rate. IRS Topic 409: "Net capital gains from selling collectibles (such as coins or art) are taxed at a maximum 28% rate." You work collectibles gains out on the 28% Rate Gain Worksheet that goes with Schedule D.
| How long you held it | Type of gain | Federal rate |
|---|---|---|
| One year or less | Short-term capital gain | Taxed as short-term gain |
| More than one year | Long-term collectibles gain | 28% maximum |
The holding period line is simple. Per Topic 409, "if you hold the asset for more than one year before you dispose of it, your capital gain or loss is long-term," and "If you hold it one year or less, your capital gain or loss is short-term."
Working out your gain on gold
Take what you got when you sold and subtract your basis. IRS Publication 551 says the basis of property you buy is usually its cost: "The cost is the amount you pay in cash, debt obligations, other property, or services." Sales tax and freight are on its list of things that count toward cost.
So for gold, your basis normally covers the dealer's price with its premium, plus any sales tax and shipping you paid. That's why we'd keep every invoice. Say you bought one coin:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Price paid to the dealer, including premium | $2,000 |
| Shipping paid on the purchase | $30 |
| Basis | $2,030 |
| Amount received when sold, more than one year later | $2,630 |
| Long-term collectibles gain | $600 |
Those figures are made up to show the arithmetic. They aren't a price or a return.
When a dealer files Form 1099-B
Sometimes. The Form 1099-B instructions list precious metals sales that aren't reportable. A sale of gold, silver, platinum or palladium is exempt if it's in a form the CFTC hasn't approved for trading by regulated futures contract, or if the quantity "is less than the minimum required quantity to satisfy a CFTC-approved RFC."
The IRS gives an example. A broker selling one gold coin needn't file a 1099-B, even if that coin could satisfy a futures contract, when every CFTC-approved contract for gold coins calls for delivery of at least 25 coins. Sales for one customer within 24 hours are added together for this test. And the exception falls away if the broker knows, or has reason to know, the customer is trying to dodge reporting.
None of this changes your tax. The rules on your gain are the same whether a 1099-B gets filed or not.
The Form 8300 cash rule
Any business that receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction, or in related transactions, has to file Form 8300. It's due "within 15 days after the date the cash transaction occurred," and the business must send a written statement to each person named on the form by January 31 of the following year.
What counts as cash is narrower than you might think. Per the IRS reference guide:
- U.S. and foreign coins and currency always count.
- Cashier's checks, bank drafts, traveler's checks and money orders with a face value of $10,000 or less count when received in a "designated reporting transaction," which includes the retail sale of a collectible totaling more than $10,000.
- One of those instruments with a face value over $10,000 doesn't count. Neither do personal checks or wire transfers.
Payments from the same buyer within 24 hours are related, and the IRS points out this "is 24 hours, not necessarily a calendar day or banking day." Payments further apart can be related too if the business knows they're connected. Form 8300 is the dealer's filing. It reports a cash payment and isn't a tax on you.
Do you pay sales tax on gold?
That's set state by state, and some states tie the answer to the size of the purchase.
Take California. Its Regulation 1599 says tax applies "to sales of coins as collector's items or as an investment," except as the regulation provides. Since July 1, 2023, a sale of monetized bullion, nonmonetized gold or silver bullion and numismatic coins with a total market value of $2,000 or more in a single transaction counts as a sale in bulk, and it's exempt from sales and use tax. The threshold can be adjusted for inflation.
Ask your dealer how your state treats the purchase, and check your state revenue department's own guidance. Any sales tax you pay goes into your basis.
Gold inside an IRA
Ordinarily, when an IRA buys a collectible, the tax code treats the cost as a distribution to you. IRS Publication 590-A says "the amount invested is considered distributed to you in the year invested," and you may owe the 10% additional tax on early distributions as well.
Section 408(m) makes an exception for certain coins and bullion. Publication 590-A says an IRA "can invest in one, one-half, one-quarter, or one-tenth ounce U.S. gold coins, or one-ounce silver coins minted by the Treasury Department," and in "certain gold, silver, palladium, and platinum bullion." The bullion has to meet the fineness a futures exchange requires for delivery and be in the physical possession of the IRA trustee. Our gold IRA guide and gold IRA coin checker go further.
The records to keep
- Every purchase invoice, showing date, product, quantity, price, premium, shipping and sales tax
- Every sale receipt, showing date, product, quantity and amount received
- Any Form 1099-B you get
- Your custodian's statements, for IRA metal
For the trade itself, see buying gold and selling gold.
What gold owners ask about taxes
Do you pay taxes on gold?
Yes, on the gain when you sell physical gold for more than your basis. The IRS treats gold as a collectible, and long-term collectibles gains have a maximum federal rate of 28%. Some states also charge sales tax when you buy. Check your own case with a tax professional.
What is the capital gains tax on gold?
Held more than one year, it's a long-term collectibles gain with a maximum federal rate of 28% (IRS Topic 409). Held one year or less, it's a short-term gain.
Is gold taxed as a collectible?
Yes. The IRS Schedule D instructions list metals such as gold, silver and platinum bullion, and coins, as collectibles.
Do I have to report selling gold?
A gain is taxable income whether or not the dealer files Form 1099-B. Dealers file one only for certain precious metal sales, based on CFTC-approved futures contract forms and quantities.
Does buying gold with cash get reported?
If a dealer receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or related transactions, it has to file Form 8300 within 15 days. Personal checks and wire transfers aren't cash for this rule.
Do you pay sales tax on gold coins?
Your state decides. California, for example, exempts bulk sales of coins and bullion totaling $2,000 or more in one transaction and taxes smaller investment coin sales.
Sources and fact-check10 primary sources, checked October 17, 2026
- IRS: Topic no. 409, Capital gains and losses
- IRS: Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040)
- IRS: Publication 544, Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets
- IRS: Publication 551, Basis of Assets
- IRS: Instructions for Form 1099-B
- IRS: Form 8300 and reporting cash payments of over $10,000
- IRS: Form 8300 reference guide
- IRS: Publication 590-A, Contributions to Individual Retirement Arrangements
- 26 U.S. Code section 408(m), via Cornell Legal Information Institute
- California Department of Tax and Fee Administration: Regulation 1599, Coins and Bullion
We check every figure against the original source: the mint, the regulator, the exchange or the company itself. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
