Most investors focus on premiums above spot when budgeting for a gold purchase. But the number that surprises people most is often the one at checkout: sales tax.
Whether you owe it depends entirely on where you live. Most states have eliminated sales tax on precious metals, recognizing gold and silver as investment assets rather than a consumer product. But a handful still charge it, and local taxes apply almost everywhere outside of five states.
Two changes took effect recently. Maryland added a 6% sales tax on bullion under House Bill 352 in 2025. Washington state followed with a 6.5% tax starting January 1, 2026. If you live in either state, your cost of buying gold just increased.
This guide covers sales tax on gold and silver by state for 2026. Use it to understand your real cost before you buy.
Overview of sales tax on precious metals
Two types of tax can apply when you purchase gold or silver: state sales tax and local sales tax.
State sales tax
Most states do not charge state-level sales tax on precious metals. As of 2026, the states that do are Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington. Washington, D.C., also applies sales tax to bullion purchases.
Local sales tax
Local sales tax is a separate layer. It applies in most states regardless of whether the state itself charges sales tax. The only places where you pay no local sales tax are Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon.
If you live anywhere else, you will owe local tax even if your state exempts precious metals.
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State-by-State Analysis
Here’s a summary of how states tax gold and silver purchases:
| Tax Type | States |
| No state or local sales tax | Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon |
| No state sales tax on gold and silver | Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming |
| Conditional/threshold-based tax | California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia |
| State sales tax | Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Vermont, Washington, and Washington D.C. |
State-by-state analysis
The specific regulations for each state include:
Alabama
No state sales tax on precious metals. SB 13, passed in 2019, provides this exemption through 2028.
Local taxes: Yes
Alaska
No statewide sales tax on precious metals or any other purchases.
Local taxes: No
Arizona
No statewide sales tax on precious metals.
Local taxes: Yes
Arkansas
SB 336, effective October 1, 2021, exempts gold and silver bullion from sales tax. The state also made gold and silver legal tender, allowing residents to use bullion coins to pay for goods and services.
Local taxes: Yes
California
No state sales tax if your purchase is $2,000 or above (effective July 1, 2023) per CDTFA Regulation 1599. Purchases below that threshold are taxable.
Local taxes: Yes
Colorado
No state sales tax on precious metals. The exemption does not cover all numismatic coins, so check the state tax bulletin if you are buying collectibles.
Local taxes: Yes
Connecticut
Purchases under $1,000 are subject to a 6.35% state tax. Purchases of $1,000 or more are exempt.
Local taxes: Yes
Delaware
No state sales tax on any purchases, including precious metals.
Local taxes: No
Florida
No state sales tax on precious metals purchases above $500.
Local taxes: Yes
Georgia
No state sales tax on precious metals.
Local taxes: Yes
Hawaii
Hawaii applies a General Excise Tax of 4% to gold and silver bullion at the state level.
Local taxes: Yes
Idaho
State statute exempts gold and silver bullion from sales taxes.
Local taxes: Yes
Illinois
No statewide sales tax on bullion purchases.
Local taxes: Yes
Indiana
No sales tax on gold that qualifies for an IRA under IRS rules. U.S. legal tender coins are also exempt. Collectible coins or bullion outside these definitions may still be taxable.
Local taxes: Yes
Iowa
No state sales tax on precious metals. Iowa also eliminated capital gains tax on these investments under House File 659.
Local taxes: Yes
Kansas
House Bill 2140, passed in 2019, exempts precious metals from sales tax.
Local taxes: Yes
Kentucky
House Bill 8 created a sales tax exemption for gold and silver bullion.
Local taxes: Yes
Louisiana
The state recognizes gold and silver bullion as tangible personal property and exempts these purchases from sales tax.
Local taxes: Yes
Maine
Maine charges 5.5% sales tax on gold and silver bullion.
Local taxes: Yes
Maryland
House Bill 352 (the Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act of 2025) applies a 6% sales tax to gold and silver bullion as of July 1, 2025.
Local taxes: Yes
Massachusetts
Purchases over $1,000 are exempt from sales tax under state statute. Purchases below that amount are taxable.
Local taxes: Yes
Michigan
No sales tax on gold, silver, or platinum bullion at 90% purity or higher per state law.
Local taxes: Yes
Minnesota
No state sales tax on precious metals at 99.9% purity or higher.
Local taxes: Yes
Mississippi
Senate Bill 2862, passed in 2023, made precious metal purchases sales tax-exempt.
Local taxes: Yes
Missouri
Gold and silver bullion is exempt from state and local taxes as long as the metals meet certain purity requirements.
Local taxes: Yes
Montana
No state sales tax on any purchases.
Local taxes: No
Nebraska
No state sales tax on bullion. Policies remain favorable for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium into 2026 with no major changes.
Local taxes: Yes
Nevada
No sales tax on gold or silver bullion purchased as a medium of exchange.
Local taxes: Yes
New Hampshire
No statewide sales tax of any kind. You will not pay taxes on gold or silver bullion.
Local taxes: No
New Jersey
Senate Bill 721 eliminated sales tax on investment metal bullion and coins, effective January 1, 2025.
Local taxes: Yes
New Mexico
Residents pay a gross receipts tax on gold and silver purchases. The rate ranges from 5.125% to 8.8675% depending on location.
Local taxes: Yes
New York
Purchases under $1,000 are subject to a 4% state sales tax. Purchases of $1,000 or more are exempt.
Local taxes: Yes
North Carolina
Gold and silver bullion is exempt from sales tax if its value is determined primarily by metal content. This applies to coins, leaf, foil, and other forms where value is calculated on metal content.
Local taxes: Yes
North Dakota
No state sales tax on gold or silver bullion coins or bars.
Local taxes: Yes
Ohio
House Bill 110 (2021) eliminated state sales tax on precious metals.
Local taxes: Yes
Oklahoma
No state sales tax on gold or silver.
Local taxes: Yes
Oregon
No sales tax on any purchases, including precious metals.
Local taxes: No
Pennsylvania
No state sales tax on precious metals.
Local taxes: Yes
Rhode Island
No state sales tax on silver or gold bullion, whether legal tender or not.
Local taxes: Yes
South Carolina
No state sales tax on precious metals.
Local taxes: Yes
South Dakota
Most bullion coins and bars sold by Swiss America are not subject to state sales tax.
Local taxes: Yes
Tennessee
Governor Lee signed HB 1874/SB 1857 in June 2022, eliminating state sales tax on gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bullion.
Local taxes: Yes
Texas
Per Texas Administrative Code 3.336, the state does not charge sales tax on precious metals.
Local taxes: Yes
Utah
No state sales tax on gold, silver, or other precious metals. Utah also offers a nonrefundable credit against state tax if you report capital gains on your federal return for U.S.-issued gold and silver coins.
Local taxes: Yes
Vermont
Vermont charges 6% sales tax on gold and silver products.
Local taxes: Yes
Virginia
No sales tax on gold, silver, and platinum bullion purchases over $1,000 per Virginia Code § 58.1-609.1.
Local taxes: Yes
Washington
As of January 1, 2026, Washington state residents pay the state’s 6.5% sales tax plus any applicable local and county taxes on precious metals purchases.
Local taxes: Yes
Washington, DC
Sales tax applies to gold and silver bullion purchases in the District.
West Virginia
No state sales tax on gold or silver.
Local taxes: Yes
Wisconsin
Governor Evers signed Assembly Bill 29, which exempts precious metals from state sales tax.
Local taxes: Yes
Wyoming
No state sales tax on precious metals per the Wyoming Legal Tender Act.
Local taxes: Yes
Specific tax considerations
Bullion coins vs. numismatic coins
States generally base their exemptions on whether a coin or bar qualifies as investment-grade bullion. Products that meet IRS standards for a Gold IRA typically fall under these exemptions. Numismatic coins, which the IRS does not permit in a retirement account, may be treated differently depending on your state.
If you are buying collectible coins, check your state’s definition of “bullion” before you purchase.
Impact of metal content
Several states only waive sales tax if your metals meet a minimum purity level. A few examples:
- Alabama: 80% purity minimum
- Illinois: 98% purity minimum
- Michigan: 90% purity minimum
Most standard bullion products from reputable dealers will clear these thresholds.
Online Purchases and Shipping Address
For online orders, sales tax is based on where the dealer ships the metals, not where your billing address is. Your billing information is used for payment verification only. If you are shipping to a different address than usual, verify the tax rules for that location before you check out.
Other tax law regulations
Capital gains taxes
Sales tax is a one-time cost at purchase. Capital gains tax applies when you sell at a profit.
At the federal level, the rate depends on how long you hold the metals. If you sell within one year of buying, gains are taxed as ordinary income. If you hold for more than one year, gains are taxed at a maximum rate of 28% because the IRS classifies precious metals as collectibles. Most states impose their own capital gains taxes on top of the federal rate.
A Gold IRA can help you reduce or defer these taxes within a retirement account structure. For long-term holders, this is worth understanding before you decide how to buy.
Selling regulations
Here is how IRS reporting works when you buy or sell gold:
- When you buy: The IRS does not track individual purchases. No automatic reporting occurs unless your gold is held inside a tax-advantaged retirement account, in which case the account custodian handles the reporting.
- When you sell: Dealers may be required to file a Form 1099-B for larger transactions. Ask your dealer about their specific thresholds.
- If you make a profit: You are responsible for reporting gains on your tax return as capital gains. This applies whether or not your dealer filed a 1099-B.
How to sell gold and silver tax-free
You can’t avoid every tax on a gold or silver sale. But you can legally reduce or eliminate most of them, depending on how you structure the purchase, the hold, and the sale itself.
Buy in a sales-tax-exempt state
As of 2026, 44 states exempt precious metals from sales tax. The six that still charge it are Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Vermont, and Washington. If you live in one of those states, buying from an out-of-state dealer with no nexus in your state may allow you to skip the sales tax on your purchase, which directly protects your margins when you sell later.
For online orders, remember that sales tax is based on where the metals are shipped, not where you place the order from. That distinction matters if you’re buying across state lines.
Hold your metals inside a Self-Directed IRA
This is the most straightforward path to tax-free (or tax-deferred) growth. In a traditional Self-Directed IRA, your gold and silver grow without triggering capital gains until you take distributions. In a Roth Self-Directed IRA, qualified withdrawals are completely tax-free, including all the gains.
The IRS requires that IRA-held metals meet minimum fineness standards (99.5% for gold, 99.9% for silver) and be stored with an approved custodian. Products like American Gold Eagles and approved gold bars qualify under these rules.
Use the stepped-up cost basis on inherited metals
When heirs inherit physical gold or silver, the IRS resets the cost basis to the market value on the date of death. That means decades of price appreciation get wiped from the tax ledger entirely. If your parents bought gold at $400 an ounce and it’s worth $2,500 when you inherit it, your taxable gain starts at $2,500, not $400. Sell at $2,500 and you owe nothing in capital gains.
This makes gold and silver one of the more tax-efficient assets to pass between generations, especially compared to retirement accounts that create taxable events for heirs.
Offset gains with capital losses
If you’re selling gold or silver at a profit, you can pair that sale with losses from other investments to reduce or zero out the tax bill. The IRS allows capital losses to offset capital gains dollar-for-dollar. If your losses exceed your gains, you can deduct up to $3,000 per year against ordinary income and carry the rest forward to future tax years.
Know the reporting thresholds
Not every sale triggers a 1099-B from your dealer. The IRS only requires dealer reporting on specific items at specific quantities:
- Gold bars of 1 kilo or more at .995 fineness
- Silver bars of 1,000 troy ounces or more at .999 fineness
- Certain coins like Gold Maple Leafs or Krugerrands in lots of 25 or more
American Gold Eagles and American Silver Eagles are exempt from 1099-B reporting entirely, regardless of quantity. This does not eliminate your tax obligation, but it does mean smaller, strategic sales of certain products stay between you and your tax return.
Watch for state-level capital gains exemptions
A handful of states are moving to exempt precious metals gains from state income tax altogether. Missouri eliminated state capital gains tax on gold and silver sales as of January 1, 2025. Iowa did the same under House File 659 in 2024. Other states are considering similar legislation.
If your state follows suit, federal capital gains (taxed at the 28% collectibles rate for metals held over a year) would be your only obligation.
Sound money and economic impact
Gold and silver have served as a store of value for centuries because their worth is tied to a physical asset. That is part of why many state legislatures have removed sales tax barriers on precious metals, treating them as investments rather than consumer goods.
Organizations like the Sound Money Defense League have worked state by state to expand these exemptions. Their argument: taxing gold and silver discourages citizens from holding real assets outside the banking system. As of 2026, most states have accepted this reasoning.
Maryland and Washington are the recent exceptions. Both added new taxes on bullion in 2025 and 2026 respectively, which puts them out of step with a broader national trend toward exemption.
Is there sales tax on gold bars? Final thoughts
For most buyers, yes, you will face some form of tax on gold bar purchases. State-level taxes apply in six states plus D.C. Local taxes apply in most of the rest. Only five states have no sales tax at all.
To learn more about investing in gold, silver or other precious metals, connect with the Swiss America team today!
Sales tax on gold and silver by state: FAQs
Is gold taxable in the USA?
In most cases, yes. You may owe sales tax at the state or local level when you buy, and capital gains tax when you sell at a profit. Only Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon have no sales tax at all. Most other states exempt precious metals from state-level tax but still apply local taxes.
How can you avoid sales tax when buying gold?
If you live in Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, or Oregon, you will not pay sales tax on gold purchases. In several other states, purchasing above a dollar threshold eliminates the state portion of the tax. California exempts purchases above $2,000, New York above $1,000, and Connecticut above $1,000. Local taxes may still apply even where state taxes do not.
How much silver can I buy without reporting?
As a buyer, you are not required to report silver purchases to the IRS. The reporting obligation falls on the dealer. For certain transaction types and sizes, dealers file a Form 1099-B with the IRS. Ask your dealer about their reporting thresholds before you buy if you want that information upfront.
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.
