Taxes on Selling Gold: The 28 Percent Collectibles Rate, Inside and Outside an IRA

Q: Is there really a 28% tax on selling gold?

There is a 28% ceiling, not a flat tax. IRS Topic 409 states that net capital gains from selling collectibles are taxed at a maximum 28% rate, and the Schedule D instructions list metals such as gold, silver, and platinum bullion as collectibles. If your ordinary bracket is lower than 28%, your collectibles gain is taxed at your lower rate; the 28% figure is the cap for long-term collectible gains held more than one year.

Q: Do gold dealers report my sale to the IRS?

Two separate regimes exist. If you pay a dealer more than $10,000 in cash, the dealer must file Form 8300 within 15 days. When you sell to a dealer, a Form 1099-B is required only for metals in a form the CFTC has approved for regulated futures contract trading, and only in quantities at or above the contract's minimum delivery amount, with sales in a 24-hour period aggregated. The specific coin-by-coin threshold lists circulating online are dealer interpretations of futures contract specs, not IRS-published rules.

Q: How are short-term gold gains taxed?

As ordinary income. Per IRS Topic 409, net short-term capital gains are subject to taxation as ordinary income at graduated tax rates, and the 28% collectibles cap applies only to long-term gains on collectibles held more than one year.

Q: What happens tax-wise when my IRA sells metal?

Nothing that year. The IRS states that amounts in a traditional IRA, including earnings and gains, are not taxed until distributed. The sale simply converts metal to cash inside the account; tax arrives when money or metal leaves the IRA as a distribution, taxed as ordinary income for a traditional account.

Two completely different tax systems apply to the same gold coin, depending on which side of an IRA wall it sits on. Sold from your safe, it is a collectible with its own capital gains ceiling. Sold inside an IRA, the sale itself is a non-event and the tax waits at the exit. Dealers blur the two constantly, so here are the actual rules, quoted from IRS publications and the statute.

Outside an IRA: gold is a collectible, capped at 28 percent

The tax code sorts physical metal into the collectibles category. The statute, IRC 408(m)(2), defines a collectible to include "any metal or gem" along with art, antiques, stamps, and coins, and the IRS instructions for Schedule D make the application explicit: "Collectibles include works of art, rugs, antiques, metals (such as gold, silver, and platinum bullion), gems, stamps, coins, alcoholic beverages, and certain other tangible property."

The rate, per IRS Topic 409

"Net capital gains from selling collectibles (such as coins or art) are taxed at a maximum 28% rate." That is a ceiling, not a flat rate: a taxpayer whose ordinary bracket is below 28 percent pays their lower rate. The cap matters to higher earners, whose stock gains might qualify for 15 or 20 percent while their gold gains can be taxed up to 28.

The long-term clock is the standard one: per Topic 409, an asset held "more than one year" produces long-term gain. Sell within a year and there is no collectibles cap at all, just ordinary treatment: "Net short-term capital gains are subject to taxation as ordinary income at graduated tax rates." Your cost basis works like any capital asset, purchase price plus costs, which is a practical argument for keeping dealer receipts as carefully as brokerage statements.

Inside an IRA: a different system entirely

Metal inside an IRA never generates a collectibles capital gain, because IRA assets are not taxed on sale at all. The IRS's traditional IRA page states: "Generally, amounts in your traditional IRA (including earnings and gains) are not taxed until you take a distribution (withdrawal) from your IRA." When the custodian sells your bars, the proceeds simply sit in the account untaxed.

The tax arrives at distribution, under IRA rules rather than capital gains rules. Per the IRS's distributions FAQ: "Your distribution will be includible in your taxable income and it may be subject to a 10% additional tax if you're under age 59 1/2." Includible in taxable income means ordinary income at your bracket, whether that is lower or higher than 28 percent. For Roth accounts the exit is better still: "If you satisfy the requirements, qualified distributions are tax-free."

Put the two systems side by side and the honest summary is: an IRA trades the collectibles cap for ordinary income treatment plus deferral (traditional) or tax-free qualified exits (Roth). Which trade wins depends on your bracket, timing, and holding period, which is a question for a credentialed tax professional, not a gold dealer. The mechanics of getting money or metal out are covered in our gold IRA withdrawal rules guide.

Scenario	Tax that applies
Sell coins from your safe after holding 3 years	Long-term collectibles gain, taxed at your rate up to the 28% maximum
Sell coins from your safe after holding 8 months	Short-term gain, ordinary income at graduated rates
Custodian sells metal inside your traditional IRA	No tax on the sale; taxed later as ordinary income when distributed
Take a distribution from a traditional gold IRA	Ordinary income; plus the 10% additional tax before 59 1/2 unless an exception applies
Qualified distribution from a Roth gold IRA	Tax-free

What dealers actually report to the IRS

Reporting anxiety powers a lot of gold marketing, so it is worth stating exactly what the rules require. There are two separate regimes:

Cash purchases: Form 8300

This one is about how you pay, not what you buy. Per the IRS: "Generally, if you're in a trade or business and receive more than $10,000 in cash in a single transaction or in related transactions, you must file Form 8300," and the dealer "must file Form 8300 within 15 days after the date the cash transaction occurred." Pay by check or wire and this rule is simply not in play.

Selling to a dealer: Form 1099-B, narrower than advertised

When you sell metal to a dealer, a 1099-B is required only in specific circumstances. The IRS instructions set a two-part test: a sale is reportable only if the metal is in a form "for which the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has... approved trading by regulated futures contract," and even then only if the quantity meets "the minimum required quantity to satisfy a CFTC-approved" contract. The instructions' own example: "a broker selling a single gold coin does not need to file Form 1099-B... if all CFTC-approved contracts for gold coins currently call for delivery of at least 25 coins." Sales to one customer within 24 hours are aggregated for the test.

About those threshold tables

The coin-by-coin 1099-B threshold lists that circulate on dealer websites are interpretations of futures contract specifications, not IRS-published rules. The IRS states only the general form-and-minimum-quantity test above. Reasonable dealers can read contract specs differently, so treat any specific table as a dealer's opinion. And none of it changes what you owe: your obligation to report gains on your own return exists whether or not a 1099-B is filed.

The tax is not the only exit cost

Whichever system applies, selling physical metal also means crossing the dealer's spread between buy and sell prices, which for many sellers costs more than the tax does. Our gold IRA fees guide breaks down the spread and the other costs, and the rules decoder covers which metals an IRA can hold in the first place. For price context when you are timing a sale, our live gold price chart and price history by year are free to use.

Comparing gold IRA companies?

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Frequently asked questions

Is there really a 28% tax on selling gold?

There is a 28 percent ceiling, not a flat tax. IRS Topic 409 caps long-term collectibles gains at a maximum 28 percent rate, and the Schedule D instructions list gold, silver, and platinum bullion as collectibles. If your bracket is lower, you pay the lower rate; the cap binds mainly on higher earners.

Does the 28% collectibles rate apply to a gold IRA?

The collectibles rate is a capital gains concept for taxable accounts. Inside a traditional IRA, gains are not taxed until distribution, and distributions are includible in taxable income as ordinary income. Qualified Roth distributions are tax-free. Metal in an IRA produces IRA distribution taxation, not collectibles capital gains.

Do gold dealers report my sale to the IRS?

Only in defined cases. Cash payments over $10,000 trigger the dealer's Form 8300 duty within 15 days. A 1099-B on your sale to a dealer applies only to metals in futures-deliverable form at or above the contract's minimum quantity, aggregated over 24 hours. Specific coin threshold tables online are dealer interpretations, not IRS rules, and your duty to report gains exists either way.

How are short-term gold gains taxed?

As ordinary income at graduated rates, per IRS Topic 409. The 28 percent collectibles cap only concerns long-term gains on collectibles held more than one year.

What happens tax-wise when my IRA sells metal?

Nothing that year: IRA earnings and gains are not taxed until distributed. The tax event is the distribution, taxed as ordinary income for a traditional account, or tax-free for qualified Roth distributions.

Sources: IRS Topic 409: capital gains and losses; Instructions for Schedule D (Form 1040); 26 USC 408(m); IRS: Traditional IRAs; IRS: IRA distributions FAQ; IRS: Roth IRAs; IRS: Form 8300 and cash payments over $10,000; Instructions for Form 1099-B.

General information, not tax, legal, or investment advice. Rates and reporting rules depend on your circumstances and can change; the controlling rules are the IRS sources linked above, and a credentialed tax professional can apply them to your situation. ClearChoiceRadar is not affiliated with the IRS or any government agency.