Technical article

Gold as a Store of Value: How It Is Taxed and Reported

Gold bars and coins land in the same place.

By Neil Solomon · 4 min read

Picture a retired couple with two things at home. One is a tray of old coins collected over decades. The other is five one-ounce gold bars bought as savings. They wonder whether the tax office sees the two as one kind of thing, and whether a move abroad changes the answer.

Here is what the sources show, country by country.

The United States

Gold bars and coins land in the same place. The IRS instructions for Schedule D define collectibles for the 28% rate to include metals such as gold, silver and platinum bullion, along with gems, stamps, coins, art, rugs, antiques and alcoholic beverages. The top rate on long-term gain from those items is 28%. A gain on an item held a year or less is taxed at ordinary rates.

The statute points the same way. It borrows the definition of a collectible from the individual retirement account rules, and it leaves out the exception for certain coins and bullion held by a trustee. That exception lets a retirement account hold those items. It does not lower the rate on a taxable sale of the same coin or bar. The IRS page on the topic names coins and art but does not mention bullion, so the instructions are the clearer text.

Other places

Germany taxes a private sale of art, jewelry, coins or gold as income only if the time between purchase and sale is one year or less. It rises to ten years if the item was used to earn income in at least one calendar year, for example rented out. The source is the income tax act.

Italy is less settled. Two law-firm articles from October 2025 report a 26% flat tax when an individual sells investment gold, applied to the full price if there are no purchase papers. A January 2026 news report in Italy says the same rule took effect in 2024. Inherited gold takes the value in the inheritance declaration, and donated gold takes the donor's value. A one-time 12.5% revaluation was proposed for undocumented gold. According to the news reports, it did not pass in the annual finance law for 2026.

Portugal taxes gains on a closed list that includes real estate, shares and certain crypto-assets. Tangible movables such as art, jewelry, coins and gold are not on the list.

In the United Kingdom, a dealer-side page from the Royal Mint describes its bullion coins, such as Sovereigns and Britannias, as free of capital gains tax. It does not say that gold bars are exempt.

Carrying it across a border

The European Union counts gold as cash for its declaration rule. Cash of EUR 10,000 or more must be declared on entering or leaving, and gold coins of at least 90% purity and bullion of at least 99.5% gold are included. Australia goes another way. Its financial intelligence agency says bullion and precious metals need no cash report, and it sends travelers to Border Force for goods.

The objection

You might say, "Gold is a metal, not a collection, so the rules must differ." In the United States the instructions name both. In Germany and Portugal the rules treat gold like other tangible items.

Who this touches

Heirs get a value set at death in Italy and, in the United States, a basis equal to market value at death. A spouse may hold bars the other never saw. The papers that matter are receipts, which Italy asks for by name.

Doors you could open

You could gather purchase receipts into one folder. You could ask what your country of residence says about a sale.

Have you moved gold across a border, or inherited some? Share what you learned. Someone may find it useful.

Figures are estimates for planning, based on public data. Date read: October 2026.