The only states that are still alive pay taxes on the sale of precious metals. To date, 41 states have eliminated sales taxes on gold and silver bullion. The only states that continue to levy taxes on the sale of precious metal ingots are Vermont, New Jersey, Maine, Tennessee, Kentucky, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Mississippi and Hawaii. The District of Columbia also taxes physical purchases of gold and silver.
In the state of Texas, sales of gold and silver are not subject to sales tax. If shipping an order to your state involves paying sales tax on silver and gold bars, coins or rare coins, you can avoid being charged sales taxes for your order by storing your items at the Texas Bullion Depositary. Since the order will not have a shipping address in your state, no state sales taxes will be required. The United States Gold Office, directors and representatives do not guarantee customers that they will make profits or guarantee that losses cannot be incurred as a result of following their coin collection recommendations or after the liquidation of coins purchased at the United States Gold Office.
A committee of the Virginia House of Representatives recently approved a bill that would expand the sales tax exemption to the sale of gold and silver ingots and coins. To clear up the confusion, we've created an interactive directory that allows you to research your state's sales tax rules and regulations so you know in advance what to expect. The exchange of currency for another form of currency based on an exchange rate is not a taxable transaction if the invoice, receipt, billing, proof of sale, or ticket or contract issued to the customer identify the exchange rate. Investment metal ingot is defined as any elemental precious metal that has undergone a smelting or refining process, including, among others, gold, silver, platinum and palladium, and which is in such a state or condition that its value depends on its content and not on its shape.
Back then, the court ruled in favor of Quill Corp, which agreed that it did not need to collect sales tax in North Dakota because it had no physical presence in the state. In effect, states that levy taxes on purchases of precious metals act as if gold and silver weren't money at all. To qualify for the exemption, it must be manufactured in whole or in part with gold, silver, platinum, palladium or other material; used only as legal tender, security or commodity in Tennessee or another state, the United States or a foreign country; and sold on the basis of its intrinsic value as a precious material or collector's item, rather than its representative value as a medium of exchange. In short, South Dakota claimed that it was losing local sales taxes, as consumers spent more money shopping online than in physical stores.
If you store your gold and silver bars somewhere other than your home state, be sure to check that location's sales tax rates. By eliminating this tax on the exchange of gold and silver, states treat the species as money and not as a commodity. Cortez added that rising inflationary pressures make gold and silver more attractive to consumers seeking to preserve their wealth.
