Information that the IRS requires If a gold purchase must be reported, the trader is the one to report it. Form 8300 requires information about the gold buyer, including name, social security number, address, and license number. If you’re buying precious metals to prepare for an uncertain future, you should also consider water filtration, emergency food, heirloom seeds, and other emergency preparedness products. While no investor likes to fill out additional tax forms, the tax savings resulting from owning gold through one of the Sprott Physical Bullion Trusts and holding the annual elections may well be worthwhile.
Investors often perceive the high costs of owning gold as dealer premiums and storage fees for physical gold or as management fees and trading costs for gold funds. Therefore, in the eyes of the IRS, all profits made by a customer from selling their precious metals investments are considered taxable and therefore subject to some form of tax. As in all areas of precious metals investing, there are a number of traders who lead people down the wrong path with their hard-earned retirement money. This applies not only to gold coins and bars, but also to most ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), which are taxed at 28%.
Don’t finance your precious metal IRA with a fraction of gold or silver, they too are unnecessarily expensive. This happens when a customer sells any of the products listed in the IRS list of reportable items in specific quantities, which we’ll discuss in more detail in this article. However, as with all other liabilities or other sources of income, we want our customers to be aware of the tax impact of their transactions. The reportable sales (in turn, customer sales to dealers) relate to 1 ounce of Gold Maple Leafs, 1 ounce of Krugerrands and 1 ounce of Mexican Onza in quantities of twenty-five or more in one transaction.
Most of us aren’t CPAs or tax advisors, but Atlanta Gold and Coin Buyers are happy to answer any questions you may have. Thankfully, there’s a relatively easy way to minimize the tax impact of owning gold and other precious metals. Prospective investors who are not residents of Canada or the United States should contact their financial advisor to find out whether securities in the funds may be legally sold in their country. In summary, precious metal transactions can be confusing enough without considering the information required by the IRS.