Gold taxation: What are the taxes on buying and selling gold?

In a climate of global economic crisis, inflation risk and financial market volatility, investment gold has always been considered by traders and economic and financial experts as the safe-haven asset par excellence.
Investing in physical gold enables you to safeguard your savings and protect your assets, while enjoying immediate liquidity.
The taxation of gold includes special flat-rate tax regimes on precious gold objects. This article is part of the information on gold that Abacor makes available to you.

Taxes on buying gold

As with securities, there is a VAT exemption on the purchase of investment gold bars and coins.

Taxation of gold sales

The resale of gold gives rise to taxation and exemptions depending on the tax regime and the conditions of exercise. Here are the different taxes on gold.

TMP: Precious Metals Tax

TMP (Tax on Precious Metals) is applicable on the proceeds or sale price (capital gain or not). Since January^1, 2018, the tax on the sale of gold is 11.5% (including 0.5% CRDS), calculated on the total amount.

TPV: Capital Gains Tax

Since January 1, 2006, investors have been able to opt for the TPV (Taxe sur la Plus-Value) system. This gold tax regime is available when they can prove the price and date of acquisition of the gold*. Thus, sellers of investment gold can, on option, choose to pay 36.2% on the capital gain (since January 1, 2018) with an allowance of 5% per year from the 3rd year of ownership.

The gold capital gains option (TPV) offers 3 major advantages:

• Choose the most attractive tax regime (11.5% flat-rate capital gains tax or 36.2% flat-rate capital gains tax), depending on the capital gain and the length of the holding period.
• Total tax exemption on gold after 22 years of ownership
• In the event of a capital loss, holders are exempt from tax. This applies regardless of the length of ownership or purchase price.

Our advisors use our tax simulator to estimate your tax liability. So you can choose the tax system that's best for you.

Quick POS calculation table

No. of years held	POS	Allowance
1	36,20%	0%
2	36,20%	0%
3	34,39%	5%
4	32,58%	10%
5	30,77%	15%
6	28,96%	20%
7	27,15%	25%
8	25,34%	30%
9	23,53%	35%
10	21,72%	40%
11	19,91%	45%
12	18,10%	50%
13	16,29%	55%
14	14,48%	60%
15	12,67%	65%
16	10,86%	70%
17	9,05%	75%
18	7,24%	80%
19	5,43%	85%
20	3,62%	90%
21	1,81%	95%
22	0,00%	100%

Gold tax is declared and paid by completing form n°2092-SD.

*Please note: to be entitled to exercise the option of capital gains tax (TPV) on the resale of gold coins, it is compulsory at the time of purchase for them to have been delivered in a sealed bag, the identification of which makes it possible to link the bag to the purchase invoice.

Gold Jewellery Tax

Since January¹, 2014, the sale of your jewelry has been tax-exempt for all transactions under €5,000. Above that, you are liable for a tax at the rate of 6.5 percent of the sale price. Gold tax must be paid to the Direction Générale des Finances Publiques.

Taxation of gold holdings and wealth tax (ISF)

Note that since January^1, 2018, the IFI (Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière) has replaced the ISF (Impôt Sur la Fortune). This means that holding investment gold is no longer taken into account in wealth taxation. As investment gold is not real estate, it is exempt from the Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière.

When the ISF was applied, built or unbuilt property or property under construction, rights in rem in immovable property, (...) shares in companies, mutual funds and listed or unlisted securities, deposits or debts, cars, (...), horses, as well as jewelry and precious metals, were taxable, unless they qualified as professional assets.

Gold taxation for non-residents

The above taxes apply to French tax residents only. Individuals not resident in France for tax purposes who sell gold in France are exempt from the flat-rate resale tax and are therefore not subject to taxation in France. They may, however, be taxed in their country of tax residence, where they must file a declaration with the relevant authorities.

Taxation of gold on inheritance or gift

In the event of inheritance or following a donation of precious metals (coins, ingots, jewelry) free of charge, you benefit from an allowance on gift and inheritance tax (law of August 17, 2012) depending on your degree of kinship:

• 80,724 euros between spouses
• 100,000 for disabled children and beneficiaries
• 31,865 euros per grandchild and 5,310 euros per great-grandchild
• 15,932 euros between brother and sister

For current tax allowances and rates, visit service-public.fr.

Donation

If the gold donation is authenticated by a notary, you will have a document justifying your ownership, indicating the date of donation (and therefore of acquisition, free of charge) and the value of the precious metal at the date of donation. This means you can benefit from real capital gains tax in the event of resale. This highly advantageous arrangement may therefore enable you to benefit from a tax exemption in the event of a capital loss (sale price lower than the value of the precious metal at the date of donation).

In the event of the sale of precious metals from an undeclared donation, the 11.5% tax will automatically be applied.

It should be noted that the donation may be transferred to the donor's estate.

Estate

When reselling precious metals from an estate, you can take advantage of the advantageous capital gains tax. You have a certificate from the notary confirming that you are the owner, with the date and value at the time of sale.

De plus, les droits de succession sont déductibles de la plus value réalisée en cas de revente de l’or. En effet, il faut majorer du prix de revient de l’Or hérité, des droits acquittés à l’occasion de la succession. Ces droits se calculent sur la base du « taux moyen de succession » multiplié par le « montant de valorisation de l’Or » (au moment de la succession).

Thus, the inheritance tax paid on the inheritance of physical gold (gold coins or gold bars) must be added to the cost price of the gold used to determine the amount of tax on the taxable capital gain, if the seller opts for this system.

In the event of the sale of precious metals from an undeclared estate, the 11.5% tax will automatically be applied.