If you sold precious metals, rare coins, or currency in 2025, there is a good chance that you had a paper gain (what you received minus what you paid) for which federal, state, and local income tax authorities expect you to report on your respective tax forms and pay them their cut.
This applies whether or not your sale was reported to the Internal Revenue Service on Form 1099-B. This form is used to report proceeds from broker and barter exchange transactions. In the past, it mostly applied to paper financial transactions, but was expanded in the 1980s to include some sales of precious metals and coins. In 2025, the IRS narrowed the items reported on Form 1099-B to eliminate reporting of coin sales. (Note that CBS News in recent weeks has provided inaccurate information on this subject.)
The responsibility for the seller to report and pay income taxes applies even though there may be no reports otherwise filed with any government.
Further, as part of the new tax law enacted in 2017, tax-free exchanges of precious metals within the same metal ceased. If someone swapped gold bullion-priced gold coins or ingots for numismatic gold coins, the IRS and state and local tax authorities (if applicable) expect to see the value of the paper gain of what was swapped reported as a taxable gain.
And, as has been true all along, if anyone seeking to take advantage of the high gold/silver ratio for much of 2025 swapped, for example, gold coins or ingots to receive silver coins or ingots, the income tax authorities expect to see on your tax forms the value of the paper gain of the gold that you exchanged—even if you didn’t receive any cash.
Of course, if these transactions were conducted within a self-directed precious metals Individual Retirement Account, there would not be any reporting or paying of income taxes either for that account or for the beneficiaries of such accounts.
As for how much the federal income tax liability might be, items sold that have been held for less than a year are taxed at the top marginal rate for the particular taxpayer. If the items are sold after being held for more than a year, then the paper profits are subject to the lower of the taxpayer’s top marginal rate or 28 percent.
For most people selling jewelry in years past, the payments they received were less than their cost basis, which meant they could not report the loss on their tax forms, as they were not a financial investment. However, with soaring gold and silver prices, some such sellers may recently have sold for a paper profit above their cost. If so, the income tax agencies want this reported and to collect the taxes.
The above information applies to individual taxpayers. Businesses that buy and sell precious metals and numismatics as part of their stock in trade treat such transactions the same as they would with any other kind of inventory.
While it may be true that the sale of any precious metals or numismatic items in 2025 may not reflect a genuine economic gain, once you take into account the impact of government inflation of the money supply, the tax laws and regulations apply to paper gains and losses, no matter the economic outcome.
Going forward, when considering the sale or exchange of any precious metals or numismatic items, it may be worth factoring in the income tax consequences.
As always, it is the responsibility of taxpayers to consult with their own advisors to confirm any tax advice.
Last column’s numismatic trivia question.
Last time I asked— Why were U.S. quarters, half dollars, and dollar coins struck by the Mint in 1975 all dated “1776-1976”? The Treasury Department wanted to make sure that sufficient quantities of the 1776-1976 coins were already in circulation at the beginning of 1976, so these coins, minted in 1975 as well as in 1976, were all given the dual Bicentennial dates.
This week’s trivia question
Here is this week’s question. In what years did the Denver Mint not put its D mintmark on the coins struck there? Come back next week for the answer.
Patrick A. Heller was honored as a 2019 FUN Numismatic Ambassador. He is also the recipient of the American Numismatic Association 2018 Glenn Smedley Memorial Service Award, the 2017 Exemplary Service Award, the 2012 Harry Forman National Dealer of the Year Award, and the 2008 Presidential Award. Over the years, he has also been honored by the Numismatic Literary Guild, Professional Numismatists Guild, National Coin & Bullion Association, and the Michigan State Numismatic Society. He is the communications officer of Liberty Coin Service in Lansing, Michigan, and writes “Liberty’s Outlook,” a monthly newsletter on rare coins and precious metals subjects. He now volunteers with the National Coin & Bullion Association as its Industry Issues Advisor. Past newsletter issues can be viewed at www.libertycoinservice.com. Some of his radio commentaries, “Things You ‘Know’ That Just Aren’t So,” and “Important News You Need To Know,” can be heard at 8:45 a.m. Wednesday and Friday mornings on 1320-AM WILS in Lansing (which streams live and becomes part of the audio archives posted at www.1320wils.com).