You can buy gold with cash in the United States, and dealers handle these sales routinely. The one federal rule that matters most: if your cash payment is more than $10,000, the dealer must file IRS/FinCEN Form 8300 reporting the transaction and identifying you. Pay $10,000 or less and no federal paperwork gets filed. Everything else — what counts as cash, how related purchases are added together, what the dealer will ask for — flows from that single threshold.
The $10,000 Reporting Rule
Two federal statutes require anyone in a trade or business who receives more than $10,000 in cash from a single transaction, or from related transactions, to file Form 8300 within 15 days.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6050I – Returns Relating to Cash Received in Trade or Business, Etc.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5331 – Reports Relating to Coins and Currency Received in Nonfinancial Trade or Business3Internal Revenue Service. IRS Form 8300 Reference Guide The threshold is “more than $10,000,” so a transaction at exactly $10,000 falls below the line.
Filing the form creates no tax liability for you and no legal consequence on its own. It is a disclosure, not a penalty. The IRS already knows about the purchase; you still have your gold.
What Counts as Cash
For a gold purchase, “cash” is broader than currency. It also includes cashier’s checks, money orders, bank drafts, and traveler’s checks with a face value of $10,000 or less when used in what the IRS calls a designated reporting transaction. The retail sale of a collectible qualifies, and the IRS definition of collectible explicitly covers metals and coins.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8300 (Rev. December 2023)
So paying for $12,000 in gold with a $9,000 cashier’s check plus $3,000 in currency still triggers Form 8300. Wire transfers and personal checks drawn on your own bank account are not included in the cash definition, and those payment methods do not trigger this particular reporting requirement regardless of amount.
Why You Cannot Split the Purchase
Federal regulations treat multiple payments between the same buyer and dealer as “related transactions.” Under 31 C.F.R. § 1010.330, that covers any payments within a 24-hour period, and it also covers payments spread over a longer period if the dealer knows or has reason to know they are connected.5eCFR. 31 CFR 1010.330 – Reports Relating to Currency in Excess of $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business The regulation gives the example of a coin dealer who sells $9,000 in gold coins to the same person on three consecutive days: that is $27,000 in related transactions, and the dealer must file Form 8300 for the aggregate.
Deliberately breaking up a purchase to stay under the threshold is called structuring, and it is a federal felony under 31 U.S.C. § 5324. The basic penalty is up to five years in prison plus a fine. If the structuring is part of a pattern of illegal activity involving more than $100,000 in a 12-month period, the maximum doubles to ten years and a larger fine.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 31 USC 5324 – Structuring Transactions to Evade Reporting Requirement The form itself costs you nothing. Trying to avoid it is what creates criminal exposure.
What the Dealer Will Ask For
If your cash payment is over $10,000, bring what the dealer needs to complete Form 8300:
- A government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport. The dealer must examine it and record the document type, issuer, and number.
- Your Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
- Your full legal name, permanent address, date of birth, and occupation. The instructions specify a descriptive occupation — “plumber” or “software engineer,” not something vague like “businessperson.”4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8300 (Rev. December 2023)
By January 31 of the year after the purchase, the dealer is legally required to send you a written statement confirming that Form 8300 was filed and showing the total cash amount reported. It is a summary, not a copy of the form.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6050I – Returns Relating to Cash Received in Trade or Business, Etc. If a reportable purchase in, say, March produces no statement the following January, follow up with the dealer.
Keep the Receipt for Cost Basis
Your receipt is also the record of your cost basis, the figure you will subtract from your eventual selling price to calculate taxable gain or loss. The IRS requires you to keep accurate records of items affecting the basis of property you own.8Internal Revenue Service. Publication 551 – Basis of Assets
Basis is the full amount you actually paid, which includes the dealer premium over the spot price, any sales tax, and shipping or insurance fees. Save the receipt showing date, quantity, product description, weight, purity, and total price. Keep a digital copy and a physical one. You may not need these records for years.
What You Will Owe When You Sell
Many cash buyers overlook this part. The IRS treats physical gold as a collectible, and long-term capital gains on collectibles are taxed at a maximum federal rate of 28%, well above the 15% rate most people pay on stocks held longer than a year.9Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409 – Capital Gains and Losses Sell within a year of buying and the gain is taxed as ordinary income at your regular rate instead.
When you sell back to a dealer, the dealer may need to file Form 1099-B. Reporting is required only when the gold is in a form for which the CFTC has approved a regulated futures contract and the quantity sold meets or exceeds the minimum delivery quantity for that contract. A single gold coin generally does not trigger a 1099-B, since CFTC-approved contracts typically require delivery of at least 25 coins. Dealers must aggregate sales within a 24-hour period when checking the minimum.10Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-B (2025)
Whether or not a 1099-B gets filed, you owe tax on the gain. No 1099-B does not mean no tax; it means the reporting burden sits with you. Report the sale on Schedule D using the basis from your purchase records.
Sales Tax and Crossing Borders
Most states exempt investment-grade gold bullion and coins from sales tax, but the rules vary. Some states exempt all precious metals, others require a minimum purchase (commonly $1,000) or a purity threshold, and a handful still charge full sales tax. Check your state’s current rules before buying. Any sales tax you do pay becomes part of your cost basis.
If you plan to travel internationally with the gold, U.S. Customs and Border Protection requires you to declare gold coins, medals, and bullion to a CBP officer when entering or leaving the country. No duty is charged on gold bullion, but the declaration is mandatory.11U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Regulations for Importing Bullion, Gold Coins, and Medals Into the United States Gold coins that function as currency and are valued above $10,000 also require FinCEN Form 105. Gold bullion is not classified as a monetary instrument under federal law, so it does not trigger the FinCEN 105 filing, though it still must be declared to CBP.12Department of the Treasury / Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. FinCEN Form 105 Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments Instructions