To buy gold bullion in the USA, you pick a product from a dealer, show a government-issued photo ID, pay, and either take delivery or arrange storage. No license is needed. Federal rules mainly show up in two places: cash payments above $10,000 trigger an IRS report, and any profit when you eventually sell is taxed as a collectible at a maximum federal rate of 28% rather than the 15% or 20% rate that applies to stocks.
What Counts as Investment-Grade Bullion
Bullion comes in three formats. Bars are rectangular ingots from private refineries or government mints. Coins are government-issued legal tender with a stated face value. Rounds look like coins but carry no face value and are struck by private mints purely for investment.
For a gold bar to count as investment-grade, it needs to meet the London Bullion Market Association’s minimum fineness of .995, meaning at least 99.5% pure gold. Many bars are refined to .9999, or “four-nines” purity.1The Royal Mint. Module 6: Investing in Precious Metals Coins do not always follow the same rule. The American Gold Eagle, one of the most popular bullion coins in the country, is 22-karat gold: 91.67% gold, 3% silver, and the rest copper. Each one-ounce Eagle still contains a full troy ounce of pure gold.2United States Mint. American Eagle 2025 One Ounce Gold Proof Coin The Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is .9999 fine.
Bullion is weighed in troy ounces, not the ounces on a kitchen scale. A troy ounce is about 31.1 grams; a standard ounce is 28.35 grams.3StoneX. Troy Ounce American Gold Eagles come in one ounce, half ounce, quarter ounce, and one-tenth ounce sizes.2United States Mint. American Eagle 2025 One Ounce Gold Proof Coin Bars run from one gram up to the 400-troy-ounce “Good Delivery” bars used in institutional trading. Individual buyers usually stay in the one-to-ten-ounce range.
Where to Buy
The U.S. Mint does not sell bullion coins directly to the public. It distributes through Authorized Purchasers who supply the secondary market of dealers, wholesalers, and individual investors.4United States Mint. Bullion Coins – How to Buy Bullion Coins So retail buyers work with dealers.
Online bullion dealers handle most retail volume. You get real-time pricing tied to global spot markets, large inventories, and home delivery. You cannot inspect the product before buying. Local coin shops let you examine the bullion and walk out with it the same day. Their prices generally run slightly higher than online competitors because of overhead, but you skip shipping fees and delivery delays.
Whichever channel you use, buy from established dealers with published return policies and industry memberships. That is the simplest guard against counterfeits. Most gold bars ship with an assay card sealed in tamper-evident packaging listing weight, purity, serial number, and refiner; breaking the seal voids the assay certification. For coins, third-party grading services such as PCGS and NGC authenticate and encapsulate the piece in a sealed holder with a grade and verification number. Electronic testing devices that measure electrical conductivity and density, or X-ray fluorescence testing offered by some dealers and jewelers, can confirm a piece is genuine without damaging it.
Premiums Over Spot Price
The price you pay is always higher than the raw metal’s spot price. That difference, the premium, covers refining, minting, shipping, and the dealer’s margin.
One-ounce gold bars carry the smallest markup, typically a few percentage points above spot. Government-minted coins like Eagles and Maple Leafs cost more because of higher production costs and brand recognition. Fractional pieces carry the steepest premiums per ounce, sometimes 15% or more above spot for a one-tenth-ounce coin. Premiums also widen during periods of economic stress when retail demand spikes, and compress in calm markets. The spot price is the same for everyone, so shopping several dealers is the reliable way to avoid overpaying.
ID and Payment at the Counter
Buying gold is not anonymous. Federal anti-money-laundering rules require precious metals dealers to maintain written compliance programs designed to prevent their businesses from being used for money laundering or terrorist financing.5eCFR. 31 CFR Part 1027 – Rules for Dealers in Precious Metals, Precious Stones, or Jewels Expect to show a government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport.
The dealer definition under those rules covers businesses that purchased and sold more than $50,000 in precious metals, stones, or jewels during the prior year.5eCFR. 31 CFR Part 1027 – Rules for Dealers in Precious Metals, Precious Stones, or Jewels Virtually every established retail dealer qualifies.
What else you provide depends on how you pay. Bank wires need routing and account numbers. Credit cards need the billing address and security code on file. Large cash payments require your Social Security or taxpayer identification number for the IRS reporting below.
The $10,000 Cash Reporting Rule
The biggest regulatory tripwire at purchase is the $10,000 cash reporting threshold. Any business that receives more than $10,000 in cash from a single transaction or a series of related transactions must file IRS Form 8300, reporting the buyer’s name, address, and taxpayer identification number.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6050I – Returns Relating to Cash Received in Trade or Business
“Cash” here is broader than paper currency. It includes cashier’s checks, money orders, bank drafts, and traveler’s checks with a face value of $10,000 or less when used in a designated reporting transaction, which includes the sale of collectibles like bullion.7eCFR. 26 CFR 1.6050I-1 – Returns Relating to Cash in Excess of $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business Personal checks drawn on the buyer’s own bank account and wire transfers are not treated as cash for Form 8300 purposes, because the banking system already tracks those transactions.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6050I – Returns Relating to Cash Received in Trade or Business Dealers keep copies of every Form 8300 they file for five years.
A Form 8300 filing does not mean anything is wrong with your purchase. It is routine paperwork.
Do Not Split Transactions
Breaking a $15,000 purchase into two $7,500 cash payments to avoid the report is called structuring, and it is a federal crime. Deliberately splitting transactions to duck the $10,000 threshold can result in a felony charge carrying fines up to $25,000 for individuals or $100,000 for corporations, plus up to five years in prison.8Internal Revenue Service. IRS Form 8300 Reference Guide
Sales Tax on Gold Purchases
Whether you pay sales tax on gold bullion depends on where you buy it. Over 40 states now fully or partially exempt investment-grade precious metals from sales tax. Some states that still charge it apply exemptions above a purchase threshold or only for bullion meeting a minimum purity standard. A handful tax all gold purchases regardless of form. Online dealers typically collect sales tax based on the shipping destination. Checking your state’s current rules before a large purchase matters, because bullion sales tax is calculated on the full purchase price, not just the premium.
Storing Physical Gold
Once the gold is in your hands, you need somewhere to keep it. Three main options, each with real tradeoffs.
- Home storage. A quality safe bolted to the floor gives immediate access and total privacy. Downsides are theft risk and insurance: homeowners policies often cap precious metals coverage at a few thousand dollars unless you add a rider.
- Bank safe deposit box. Annual rental runs roughly $50 to $200 depending on box size. The contents are not FDIC insured, and the bank generally is not liable if metals are lost or stolen. Access is limited to bank hours, which matters if you need to sell quickly.
- Third-party depository. Private vault facilities offer the strongest security, with insurance typically covering the full market value. Annual fees are usually a small percentage of the stored value, and holdings are segregated or allocated and regularly audited. Retrieving your gold takes a withdrawal request and shipping time.
Gold held in a retirement account cannot be stored at home. See the IRA section below.
Taxes When You Sell
This is where gold catches many investors off guard. The IRS classifies physical gold as a collectible, the same category as art, antiques, and rare stamps. Long-term capital gains on collectibles are taxed at a maximum federal rate of 28%, compared with the 15% or 20% rate that applies to stocks and most other investments.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1 – Tax Imposed Hold the gold a year or less and the gain is short-term, taxed at your ordinary income rate.
Your cost basis is what you paid, including the premium and any shipping or insurance fees. When you sell, the dealer may be required to file Form 1099-B for certain types and quantities of bullion. The reporting thresholds generally involve large quantities: gold bars of 100 troy ounces or more, or bulk sales of 25 or more one-ounce coins of specific types like Krugerrands or Maple Leafs. American Gold Eagles are generally not reportable on Form 1099-B regardless of quantity, because they do not meet CFTC deliverable contract specifications. Even when no 1099-B is filed, you are still legally required to report the gain on your tax return.
Holding Gold in an IRA
You can hold physical gold in a self-directed IRA, but the rules are strict. The Internal Revenue Code carves out an exception from its general ban on collectibles in retirement accounts for specific coins and bullion that meet defined standards.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
Qualifying products fall into two categories:
- Coins. American Gold Eagles, American Silver Eagles, American Platinum Eagles, and coins issued under the laws of any U.S. state are specifically permitted by statute.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
- Bullion bars. Gold, silver, platinum, or palladium bullion is permitted if its fineness meets or exceeds the minimum required for delivery on a regulated futures contract. For gold, that is.995 or higher.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 408 – Individual Retirement Accounts
The critical requirement that trips people up: the bullion must be in the physical possession of an approved trustee, typically a bank or an IRS-approved non-bank custodian.11Internal Revenue Service. Investments in Collectibles in Individually Directed Qualified Plan Accounts You cannot store IRA-owned gold at home, in a personal safe, or in your own bank safe deposit box. The Tax Court addressed this in McNulty v. Commissioner, where a taxpayer who stored over $400,000 in gold and silver Eagles in a home safe through an LLC structure had the entire amount treated as a taxable distribution. Setting up an LLC to hold the metals at home does not work either.
Self-directed IRA custodians charge annual maintenance and storage fees, and the metals must sit at an approved depository. Those ongoing costs eat into returns in a way that buying gold outright does not, so factor them in before opening the account.