Gold Buying Costs by Country
VAT or GST on investment gold and jewellery, import duty and tax on gains in 10 countries, each from the official source, with a calculator for an indicative landed cost.
| Country | VAT/GST on investment gold | VAT/GST on jewellery | Import duty | Tax on gains (individuals) | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Exempt (investment gold: bars of 995+ fineness, qualifying coins) | 20% (standard rate) | not confirmed on an official page | Post-1837 Sovereigns and Britannia coins are sterling currency and exempt from Capital Gains Tax; other gold follows normal CGT rules | HMRC VAT Notice 701/21 (gold); HMRC VAT Gold Manual VGOLD1300; HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG78305 |
| Eurozone (EU rule; Germany shown) | Exempt across the EU (Directive 2006/112/EC, art. 346); Germany: §25c UStG | Germany 19% (standard rate) | not confirmed on an official page | Germany: a private sale is taxable only within one year of purchase; total private-sale gains under €1,000 a year are tax-free (§23 EStG) | EUR-Lex, VAT Directive 2006/112/EC arts. 344–356; §25c UStG (Germany); §12 UStG (Germany); §23 EStG (Germany) |
| United States | No federal VAT or sales tax; any sales tax is set by each state (state rules not checked) | Set by each state | not confirmed on an official page | Gains on gold bullion and coins are 'collectibles': long-term gains taxed at up to 28% federally (held more than one year) | IRS Topic no. 409, capital gains and losses; 26 U.S.C. §408(m) (collectibles) |
| Canada | Exempt from GST/HST (bars, ingots, coins, wafers of 99.5%+ gold); a refiner's own supply is zero-rated | GST/HST at the federal and provincial rate where you buy | not confirmed on an official page | not confirmed on an official page | Excise Tax Act s.123(1) and Schedules V and VI |
| Australia | No GST on gold of 99.5%+ in investment form (first supply GST-free, later sales input taxed) | Taxable at the GST rate | not confirmed on an official page | Capital gains tax applies; new rules (indexation, minimum tax) apply to gains accruing from 1 July 2027 | ATO, GSTR 2003/10 (precious metals); The Treasury, Budget 2026–27 tax changes |
| Singapore | Exempt (investment precious metals, IPM, since 1 Oct 2012) | 9% GST | No GST on qualifying IPM imports (a GST relief permit is needed above 0.5 kg hand-carried) | not confirmed on an official page | IRAS, GST guide on Investment Precious Metals; Singapore Customs, GST exemption for IPM |
| Saudi Arabia | Zero-rated (investment metals of 99%+ purity tradable on the bullion market) | 15% (standard rate) | not confirmed on an official page | not confirmed on an official page | ZATCA, guideline for the investment metals sector under VAT |
| South Africa | Krugerrand coins are zero-rated; other gold (bars, ingots, jewellery) is standard-rated | 15% (standard rate) | not confirmed on an official page | not confirmed on an official page | SARS, VAT 404 Guide for Vendors; SARS, Value-Added Tax |
| Japan | Taxable: consumption tax applies to gold (import consumption tax on imports) | Consumption tax applies (general rate 10%, per PwC; not read on an official page) | Import consumption tax is due on imported gold (Japan Customs) | Gains on bullion are transfer income added to other income; after more than five years only half is taxed; ¥500,000 yearly special deduction | National Tax Agency, Tax Answer No. 3161; Japan Customs, controls on gold smuggling |
| India | 3% GST on gold, gold coins and jewellery | 3% GST on the whole jewellery bill, including making charges | About 15% (10% basic customs duty + 5% AIDC) since 13 May 2026, plus 3% IGST; official notifications not read, reported by tax and legal press | not confirmed on an official page | Govt of West Bengal, FAQ on Gems & Jewellery under GST; LiveLaw Business, import duty raised to 15% (13 May 2026) (secondary) |
Last checked 7 November 2026 from each authority's own page (search-result extracts of official pages count as official here; "secondary" marks a press or adviser source). We review the table every quarter. Rules change, and "investment gold" has a strict legal meaning in each country.
Indicative landed cost
Order used: metal value, plus duty on the metal value, plus premium, then VAT on the total. Real bills differ by country and dealer. Find this site's price per gram on your country page.
Why the price you pay is higher than the price on our pages
Our gold price pages show the international gold price converted into your currency. A shop or dealer adds its own premium (and for jewellery a making charge), and many countries add VAT or GST and sometimes import duty. This table shows, country by country, what the official rules say: whether investment gold is taxed, the VAT rate on jewellery, import duty where we could confirm it, and how gains are taxed.
Worked example
In the UK, 10 g of jewellery with a metal value of £1,000 and a 5% making charge: £1,000 + £50 = £1,050, plus 20% VAT = £1,260, which is 26% above the metal value. A 10 g investment bar of 995+ fineness carries no VAT, so the gap is only the dealer's premium. Try your own numbers in the calculator.
What "investment gold" means
Most countries that exempt gold from VAT do it only for "investment gold": bars or wafers of a minimum purity (often 99.5%) and certain coins. Jewellery, scrap and collector items are normally taxed. Check your authority's exact definition before you buy.
Trading gold as XAUUSD (CFDs or futures) is a different thing from buying metal: there is no VAT on a trade, but profits may be taxable. Read tax on trading profits: a general guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is there VAT on gold bars?
In the UK, the EU, Singapore, Canada and Australia, investment gold that meets the legal definition carries no VAT or GST (exempt, zero-rated or input-taxed). Saudi Arabia zero-rates investment metals of 99% purity. India charges 3% GST on gold. See the table for each country.
Why is gold jewellery more expensive than the gold price?
Jewellery adds a making charge and the dealer’s margin, and in most countries VAT or GST on the whole bill.
Is profit on gold taxed?
Often yes, but the rules differ: the US taxes bullion gains as collectibles at up to 28%, Germany exempts private sales held over a year, and the UK exempts Sovereign and Britannia coins. Check your own country’s rules.
Why are some cells 'not confirmed'?
We only give a number when we have read the rule on an official page. Where we could not, the cell says so instead of guessing.