1099 Rules on Precious Metals

To report or not to report? That is the question.

Many folks get confused with what is reported to the federal government when you sell coins to a dealer. Federal law requires all dealers to complete a 1099-B form to report to the IRS any sale of gold, silver, platinum, or palladium that exceeds the following thresholds in a 24-hour period. Remember, these rules cover 1099 reporting when selling coins/bars TO a dealer. There are no 1099 reporting requirements when you buy coins from a dealer. For a PDF Download of this chart, click here.

Items to be reported
(all items not on the list are not reportable on 1099-B)

GOLD

Gold Bars at least .995 pure – report any sale of any size bars totaling 1 Kilo (32.15 troy oz.) or more.

Gold 1 oz. Maple Leaf – report any sale 25 or more of 1-oz. coins

Gold 1 oz. Krugerrand – report any sale 25 or more of 1 oz. coins

Gold 1 oz. Mexican Onza – report any sale 25 or more of ~1-oz. coins

SILVER

Silver Bars at least .999 pure – report any sale of any size bars totaling 1000 troy oz. or more.

U.S. 90% Silver Coins – report sale of any combination of dimes, quarters, or half-dollars totaling $1,000 face value or more.

PLATINUM & PALLADIUM

Platinum Bars at least .9995 pure – report any sale of any size bars totaling  25 troy oz. or more.

Palladium Bars at least .9995 – report any sale of any size bars totaling 100 troy oz. or more.

* For bars, any hallmark regardless of whether that hallmark is accepted as “good delivery” on any of the commodity exchanges.

Items to be reported
(All items not on the list are not reportable on 1099-B)

GOLD

Gold Bullion—100 troy ounces or more, minimum purity .995, consisting of 1 100 oz bar or 3 one kilo bars

SILVER

Silver Bullion—5,000 troy ounces or more, minimum purity .999, consisting of 5 1000 oz. bars

PLATINUM

Platinum Bullion—50 troy ounces or more, minimum purity .9995, no individual piece less than 10 troy oz.

PALLADIUM

Palladium Bullion—100 troy ounces or more, minimum purity .9995, no individual piece less than 10 troy oz.