Smaller transactions if the total value of sales to that customer has exceeded 10,000 pounds sterling in the past 12 months. The best and easiest way to save by paying the CGT for gold in the UK is to sell smaller quantities of gold bars. As long as you sell your gold bars to make a profit lower than the limit set for that financial year, you will avoid having to pay any CGT. A number of gold coins are exempt from the CGT.
For more information on gold investing, check out our Gold Investing Guide for more detailed information. The coins that are exempt are many of the coins produced by the Royal Mint, since they are considered legal tender in British currency. Since all gold coins manufactured in the United Kingdom are produced by the Royal Mint (non-legal tender coins are called “round”), this means that almost all British gold coins are exempt from CGT. The value of your precious metal will have to increase more than what these taxes cost before you can start claiming the benefits of your investment, so it's important to buy tax-free gold whenever possible. Fortunately, throughout the European Union there is an initiative to exempt from VAT all gold products that are considered “investment” gold or “ingots”.
Reportable sales (again, sales from customers to distributors) apply to 1-ounce Gold Maple Leafs, 1-ounce Krugerrands and 1-ounce Mexican Ounce in quantities of twenty-five or more in a single transaction. This includes all Britannia silver and gold coins and sovereign gold coins after 1837, including test sets. Therefore, it is not the price of the gold product at the time of purchase or sale that determines the amount of taxes you pay, but the amount by which the product has increased in value since you bought it. There is no general exemption for gold investment options, and the products are discussed on a case-by-case basis.
Don't fund your precious metals IRA with fractionated gold or silver, as they are also unnecessarily expensive. Most investors in gold or silver bullion don't need to worry about the CGT, due to the size and value of their investment. The main British gold coins that are traded internationally are the Gold Sovereign and the Gold Britannia, although there are a variety of other coins in the Royal Mint's collection.
