There does not seem to be an end in sight to the rally in gold prices. However, if you want to sell gold, there are a few things you should keep in mind with regard to the tax office.
Berlin – The crisis reports don’t stop – and gold, which is considered safe, is becoming a hit on the stock exchanges. The precious metal is currently very attractive for investors and central banks, which is why the price of gold is moving from record to record. On Monday (January 26th) a troy ounce (31.1 grams) cost more than $5,000 for the first time.
With the record highs, some people might come up with the idea of selling all or part of their gold. After all, in 2024, the Steinbeis University Berlin estimated that people in Germany’s private gold holdings amounted to a good 9,000 tons in the form of bars, coins or jewelry. Stiftung Warentest, for example, recommends investing around ten percent of your total assets in gold. However, gold should only be bought with money that can be spared in the long term.
Gold price at record high: There is a speculation period when selling
But what if you want to sell the gold again? Or if you have given the gold as a gift or inherited it and want to convert it into cash for a larger financial project? The tax specialist lawyer Karsten Lorenz said this Business Week: “From a holding period of one year, private investors can generally sell gold tax-free, even on a very large scale.”
However, within the so-called “speculation period” of one year, the capital gains would be taxable. The previous purchase price and the costs incurred are deducted from the sales price, says Lorenz. If you received the gold as a gift or inheritance (purchased free of charge), then the previous owner’s holding period is also taken into account, the expert explains to the magazine.
Selling gold: When the tax office wants to have a say – and when not
The advice portal also writes that the profit is tax-free if it is held for over a year Financial tip. You don’t have to mention this in your tax return. This of course changes if the holding period is less than one year: in this case the capital gain is loud Financial tip taxable and must therefore be stated in the income tax return, but only from an amount of 1000 euros.
In the case of privately held gold, profits must be declared in the attachment SO of the tax return as “other income,” explains Lorenz Business Week. Anyone who doesn’t comply could well find themselves in the sights of the tax office. “There are some requirements that can ultimately lead to the tax office finding out about an unreported gold sale,” warns the expert.
Partially different rules for securities that invest in gold
But what about investors who invest in gold through special securities? With such indirect gold investments, it depends on how they work, whether the same tax rules apply as for physical gold or whether profits are subject to withholding tax as income from capital assets, Lorenz explains to the business magazine. The distinction can be difficult in individual cases.
These special securities are called Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs or “certificates”) and make it possible to participate in the price development of gold without having to physically store the precious metal, explains Sebastian Meinhardt from the auditor KPMG on their website. “Depending on the design of the ETC, gains and losses can either be subject to withholding tax as capital gains regardless of the holding period or be treated like an investment in physical gold, so that gains are tax-free after one year.” In order for ETCs not to be subject to the withholding tax, they would have to be completely backed with gold and only grant the investor a physical delivery claim. (Sources: Wirtschaftswoche, Finanztip, Reuters, dpa, KPMG)
