Thread: Silver Bullion and Taxes

Sales of American Silver Eagles, privately-minted Silver Eagles, and 100-oz silver bars are not reportable, no matter the quantity.
How true is this? If a profit is made on the selling of the coins do you not have to file a 1099B for this? Especially if it is say $10000 or more sold on Ebay or on another auction site? Even though it is not your trade or business. I have to believe that the government or IRS would notice a large amount of new money in your checking account that wasnt there in the beginning and they would like to know where it came from. More so now with the good ole Patriot Act. Any answers would be appreciated.

I wouldn't bet your freedom on that. Income from any source is required to be reported - by you. Sure you might get away with it - but then you might not. There are a whole lot of folks in jail because they thought they could away with it.

Originally Posted by atomz

Sales of American Silver Eagles, privately-minted Silver Eagles, and 100-oz silver bars are not reportable, no matter the quantity.
How true is this? If a profit is made on the selling of the coins do you not have to file a 1099B for this? Especially if it is say $10000 or more sold on Ebay or on another auction site? Even though it is not your trade or business. I have to believe that the government or IRS would notice a large amount of new money in your checking account that wasnt there in the beginning and they would like to know where it came from. More so now with the good ole Patriot Act. Any answers would be appreciated.

Sales tax requirements vary from State to State. Federal Income Tax law requires you to report all income - even from illegal sources (that's how they got Al Capone). That said, may I respectfully suggest that you seek legal/tax advice from qualified professionals? This is not the place to get misinformation, or suggestions on how to evade legal requirements.

I have no problem paying the taxes, but how will they know what i paid for it?
But i am more worried that they will wonder where i got all this money that i hadnt had before, once i deposit it in my account, especially since it is alot more than i normally have.
Where did you get the money to buy so much in the first place? To be honest i wouldnt even believe the truth. Guess that isnt my job. Thanks for the help. I will prob contact the IRS to be on the safe side.

It does not matter what you paid for it, it matters how much you sold it for. This is the income part.

Tax avoidance is not illegal, tax evasion is !!

Just call a local CPA. Any one in your phone book should be more than willing to help you out by looking into any tax laws you have questions on.

There are several kookie laws that may exist that slip under the radar... But if you want to prove that you earned that money on sale of silver, you better be able to come up with legal ownership in the first place - and that usually creates a tax trail.

When you BUY them, keep the receipt. When you SELL them, the difference in the sale price and the price you paid will be your profit (or loss). As a dealer I've seen lots of people over the years who claim they write off bullion losses as a bad investment. After all, if it were shares of stock and you lost money you'd write it off as a loss, correct? And if you made a profit that would be reportable as income, correct?
Same thing.
Don't get confused between INCOME TAX from profits and SALES TAX, which differs from state to state. In Florida there's no sales tax on U.S. coins anymore so Eagles aren't taxable since they're legal tender and created by the U.S. Mint.
Another thing to remember is that certain bullion transactions are reportable to authorities simply because Uncle Sam wants to track large sales of Krugerrands, gold/silver bars, etc. I strongly urge you to learn these laws and follow them. Federal entanglements regarding bullion and large cash transactions aren't usually happy encounters.
Nick

Originally Posted by collect4fun

It does not matter what you paid for it, it matters how much you sold it for. This is the income part.

As Tradernick pointed out that statement is wrong!

Tax avoidance is not illegal, tax evasion is !!

That's correct.

The reason I suggest getting tax and legal advice from qualified professionals is that their advice is generally valid substantially more than 50% of the time.

I've been an attorney for 40 years, and I have taken numerous accounting courses, but taxation not being one of my specialties, I wouldn't dream of doing my taxes without expert help.

i am going to treat this like i did when i use to day trade stocks. And the company would send me all my sales and i had to plug in the buys. I will look into a tax accountant to iron out the details.
Just worried to get the knock at the door before i file my taxes that i am a threat to national security, or they think i am Pablo Escobar.

You are my go to guys!!