By Rocco Clayfield, Founder & Director, GoldPaid Ltd · Published 30 January 2026 · updated 6 August 2026
What this article is, and is not
Start with what the gold is, not what it is worth
The single most useful thing to know about UK tax on gold is that the rules sort by what the object is before they look at the amount. Find your row first, then read the detail.
| What you are selling | How UK CGT treats it | Where the detail is |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereigns from 1837 onwards, Britannias, other UK legal-tender coins | Not chargeable assets. No CGT arises, whatever the gain. | Coins vs bars |
| Gold bars and wafers | Chattel. Reportable where proceeds for the bar exceed £6,000. | Coins vs bars |
| Foreign bullion coins: Krugerrands, Maple Leafs, Eagles | Chattel. The same £6,000 rules as a bar. | Coins vs bars |
| Gold jewellery | Chattel, applied per item, with a sets rule. | Jewellery and CGT |
| Scrap and broken gold | Chattel, and usually sold at a loss rather than a gain. | Is scrap gold taxable |
| Jewellery sold by an executor | Estate rules: date-of-death base cost, 24% rate. | Executors and estate jewellery |
Why UK coins sit outside CGT entirely
The exemption is not a gold exemption. HMRC’s Capital Gains Manual, at CG76881 on coins and bank notes, states that coins and bank notes which are sterling currency are not chargeable assets, and that only coins and bank notes which are legal tender are currency. A sovereign struck in 1837 or later is legal tender, so it is money rather than an asset, and no CGT arises on a disposal however large the gain. A 999.9 bar containing the same gold is not money and gets no such treatment.
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The £6,000 personal-possessions rule, for everything else
Everything that is not currency is a chattel. HS293, HMRC’s helpsheet on personal possessions, defines these as items of tangible, movable property and sets the reporting trigger at disposal proceeds of more than £6,000 for the item. The threshold is per item, not per parcel.
Between £6,000 and £15,000, marginal relief usually reduces the result: subtract £6,000 from the proceeds, multiply by five-thirds, and use that figure or the actual gain, whichever is lower. And where items form a set sold to the same person or to connected persons, the £6,000 limit applies to all of the set collectively rather than to each piece.
There is a trap on the downside too. Where a chattel is sold for less than £6,000, HS293 says the loss is worked out by treating the proceeds as £6,000, which usually eliminates it. Gold sold at a loss below the threshold therefore rarely produces a capital loss you can carry against anything else.
The allowance and the rates, with dates attached
| Tax year | Annual exempt amount, individuals | Rates for individuals |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 to 2027 | £3,000 | 18% within the basic-rate band, 24% above |
| 2025 to 2026 | £3,000 | 18% within the basic-rate band, 24% above |
| 2024 to 2025 | £3,000 | Rates changed on 30 October 2024, see gov.uk |
| 2023 to 2024 | £6,000 | As published for that year |
Personal representatives and trustees pay 24% flat rather than the two-band structure. Most trustees have half the individual annual exempt amount, £1,500 for 2026 to 2027. The individual allowance has halved twice in three years, which is precisely why no guide should be trusted on the number unless it carries a date.
What is not a Capital Gains Tax question at all
- Income Tax. If you buy gold in order to sell it on, that can be trading rather than realising an asset, and HMRC weighs nine badges of trade to decide. Where that line sits is set out here.
- VAT. It applies to supplies made in the course of business, so a private sale is outside it. Investment gold, HMRC’s term for bars of not less than 995 thousandths fineness in bullion-market weights and qualifying coins minted after 1800, is an exempt supply in any event.
- Inheritance Tax. That is a question about the value of an estate at the date of death, not about a later sale. The CGT consequences of that valuation are covered in the executors guide.
Reporting and records
Where there is a gain to report, HMRC’s real time Capital Gains Tax service takes gains on assets sold during the tax year, with a deadline of 31 December in the tax year after the gain to report and 31 January to pay. Otherwise the gain goes on a Self Assessment return.
The records to keep are receipts, bills and invoices showing the date and the amount, contracts for buying and selling the asset, and copies of any valuations, held for at least a year after the Self Assessment deadline. A written, itemised offer showing each item, the purity it assayed at, its weight and the rate used covers most of that in one document, which is a reason to ask for one whether or not you go on to sell.
Sources
- HMRC Capital Gains Manual CG76881, chattels: coins and bank notes: gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/capital-gains-manual/cg76881
- HS293, personal possessions and Capital Gains Tax 2026: gov.uk HS293 (2026)
- Capital Gains Tax rates and allowances: gov.uk/guidance/capital-gains-tax-rates-and-allowances
- Reporting other capital gains: gov.uk report and pay Capital Gains Tax
- Gold imports and exports, VAT Notice 701/21: gov.uk VAT Notice 701/21
Common questions
Are Sovereigns and Britannias really tax-free to sell?
For Capital Gains Tax, yes. They are UK legal tender, so HMRC does not treat them as chargeable assets at all. That is a currency rule rather than a gold rule, and it says nothing about Income Tax if you are trading rather than selling coins you already owned.
How much gold can I sell before paying tax?
There is no single figure. For UK legal-tender coins there is no CGT at any level. For everything else the first test is per item: proceeds of more than £6,000 for that item, and then a gain above your annual exempt amount, which is £3,000 for 2026 to 2027.
Do I have to declare a gold sale to HMRC?
Only where there is a reportable gain. For exempt legal-tender coins, or where proceeds for an item are £6,000 or less, or where the sale produces no gain, no CGT report arises. Where one does, use HMRC's real time service or a Self Assessment return. The buyer files nothing about the sale in any event, as do gold buyers report sales to HMRC explains.
Does selling gold at a loss give me a capital loss?
Usually not. HS293 restricts losses on chattels sold for less than £6,000 by recalculating them as though the proceeds were £6,000, which normally removes the loss entirely.
Is this article tax advice?
No. It is general information about published HMRC guidance. Rules and allowances change and individual circumstances differ, so use gov.uk or a qualified adviser for your own position.