VAT on Silver and Gold Coins in the UK: Why Gold Is Exempt and Silver Costs 20% More

Q: Is there VAT on gold coins in the UK?

Not on investment gold. Since 1 January 2000 gold coins that meet the investment-gold definition are exempt from VAT: minted after 1800, at least 900 fine (90% gold), legal tender in their country of origin, and normally sold for no more than 180% of the value of their gold content. Sovereigns, Britannias, Krugerrands, Maple Leafs, American Eagles and most modern bullion coins qualify, and HMRC publishes a list. Gold jewellery, gold coins below 900 fine and numismatic gold sold well above metal value do not.

Q: Is there VAT on silver coins in the UK?

Yes. Silver coins are standard-rated at 20% when bought new from a VAT-registered dealer, whether they are bullion Britannias, Maple Leafs or collector proofs. There is no silver equivalent of the investment-gold exemption. The same applies to platinum and palladium coins. This is why a £30 silver Britannia at £25 melt is a normal price rather than a poor one: a fifth of it is tax.

Q: Why do some dealers sell silver with no VAT added?

Because they are selling it under the second-hand margin scheme. A dealer who buys pre-owned silver coins from the public can account for VAT only on their margin rather than the full price, and the invoice shows no separate VAT. Nothing is being avoided; the scheme is standard for second-hand goods. It means pre-owned silver is often 10–15% cheaper than new for the same coin, which is the strongest argument for buying used bullion.

Q: Is there VAT on auction purchases of coins?

On the buyer’s premium, always: the auction house charges VAT on its commission. On the hammer price, usually not for coins consigned by private sellers, because the house sells under the margin or auctioneers’ scheme; the catalogue marks lots where VAT does apply to the hammer, typically ones consigned by VAT-registered dealers or imported. Read the symbols in the catalogue before bidding.

Buy a gold sovereign from a UK dealer and the price is roughly the gold plus a few percent. Buy a silver Britannia and the price is the silver, plus a premium, plus 20% VAT. The difference is not the dealer: it is a tax rule that treats investment gold as money and every other precious metal as goods. This guide explains the rule, the margin scheme that lets you sidestep most of the VAT on silver, what changed for European imports after Brexit, how auctions charge it, and where Capital Gains Tax fits in when you sell.

Reviewed by Connor Jones, Editor Last updated: 16 September 2026 · spot prices as of 19 September 2026

In brief. Investment gold coins (sovereigns, Britannias, Krugerrands and the rest of HMRC’s list) are VAT-exempt. Silver, platinum and palladium coins are standard-rated at 20%. Pre-owned silver sold under the margin scheme shows no VAT and is usually the cheapest way to buy. EU “VAT-free silver” stopped working for UK buyers on 1 January 2021. Private sellers never charge VAT; what they may owe is CGT, and legal-tender UK coins are exempt from that too.

In this guide

A worked example at today’s spot
The investment-gold exemption
Silver, platinum and palladium: 20%
The margin scheme and pre-owned silver
Buying from abroad after Brexit
Auctions, proofs and the Royal Mint
Selling: VAT versus Capital Gains Tax
Frequently asked questions

A worked example at today’s spot

With silver at £49.65 and gold at £3,281 per troy ounce (our feed, 19 September 2026):

Coin	Metal value	With typical dealer premium	VAT	You pay (new)
1 oz silver Britannia	£49.65	£53.62 (+8%)	20% = £10.72	£64.34
Gold sovereign (0.2354 oz fine)	£772.30	£803.19 (+4%)	Exempt	£803.19

The silver coin’s all-in cost sits about 30% above its metal; the sovereign’s about 4%. To recover the silver premium purely through a rise in the metal price, silver has to climb by that percentage before you break even on a sale to a dealer at spot. That arithmetic is the single most important thing to understand before buying silver, and the reason the margin scheme below matters. Check live figures on the spot prices page or the silver melt calculator.

The investment-gold exemption

Until 2000 gold coins carried VAT in the UK like anything else. An EU directive harmonising the treatment of investment gold took effect on 1 January 2000 and the UK kept the rule after leaving. HMRC’s VAT Notice 701/21 defines an investment gold coin as one that is:

of a purity of at least 900 thousandths (22-carat sovereigns at 916.7 qualify);
minted after 1800;
legal tender, or has been, in its country of origin; and
normally sold at a price that does not exceed 180% of the open-market value of its gold content.

HMRC also publishes a list of coins deemed to meet the test, which removes any argument at the till: every sovereign and half sovereign, Britannias, Krugerrands, Maple Leafs, Eagles, Philharmonics, Nuggets and many others. Coins outside the list can still qualify on the criteria, and coins on the list can fall outside it if sold at a large numismatic premium, which is why the same 1925 sovereign can be exempt from one dealer and standard-rated from another selling a slabbed high-grade example at four times melt.

The exemption does not extend to gold bars below 995 fine, gold jewellery, or the buyer’s premium at auction, which is a service and is always taxed.

Silver, platinum and palladium: 20%

There is no investment-silver exemption and none is planned. A new silver coin from a VAT-registered dealer is standard-rated: the dealer’s price either includes 20% or adds it at checkout, and the same is true of platinum and palladium coins and bars. This applies equally to bullion Britannias, foreign bullion, silver proofs and commemoratives.

The consequence for the collector is that silver bought new starts around a fifth under water on day one, before any dealer premium. Silver stackers respond in three ways: buy pre-owned under the margin scheme, buy larger units where the premium per ounce is lower, or hold through the long term and treat the VAT as the cost of the position. Our junk silver guide covers the fourth route, pre-1947 British coinage, which is bought and sold as second-hand goods.

The margin scheme and pre-owned silver

When a dealer buys silver coins from a member of the public, no VAT was charged on that purchase. Selling them on, the dealer can use the second-hand margin scheme and account for VAT only on the difference between what they paid and what they sell for. The invoice shows a single price with no VAT line, and the buyer typically pays 10–15% less than for the same coin new.

Three things to know:

Margin-scheme silver is legitimately cheaper and there is no VAT to reclaim on it, because none was itemised.
“Pre-owned” bullion is usually indistinguishable from new: the same coin, often still in its tube. Ask the dealer whether a given product is margin scheme; most list it explicitly.
It is the reason selling silver back to a dealer is not the loss it first appears: the dealer can resell without adding 20% again, so their buy price sits nearer to spot than you might fear.

Buying from abroad after Brexit

For a decade UK buyers imported silver from EU dealers, mainly in Germany and Estonia, who applied their own reduced or differential VAT to silver coins, undercutting UK prices. That ended on 1 January 2021. Silver arriving from the EU is now charged UK import VAT at 20% on the full value, collected by the courier along with a handling fee, and the EU dealer no longer charges its own VAT for export. The net effect is that EU silver now costs about the same as, or more than, UK margin-scheme silver, and arrives later.

Investment gold crosses borders VAT-free in both directions because the exemption is harmonised. Customs duty is nil on coins. You must still declare imports over the relevant threshold and the courier will handle it.

Auctions, proofs and the Royal Mint

Auctions. Coin auctions in the UK charge VAT on the buyer’s premium, always. The hammer price of lots consigned by private individuals is normally sold under the auctioneers’ margin scheme with no VAT added; lots where VAT applies to the hammer, generally those consigned by VAT-registered dealers or imported from outside the UK, are marked with a symbol in the catalogue. Our auction house comparison lists the premium rates.

Proof and collector gold. A gold proof sold at well over 180% of its metal value fails the investment-gold test and is standard-rated. This is why the Royal Mint’s proof sovereigns show VAT-inclusive prices while its bullion sovereigns do not, and why a dealer may treat a rare-date sovereign differently from a common one.

Royal Mint products. Bullion gold: exempt. Everything else the Royal Mint sells, silver bullion, proofs, BU packs, £5 crowns and annual sets, is standard-rated and priced inclusive.

Selling: VAT versus Capital Gains Tax

Private individuals do not charge VAT when they sell coins; VAT is a tax on businesses making supplies. The tax that can apply when you sell is Capital Gains Tax on any profit above the annual exemption, and here UK coins have their own advantage: legal-tender coins of the realm, which include sovereigns, Britannias and every decimal and pre-decimal circulating coin, are exempt from CGT entirely. Foreign coins such as Krugerrands are not. The full picture, with HMRC references, is in our CGT-exempt coins guide.

Put the two taxes together and the most tax-efficient physical precious metal a UK resident can own is investment gold in legal-tender UK coins: no VAT on the way in, no CGT on the way out. Silver carries VAT on the way in but is CGT-exempt on the way out if it is UK legal tender, which a silver Britannia is.

Frequently asked questions

Is there VAT on gold coins in the UK?

Not on investment gold. Since 1 January 2000 gold coins that meet the investment-gold definition are exempt from VAT: minted after 1800, at least 900 fine (90% gold), legal tender in their country of origin, and normally sold for no more than 180% of the value of their gold content. Sovereigns, Britannias, Krugerrands, Maple Leafs, American Eagles and most modern bullion coins qualify, and HMRC publishes a list. Gold jewellery, gold coins below 900 fine and numismatic gold sold well above metal value do not.

Is there VAT on silver coins in the UK?

Yes. Silver coins are standard-rated at 20% when bought new from a VAT-registered dealer, whether they are bullion Britannias, Maple Leafs or collector proofs. There is no silver equivalent of the investment-gold exemption. The same applies to platinum and palladium coins. This is why a £30 silver Britannia at £25 melt is a normal price rather than a poor one: a fifth of it is tax.

Why do some dealers sell silver with no VAT added?

Because they are selling it under the second-hand margin scheme. A dealer who buys pre-owned silver coins from the public can account for VAT only on their margin rather than the full price, and the invoice shows no separate VAT. Nothing is being avoided; the scheme is standard for second-hand goods. It means pre-owned silver is often 10–15% cheaper than new for the same coin, which is the strongest argument for buying used bullion.

Can I buy VAT-free silver from Europe?

Not any more, in practice. Before 2021 UK buyers used dealers in Germany and Estonia that applied their own low differential VAT to silver. Since the UK left the EU VAT area on 1 January 2021, silver imported from the EU is charged UK import VAT at 20% on arrival, plus the courier’s handling fee, so the saving has gone and the total usually exceeds a UK margin-scheme price. Investment gold can still be imported without VAT because it is exempt on both sides.

Do I pay VAT when I sell coins?

Only if you are VAT-registered and selling in the course of business. A private individual selling their own coins does not charge VAT. What you may owe on a sale is Capital Gains Tax, which is a separate tax with its own exemption for legal-tender UK coins: see our CGT-exempt coins guide.

Is there VAT on auction purchases of coins?

On the buyer’s premium, always: the auction house charges VAT on its commission. On the hammer price, usually not for coins consigned by private sellers, because the house sells under the margin or auctioneers’ scheme; the catalogue marks lots where VAT does apply to the hammer, typically ones consigned by VAT-registered dealers or imported. Read the symbols in the catalogue before bidding.

Are proof and collector gold coins VAT-exempt?

Often not. The investment-gold exemption applies to coins normally sold at no more than 180% of their gold value. A modern gold proof in a presentation case selling at three times its metal content fails that test and is standard-rated, which is one reason Royal Mint proof gold carries VAT on the invoice while its bullion sovereigns do not. A dealer will tell you which treatment applies; if the price is close to melt it is almost always exempt.

Is VAT charged on coins bought from the Royal Mint?

Bullion gold from the Royal Mint is exempt like any other investment gold. Silver bullion and all proof, brilliant-uncirculated and commemorative products are standard-rated and the Royal Mint’s listed prices include VAT. Face-value commemoratives, the £5 crowns and 50p BU packs, are standard-rated products, not currency, for VAT purposes.

Can I reclaim VAT on coins as a business?

A VAT-registered business can reclaim input VAT on silver coins bought for resale in the normal way. It cannot reclaim VAT it never paid, so investment gold carries no input tax. Businesses trading investment gold can opt to tax certain supplies to other traders; that is a specialist area covered in VAT Notice 701/21 and worth an accountant’s time.

Sources

VAT Notice 701/21: Gold, HMRC, including the investment-gold definition and the list of qualifying coins.
VAT margin schemes, HMRC.
CG78308 and CG78310, HMRC Capital Gains Manual, on legal-tender coins.