Capital gains tax on gold and silver in the UK (2026)

Capital gains tax (CGT) on gold and silver in the UK is charged on the profit you make when you sell precious metals for more than you paid for them. If your total gains in a tax year exceed your annual tax-free allowance - currently £3,000 for the 2025/26 tax year - you’ll owe tax on the amount above that threshold.

But here’s what catches many people out: not all gold and silver is taxed the same way. Some products are completely exempt from CGT, meaning you could make an unlimited profit and owe nothing. Others are fully taxable. The difference comes down to what you buy, not how much you spend.

This guide covers physical gold, physical silver, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and pension-held metals. It explains which products are CGT-exempt and which aren’t, how the tax is calculated, what you need to report to HMRC, and how to keep your records straight. Everything here applies to UK residents and reflects the rules for the 2025/26 tax year (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026). This is not financial advice - if your situation is complex, speak to a qualified tax adviser.

At a Glance: How Different Gold and Silver Products Are Taxed

This table gives you the full picture. The rest of the guide explains each row.

Type	CGT status	VAT on purchase	Tax rate (if taxable)
UK gold coins (Britannia, Sovereign)	Exempt	0%	N/A - no tax on gains
UK silver coins (Britannia)	Exempt	0%	N/A - no tax on gains
Gold bars	Taxable	0%	18% or 24%
Non-UK gold coins (Krugerrand, Maple Leaf, American Eagle)	Taxable	0%	18% or 24%
Silver bars	Taxable	20%	18% or 24%
Non-UK silver coins	Taxable	20%	18% or 24%
Gold or silver ETFs/ETCs (outside an ISA)	Taxable	N/A	18% or 24%
Gold or silver ETFs/ETCs (inside an ISA)	Exempt	N/A	N/A - no tax on gains
Gold held in a SIPP pension	Exempt	0%	N/A - no tax on gains

A few things to notice. UK coins minted by the Royal Mint - Britannias, Sovereigns, and series like Queen’s Beasts and Tudor Beasts - are completely CGT-free because they are classified as UK legal tender. That applies to both gold and silver versions. Meanwhile, gold bars and foreign coins are taxable, even though they’re VAT-free to buy. Silver bars get the worst treatment of all: you pay 20% VAT when you buy them and CGT when you sell at a profit.

The 18% rate applies if you’re a basic-rate taxpayer (broadly, taxable income under £37,700 in 2025/26). The 24% rate applies if you’re a higher or additional-rate taxpayer. If your gain pushes you across the boundary, you’ll pay a mix of both rates.

The rest of this guide breaks down each of these options in detail, explains how CGT is calculated with worked examples, and walks through what you actually need to do when it’s time to report to HMRC.

What Is Taxable vs Exempt

CGT-Exempt Gold

What this is

Certain gold coins produced by the Royal Mint are completely exempt from capital gains tax. This means you can buy them, hold them for years, sell them at any profit - and owe nothing to HMRC.

The exemption applies because these coins are classified as UK legal tender under the Coinage Act 1971. Even though nobody actually spends a Gold Britannia at the shops (its face value is £100, but its gold content is worth thousands), the legal tender status is what triggers the tax exemption under Section 21(1)(b) of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992.

The main CGT-exempt gold coins are Gold Britannias, Gold Sovereigns (minted 1837 or later), and series coins like Queen’s Beasts, Tudor Beasts, Royal Arms, and the Lunar collection - all produced by the Royal Mint. See our guide to buying gold in the UK for a full comparison of coins vs bars. There’s no purity threshold you need to worry about for the exemption itself; it’s the legal tender status that matters. Britannias are 999.9 fine (24 carat) while Sovereigns are 916.7 fine (22 carat), and both qualify.

Why people choose this route

For most UK investors buying physical gold, CGT-exempt coins are the default choice - and for good reason. The gains are unlimited and completely tax-free. You don’t need to report the purchase or the sale to HMRC. There’s no paperwork, no calculations, no interaction with the tax system at all.

This simplicity matters more than it might seem. With the annual CGT allowance now just £3,000 (down from £12,300 in 2022/23), even a modest holding of taxable gold could generate a reportable gain. CGT-exempt coins avoid this problem entirely.

What to be aware of

You’ll typically pay a slightly higher premium for coins than for equivalent-weight bars. A 1oz Gold Britannia might cost 3-5% above the spot price of gold, whereas a 1oz gold bar from a refiner like PAMP or Umicore might be 2-3% above spot. Over time, though, the CGT saving almost always outweighs the premium difference - especially with gold prices rising as they have in recent years.

One important edge case: Sovereigns minted before 1837 are not legal tender and are not CGT-exempt. HMRC’s own guidance is explicit on this point. If you’re buying older or antique Sovereigns for their numismatic value, be aware that they fall outside the exemption. They may still qualify for the chattels exemption if sold for under £6,000 per item, but that’s a different relief with different rules.

Who this suits

CGT-exempt gold coins suit the majority of UK retail investors. If you’re building a position in physical gold over time, planning to hold for years, and want to keep things simple at tax time, Britannias and Sovereigns are the most straightforward route. They’re also the most liquid UK gold coins - every reputable dealer buys them back at tight spreads. See our ranked UK gold dealer list and compare live prices with the best deal tool.

CGT-Exempt Silver

What this is

The same legal tender principle that makes Gold Britannias and Sovereigns CGT-exempt also applies to silver coins produced by the Royal Mint. Silver Britannias, Silver Queen’s Beasts, Silver Tudor Beasts, and other Royal Mint silver bullion coins are all CGT-free when sold at a profit.

Why people choose this route

Silver is a lower entry point than gold. At current prices, a 1oz Silver Britannia costs a fraction of what a 1oz Gold Britannia does, making it accessible for investors starting with smaller amounts. The CGT exemption means any gains are entirely tax-free, just like their gold counterparts.

What to be aware of

Here’s where silver gets complicated. While silver coins from the Royal Mint are CGT-exempt on sale, they are not VAT-exempt on purchase. Silver - unlike investment-grade gold - attracts 20% VAT when bought and delivered in the UK. That means a Silver Britannia costing £30 in metal value will cost you around £36 once VAT is added. You’re starting 20% in the hole before the silver price even moves.

This is a significant drag on returns. For silver to break even after VAT, the price needs to rise by more than 20% from your purchase point. Some investors work around this by buying silver stored in bonded vaults outside the UK (where VAT isn’t charged until the metal is delivered domestically), but this adds complexity and storage fees.

Silver coins are also bulkier and heavier than gold relative to their value, which makes storage more of a practical consideration.

Who this suits

Silver Britannias suit investors who want some precious metals exposure at a lower price point and are comfortable with the VAT drag. They’re also a reasonable diversification play alongside a core gold position. But for most UK investors focused on tax efficiency, gold coins will be the better starting point. For the full silver buying picture, see our guide to buying silver in the UK.

Taxable Gold and Silver (Bars and Non-UK Coins)

What this is

Anything that isn’t a UK legal tender coin falls into the taxable category. For gold, that means bars (of any size or refiner), wafers, ingots, and foreign coins like South African Krugerrands, Canadian Maple Leafs, American Eagles, and Austrian Philharmonics. For silver, it means all bars and any non-UK coins.

These are all perfectly legitimate ways to hold precious metals - they just don’t get the CGT exemption.

Why people choose this route

Bars typically carry lower premiums than coins. A 1oz gold bar from a recognised refiner might be 1-2 percentage points cheaper over spot than a 1oz Britannia. For large purchases, that difference adds up. Some investors also prefer the global recognisability of products like Krugerrands or Maple Leafs, which are traded worldwide and accepted by dealers in virtually every country.

Institutional and corporate buyers may prefer bars for portfolio allocation, and some investors hold taxable gold within corporate structures where different tax rules apply.

What to be aware of

If you sell taxable gold or silver at a profit, and your total gains across all assets in the tax year exceed your £3,000 annual allowance, you’ll owe CGT on the excess. The rate is 18% if you’re a basic-rate taxpayer, or 24% if you’re a higher or additional-rate taxpayer.

You must keep records of what you paid, when you bought it, any costs associated with the purchase and sale (dealer commissions, postage, insurance, storage), and what you sold it for. HMRC can ask for these records, and you’ll need them to calculate your gain accurately.

For silver bars specifically, the tax treatment is particularly punishing. You pay 20% VAT on purchase and then CGT on any gains when you sell. This double hit means that silver bars rarely make financial sense for UK retail investors. If you want silver exposure without the VAT, Silver Britannias (CGT-exempt but still subject to VAT) are the lesser of two evils. If you want to avoid VAT entirely, you’re limited to gold.

Who this suits

Taxable bars and non-UK coins suit investors making large purchases where the premium saving is meaningful, those holding metals in corporate or trust structures, or investors who are confident their total gains across all assets will stay within the £3,000 annual allowance. If you’re buying modest amounts and planning to hold long-term, CGT-exempt coins are almost always the better choice.

Gold and Silver ETFs/ETCs

What this is

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded commodities (ETCs) are financial products that track the price of gold or silver. You buy and sell them through a stockbroker, just like shares. The most common UK-accessible gold ETFs include iShares Physical Gold (SGLN), Invesco Physical Gold (SGLD), and WisdomTree Physical Gold (PHGP). These products are backed by physical gold held in vaults, though you don’t own specific bars yourself.

Why people choose this route

ETFs are the most convenient way to get precious metals exposure. You can buy and sell in seconds through any brokerage account. There’s no storage to arrange, no insurance to pay, no physical security to worry about. Costs are low - annual management fees typically run between 0.12% and 0.25%.

Most importantly for tax planning: if you hold gold or silver ETFs inside a Stocks and Shares ISA, all gains are completely tax-free. The annual ISA allowance for 2025/26 is £20,000, so you can shelter a significant amount of precious metals exposure from CGT this way. This is a route that doesn’t exist for physical gold - you can’t put a Britannia in an ISA.

What to be aware of

Outside an ISA (or SIPP), gold and silver ETFs are fully taxable. Gains above your £3,000 annual allowance are charged at 18% or 24%, just like physical bars. You’ll report these through Self Assessment like any other share disposal.

You don’t own physical metal. In most cases, you can’t request delivery of the underlying gold. If the appeal of precious metals for you is about holding a tangible asset outside the financial system, ETFs don’t deliver that.

There are also annual management fees that quietly erode your holding over time. A 0.20% annual fee might sound trivial, but over 20 years it compounds to roughly a 4% drag on your returns.

Who this suits

Gold and silver ETFs are ideal for investors who already use a brokerage account and want quick, low-cost exposure to precious metals prices. The ISA wrapper makes them particularly attractive for tax-conscious investors who don’t need to physically hold the metal. If you max out your ISA allowance with gold ETFs each year, you can build substantial tax-free exposure over time.

Gold in SIPPs and Pensions

What this is

Some self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs) allow you to hold physical gold within your pension. The gold must meet specific criteria: bars need to be at least 99.5% pure, and they must be stored in an approved, FCA-regulated depository. You can’t keep pension gold at home. Qualifying coins like Britannias and Sovereigns can also be held in approved SIPPs.

Why people choose this route

Any gains on gold held within a SIPP are completely free from CGT. On top of that, you receive tax relief on your pension contributions - a basic-rate taxpayer effectively gets a 20% bonus on the money they put in (higher-rate taxpayers can claim 40%). So the gold is bought with tax-advantaged money and grows tax-free. It’s one of the most tax-efficient ways to hold precious metals in the UK.

What to be aware of

You can’t access pension funds until you reach your minimum pension age (currently 55, rising to 57 in 2028). If you’re buying gold as a short or medium-term investment, a SIPP isn’t appropriate. It’s strictly a retirement play.

There are costs involved. SIPP providers that offer physical gold typically charge annual administration fees, plus storage and insurance fees at the depository. These can add up to 1-2% per year depending on the provider and the size of your holding. For smaller amounts, the fees may eat into returns significantly.

There are also annual limits on how much you can contribute to a pension. For 2025/26, the annual allowance is £60,000 (or your total earnings, whichever is lower). If you’ve already used most of your pension allowance on other investments, there may be limited room for gold.

Who this suits

SIPP gold suits higher earners who have already maximised other tax-efficient investments (ISAs, regular pension contributions) and want additional precious metals exposure within a tax-advantaged wrapper. It’s a long-term play for retirement planning, not a short-term trading vehicle. The setup complexity and ongoing fees mean it’s most cost-effective for holdings of £20,000 or more.

Understanding the CGT Rules

Current Rates and Allowances (2025/26)

If you’re selling taxable gold or silver (bars, non-UK coins, or ETFs outside a tax wrapper), these are the numbers that matter.

The annual exempt amount - often called the CGT allowance - is £3,000 per individual for the 2025/26 tax year. This is the total amount of gains you can make across all chargeable assets before any tax is due. It’s not per asset; it’s your total across everything, including shares, property gains, and precious metals.

This allowance has been dramatically reduced in recent years. It was £12,300 as recently as 2022/23, then dropped to £6,000 in 2023/24, and to £3,000 from 2024/25 onwards. That matters for anyone who bought taxable gold years ago assuming they’d have a generous allowance when they sold - the goalposts have moved significantly.

The CGT rates for 2025/26 are 18% for basic-rate taxpayers and 24% for higher and additional-rate taxpayers. These rates apply to all asset types (the old split between different rates for property and other assets was removed from April 2025). Whether you’re selling gold bars or shares, the rates are the same.

For married couples and civil partners, each person has their own separate £3,000 allowance. You can transfer assets between spouses at no gain/no loss, meaning no CGT is triggered on the transfer. The receiving spouse then takes on your original base cost. This is a legitimate and widely used planning tool - transferring gold to a spouse before selling can effectively double the available allowance to £6,000 per year.

How CGT Is Calculated

The basic formula is straightforward:

Sale proceeds – Base cost – Allowable costs = Gain (or loss)

Your base cost is what you originally paid for the gold, including the purchase price and any costs directly connected to acquiring it (dealer commission, delivery charges). If you inherited the gold, your base cost is the market value on the date of inheritance.

Allowable costs are expenses incurred in buying, holding, or selling the asset. For precious metals, these typically include dealer commissions on purchase and sale, insured delivery or postage costs, storage fees (if using a vault or safety deposit box), insurance premiums, and any assay or testing fees. General costs like travel to a dealer or your time spent researching are not allowable.

Once you’ve calculated your gain, you subtract the £3,000 annual exempt amount. Tax is due only on the remainder.

When CGT Is Due

The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. Any taxable disposals of gold or silver within that window are reported together.

Unlike property disposals (which must be reported to HMRC within 60 days), selling gold, silver, or precious metals ETFs has no 60-day reporting deadline. You have two options for reporting.

If you already file a Self Assessment tax return, you report your gains on the capital gains pages of that return. The deadline for online filing is 31 January following the end of the tax year - so gains made in the 2025/26 tax year (ending 5 April 2026) must be reported by 31 January 2027, with tax paid by the same date.

If you don’t normally file Self Assessment, you can use HMRC’s real-time CGT reporting service online. This lets you report gains and pay the tax without registering for full Self Assessment. You must report by 31 December following the end of the tax year and pay by 31 January. So for a gain made in 2025/26, report by 31 December 2026 and pay by 31 January 2027.

One technical point worth knowing: if you buy and sell identical assets (say, multiple 1oz gold bars of the same type), HMRC’s “same day” and “30-day” matching rules may apply. These rules determine which bars are treated as being sold first, which affects your base cost calculation. In practice, this mostly matters for frequent traders rather than buy-and-hold investors. If you’re making regular purchases and sales of the same product, it’s worth understanding these rules or getting professional advice.

Practical Compliance

Record-Keeping Requirements

HMRC expects you to keep records that support your CGT calculations. For precious metals, this means keeping purchase invoices or receipts showing what you paid, the date you bought it, and from whom. You also need sale receipts showing what you received, the date, and the buyer. Any receipts for allowable costs - storage invoices, insurance premiums, delivery charges, assay certificates - should be kept too.

HMRC requires you to keep these records for at least five years after the 31 January deadline for the tax year in which you made the disposal. So if you sell gold in the 2025/26 tax year, keep records until at least 31 January 2032.

Digital records are fine - HMRC doesn’t require paper. A scanned invoice or a PDF from a dealer’s website carries the same weight. Some dealers provide transaction histories through online accounts, which is useful but shouldn’t be your only copy. If the dealer closes or changes their system, you’ll have lost your records. Save copies independently, whether that’s in a cloud folder, a spreadsheet, or printed and filed.

Reporting and Payment

You need to report your capital gains to HMRC if either of these conditions is met: your total taxable gains (before losses but after deducting allowable costs) exceed the £3,000 annual exempt amount, or your total disposal proceeds across all assets exceed £50,000 in the tax year - even if your actual gains are below £3,000.

If neither threshold is triggered, you generally don’t need to report. And sales of CGT-exempt coins (Britannias, Sovereigns, and other Royal Mint legal tender) never need reporting, regardless of the amount - they sit entirely outside the CGT system.

For those who do need to report, there are two routes. Self Assessment is the standard method if you already file a tax return - you include your gains on the capital gains pages and pay by 31 January after the tax year ends. HMRC’s real-time CGT service is the alternative for people not in Self Assessment - you report online by 31 December after the tax year ends and pay by 31 January.

Late reporting attracts penalties. Miss the Self Assessment deadline by up to three months and you’ll face an automatic £100 fine. Beyond that, daily penalties and percentage-based charges can apply. Interest runs on unpaid tax from the due date. It’s not worth the risk - if you’ve sold taxable gold at a profit above the allowance, report it on time.

If You Make a Loss

Losses on taxable gold or silver - bars, non-UK coins, or ETFs outside a tax wrapper - can be set against gains on any other chargeable asset. This includes shares, property gains, other precious metals, or anything else within the CGT net. You can’t claim a loss on CGT-exempt coins, because they were never in the system to begin with.

If your losses exceed your gains in a given year, you can carry the unused losses forward indefinitely to offset against future gains. There’s no time limit on how long you can carry losses forward, but you must register the loss with HMRC within four years of the end of the tax year in which it arose.

How People Usually Decide

Here’s how most UK investors approach it in practice. There’s no single right answer - it depends on how much you’re investing, how long you plan to hold, and whether you want to physically own the metal.

If you’re a long-term investor buying physical metal - which covers the majority of UK retail gold buyers - CGT-exempt coins are the default. Britannias and Sovereigns give you unlimited tax-free gains, zero reporting obligations, and strong liquidity when you come to sell. Yes, you’ll pay a slightly higher premium per ounce than you would for a bar, but the CGT saving dwarfs that difference on any meaningful gain. As the worked example earlier showed, even a modest holding can generate thousands of pounds in avoidable tax if you choose bars over coins.

If you’re building a larger portfolio (£50,000+), the approach tends to be more layered. Many investors at this level hold a core position in CGT-exempt coins for simplicity, then add gold within a SIPP for the pension tax relief. Some use their £3,000 annual CGT allowance strategically - holding a portion in taxable bars or non-UK coins and selling in tranches that stay within the allowance each year. At this level, the interaction between CGT, pension rules, and income tax bands gets complicated enough that professional tax advice is worth the cost.

If you prioritise liquidity and convenience over physical ownership, gold ETFs held inside a Stocks and Shares ISA are hard to beat. You get instant buying and selling through your broker, no storage or insurance to worry about, and all gains are completely tax-free within the ISA wrapper. The £20,000 annual ISA allowance means you can shelter a significant amount each year. The trade-off is that you never actually own gold - you own units in a fund that owns gold. For some investors that distinction doesn’t matter. For others, it defeats the purpose.

If you’re looking at silver specifically, your tax-efficient options are narrow. Silver Britannias from the Royal Mint are CGT-exempt, which is the good news. The bad news is the 20% VAT on purchase, which means you’re underwater from day one. Silver bars are even worse - you pay VAT on the way in and CGT on the way out. For most UK retail investors, silver works best as a smaller, complementary position alongside gold rather than a core holding. If you do buy silver, stick to Royal Mint coins to at least avoid the CGT layer.

Tax and Regulation

Who these rules apply to

Everything in this guide applies to UK tax residents. If you live in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland and are resident for tax purposes, these are your rules. It doesn’t matter where the gold was purchased - if you’re a UK resident, gains on disposal are potentially within the UK CGT net.

Scotland and Wales have their own income tax rates, but CGT rates are the same across the whole of the UK. A Scottish taxpayer pays the same 18% or 24% on gold gains as someone in England.

If you’re not UK-domiciled, the position is more complex. The old remittance basis (which allowed non-doms to avoid UK tax on foreign gains until they brought the money into the UK) was abolished from April 2025 and replaced with a new foreign income and gains regime for qualifying new residents. If this applies to you, specialist tax advice is essential - it’s well beyond the scope of this guide.

What “legal tender” actually means for CGT

There’s a common misconception that “legal tender” means a coin can be used in shops. It doesn’t. Legal tender has a narrow legal definition - it’s a form of payment that a creditor must accept to settle a debt in court. In practice, no shop is obliged to accept a Gold Britannia as payment for your groceries.

What matters for CGT purposes is simpler: coins produced by the Royal Mint that are classified as UK legal tender under the Coinage Act 1971 are treated as sterling currency. Sterling currency is exempt from CGT under Section 21(1)(b) of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992. That’s the legal basis for the exemption on Britannias, Sovereigns (1837 onwards), and other Royal Mint bullion series.

Coins that have been officially demonetised - such as old gold Guineas or hammered Unite coins - do not qualify. Neither do pre-1837 Sovereigns. And foreign coins like Krugerrands, even though they are legal tender in South Africa, are not UK legal tender and are therefore taxable in the UK.

Regulatory status of physical precious metals

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) does not regulate the buying and selling of physical precious metals. Gold bars, silver coins, and bullion in general sit outside the FCA’s regulatory perimeter. This means that if you buy gold from a dealer and something goes wrong, you don’t have recourse to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme in the way you would with a regulated investment.

However, dealers do have obligations under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017. In practice, this means most reputable dealers will ask for photographic ID and proof of address for transactions above approximately £5,000, and are required to report suspicious activity and cash transactions above £10,000 to HMRC. There is no legal limit on how much gold you can buy or own in the UK, and no obligation to report your holdings to anyone. The reporting requirements fall on the dealer, not the buyer.

A persistent myth is that there’s a specific threshold above which gold sales must be “reported to HMRC.” There isn’t. What exists is the CGT reporting obligation (if your taxable gains exceed the allowance) and the dealer’s own AML compliance. These are separate systems with different triggers.

VAT treatment

Investment-grade gold is VAT-exempt in the UK. This covers gold bars of at least 99.5% purity and coins that appear on HMRC’s list of qualifying investment gold coins (which includes Britannias, Sovereigns, Krugerrands, Maple Leafs, and many others). You pay no VAT on purchase.

Silver, platinum, and palladium do not get this treatment. Physical silver delivered in the UK attracts 20% VAT at the standard rate. This is a significant cost that directly reduces your returns - on a £1,000 silver purchase, £200 goes to VAT before the metal even arrives. Some dealers offer VAT-free silver stored in bonded vaults outside the UK (typically in Zurich or Singapore), but you can’t take physical delivery in the UK without triggering the VAT charge.

This VAT difference is one of the main reasons gold dominates UK precious metals portfolios. The combination of zero VAT on purchase and zero CGT on sale (for legal tender coins) makes gold uniquely tax-efficient compared to every other precious metal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is gold VAT-free in the UK?

Investment-grade gold is exempt from VAT. This includes gold bars of 99.5% purity or higher and qualifying gold coins listed by HMRC (Britannias, Sovereigns, Krugerrands, Maple Leafs, and others). Silver, platinum, and palladium are all charged at 20% VAT when delivered in the UK.

Are Sovereigns exempt from CGT?

Yes - Gold Sovereigns minted from 1837 onwards are classified as UK legal tender and are fully exempt from capital gains tax. There is no limit on the profit you can make. Pre-1837 Sovereigns are not legal tender and do not qualify for the exemption, though they may fall under the chattels exemption if sold for under £6,000 per item.

Can you hold physical gold in a SIPP?

Yes. Certain self-invested personal pensions allow physical gold bars (minimum 99.5% purity) and approved coins to be held within the pension. The gold must be stored in an FCA-regulated depository - you cannot keep it at home. Gains within the SIPP are free from CGT, and you receive tax relief on contributions.

Do I have to report gold sales under £3,000?

If your total taxable gains across all assets are under £3,000 and your total disposal proceeds are under £50,000 in the tax year, you generally don’t need to report to HMRC. Sales of CGT-exempt coins (Britannias, Sovereigns) never need reporting regardless of the amount - they are outside the CGT system entirely.

How do married couples use CGT allowances?

Each spouse or civil partner has their own separate £3,000 annual CGT allowance. You can transfer assets between spouses without triggering a CGT charge (the recipient inherits your original base cost). This means a couple can effectively realise £6,000 in gains per year tax-free, and strategic transfers before a sale can halve the tax bill on a larger gain.

Does CGT apply to inherited gold?

Inheriting gold doesn’t trigger CGT (though inheritance tax may apply to the estate). For CGT purposes, your base cost is the market value of the gold on the date you inherited it - not what the deceased originally paid. So if someone bought gold bars at £1,000 per ounce twenty years ago and they were worth £3,500 per ounce when you inherited them, your base cost is £3,500. You’d only pay CGT on gains above that figure (less your annual allowance).

What’s the difference between bullion coins and numismatic coins for CGT?

Bullion coins - Britannias, Sovereigns, and other Royal Mint investment coins - are CGT-exempt because of their legal tender status. Rare or collectible numismatic coins are a different category. They’re classified as “chattels” (tangible moveable property). If you sell an individual numismatic coin for under £6,000, it’s CGT-free under the chattels exemption. Above £6,000, a special marginal relief calculation applies. The key distinction is legal tender status: if the coin is current Royal Mint legal tender, it’s exempt regardless of value. If it’s a collector’s piece without legal tender status, the chattels rules apply.

Can I offset gold losses against other gains?

Yes. If you sell taxable gold or silver at a loss (this applies to bars and non-UK coins, not CGT-exempt legal tender coins), that loss can be set against gains from any other chargeable asset - shares, property, other metals - in the same tax year. If you don’t have enough gains to use the loss, you can carry it forward to future years indefinitely, provided you register the loss with HMRC within four years of the end of the tax year in which it arose.

Related guides:

• VAT on gold and silver in the UK
• How to invest in gold in the UK (2026)
• How to buy gold in the UK (2026)
• How to invest in silver in the UK (2026)
• How to buy silver in the UK (2026)
• Inheritance tax on gold and silver in the UK
• The CGT 30-day rule for gold
• Gifting gold: UK tax rules
• Buying gold for children: a UK guide
• Gold Sovereigns and CGT exemption