Silver traded at $58.71 an ounce at 7 a.m. Eastern on October 8, and gold at $4,128.20 by early afternoon — both well off their early-2026 highs. In a drawdown, investors scrutinize dealer spreads and storage fees. Almost nobody models the one cost that is charged up front, varies by roughly ten percentage points depending on paperwork, and is never refunded when prices recover: state sales tax.
Two rules decide whether you pay it. Neither one is your home address.
Rule One: The Delivery Address Governs
For mail-order and online purchases, the tax follows the shipping destination, not the dealer's location. The Texas Bullion Depository — a state agency — states the principle plainly: buyers "do not have to pay the tax if the precious metals are purchased from a Texas precious metals dealer... and not shipped to a state that has a sales tax," because in that case "the precious metals did not leave the State of Texas."
This has a direct consequence for retirement accounts. Metal bought inside a self-directed IRA never ships to the owner — taking personal possession would be treated as a taxable distribution. It ships from the dealer to an IRS-approved depository, and the depository's jurisdiction is what the sales tax follows. The two most widely used IRA depository locations happen to be Delaware, which levies no state sales tax on anything, and Texas, which exempts bullion outright. The same coin delivered to a home address in a taxing state can carry a bill the IRA purchase does not.
Rule Two: Thresholds Reward Large Purchases
Several states exempt bullion only above a dollar floor — commonly $1,000 — which quietly penalizes investors who buy small amounts on a regular schedule. Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and Connecticut all currently use a $1,000 figure.
Be careful here: published state-by-state tables disagree on whether that floor is measured per invoice or per individual coin, and the difference decides whether a tube of silver rounds qualifies. Confirm the measurement with your state's revenue department before structuring a purchase around it.
The Map Is Moving
Three changes in 15 months show this is not settled law:
- Washington repealed an exemption that had stood since 1985, effective January 1, 2026, under ESSB 5794 (Chapter 423, Laws of 2025). Bullion is now subject to both retail sales tax and B&O tax, with combined state and local rates running from about 7.5% to above 10%. Restoration bills HB 2115 and SB 5894 drew bipartisan sponsorship in the 2026 session but never received a hearing.
- Maryland went the other way. It taxed bullion at 6% starting July 1, 2025, then restored the exemption through HB 500 and SB 309, signed May 26, 2026 and effective July 1, 2026 — though a $1,000 threshold remains.
- Colorado nearly lost its 1990-vintage exemption to Section 17 of HB26-1289, which would have repealed it as of January 1, 2027. That section was stripped from the bill in March 2026.
What You Actually Recover
Sales tax paid is not purely lost. IRS Publication 551 lists "sales tax" among the costs included in an asset's basis, so it raises your basis and reduces eventual taxable gain. But that recovery is capped at the 28% collectibles rate at best, arrives only on sale, and only if you have a gain. Paying 8% today to recover 28 cents on the dollar years from now is not a hedge.
Practical takeaways: check the delivery state, not your own; ask the dealer for the exact tax quote before confirming an order; verify your state's rule this year rather than relying on a table; and keep the invoice, because the tax line belongs in your basis records.
Sources: Washington Department of Revenue, "Currency, coins and precious metal bullion"; National Coin & Bullion Association; Washington Coin and Bullion Association; CoinWeek, "Maryland Restores Gold and Silver Tax Exemption After Dealer Backlash"; Texas Bullion Depository, "Sales Tax Benefits"; IRS Publication 551, Basis of Assets; Fortune; CNBC Select.