VAT On Bullion

In the United Kingdom nearly all bullion is subject to VAT (value added tax). This is set at currently 20% and has maintained this percentage since 2011. However, this is with an exception to gold bullion which is VAT-free and has proclaimed this since it was applied to the UK law directly. This applies to the wider European union.

This therefore means that all our gold bars and coins do not have an additional VAT charge on them. With this said due to gold being VAT free customers usually carry the misconception that silver is also VAT free however this is not the case.

The gold price is usually determined when these members of the LBMA (London Bullion Market Association) along with their chairman come to a mutual agreement on what price they want to be ‘fixed’ in order to sell or buy their gold. These auctions bring way to the buying and selling of physical gold and are carried out within 45 second rounds. After each of these rounds, the difference between the volume sold and volume bought is calculated. If this difference is calculated to be larger than 20,000, the IBA announce a new auction round with a new price.

Why is gold VAT free?

The European Union voted in 1999 to abolish VAT on investment gold. Many countries offered minimal levels of VAT as an incentive to buy in their nation. The UK, which did charge VAT, was losing out because of this, as were other nations. To combat this inequality the EU moved make Europe an equal field and scrap VAT on investment gold. This change came into effect on January 1st, 2000.

If you are VAT registered and believe you may be able to claim your VAT back on silver bullion, then you need to seek advice from your accountant. Here at Gold bank London, we are not trained accountants nor are we Financial Service Advisors therefore we cannot commit to providing you with specific detail financial advice regarding VAT.

Why is silver not VAT free?

Silver should be viewed as any other ordinary products such as buying a TV or a Car. Naturally, you would expect to pay VAT as it would be included in the sales price. Due to this investors that are buying silver should be aware that VAT is applied and that 20% will be applied.