Gold and collectibles tax: the 28% rate is a maximum

Key takeaways

• 28% is the cap on long-term collectibles gain, not a flat rate on the first dollar.
• The same $100,000 gain costs less as stock than as a collectible, and the gap is not the same for every income.
• Physical gold and silver bullion are on the IRS list. A mining stock is not.

What counts as a collectible

The Schedule D instructions say a collectibles gain or loss is long-term gain, or a deductible long-term loss, from a collectible that is a capital asset. The list is works of art, rugs, antiques, metals such as gold, silver, and platinum bullion, gems, stamps, coins, alcoholic beverages, and certain other tangible property. Sports cards are not named. They fit only if they are that other tangible property, so confirm the item before you treat a card sale as a collectible. Inventory, and property held mainly for sale to customers, is not a capital asset. A dealer in cards, coins, or art has business income, and the 28% ceiling does not apply. This calculator has no dealer switch.

Why the IRS uses a different ceiling

Topic 409 says net capital gain from selling collectibles, such as coins or art, is taxed at a maximum 28% rate, which is a higher ceiling than the 20% maximum on most other long-term gain, and the label is not a new flat tax.

28% is a maximum

The tax is the ordinary-income increase from stacking the collectibles gain on your other taxable income, and it cannot exceed 28% of that gain. Profile A, a single filer with $30,000 of other income, pays $20,446 on this $100,000 gain, so the cap does not bind, and it binds only when the ordinary stack would be higher, which is profile C.

Physical gold and silver

Gold, silver, and platinum bullion are on the Schedule D list, so physical metal counts. The pages opened on 12 October 2026 do not name grantor trusts, so if the fund disclosure says the shares are a grantor trust holding that metal, treat them as collectibles. A regulated futures contract is taxed under section 1256 in Publication 550, with a 60/40 split, not as collectibles gain, and a futures-based fund may send a Schedule K-1. A mining stock stays on the stocks setting, and check the fund disclosure, because this calculator does not read it. No capital-gains exemption for American Eagle coins appears on these pages, and the coin exception in Publication 590-B is only for an IRA.

Which rate applies

1. Held as inventory for customers: business income. The 28% ceiling does not apply.
2. A mining stock, or a regulated futures contract: no 28% ceiling. A futures fund may send a Schedule K-1.
3. Physical gold, silver, or platinum bullion, or a fund disclosure that says the shares are that metal: collectible. Check the disclosure.
4. Held one year or less, including a sale on the anniversary: ordinary rates. The ceiling does not apply.
5. Held more than one year: ordinary stack, then a cap of 28% of the collectibles gain.
6. NIIT can sit on top when income is over the threshold. The cap does not remove it.

A lower income pays less than 28%

Profile A at $20,446 is under the $28,000 ceiling, and profile B, married filing jointly with $90,000 of other income, pays $20,920, so the cap still does not bind, while profile C, single with $250,000 of other income, would owe $34,813.25 on the ordinary stack, so the cap binds at $28,000.

Held one year or less

Topic 409 says a holding of one year or less is short-term, and short-term gain is ordinary income, including a sale on the one-year anniversary. The 28% cap does not apply, and the calculator leaves the collectibles flag off. The same profile C sale bought on 15 January 2026 and sold on 15 June 2026 is short-term, and the federal tax is $34,813.25.

What a $100,000 gain costs

Buy $50,000, sell $150,000, selling costs $0, bought 15 January 2024 and sold 15 June 2026. The gain is $100,000. The stock column is that gain taxed as regular long-term gain. Only profile C is entirely in the 15% band, so $15,000 versus $28,000 is profile C, not a rate that A or B pay. Choose Collectibles and enter one profile at a time on the collectibles calculator. State pages: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Texas, Washington.

The 3.8% NIIT can sit on top

NIIT is the same whether the gain is a collectible or a stock. Profile C has MAGI of $350,000, so NIIT is 3.8% of the $100,000 gain, which is $3,800, on either label, while profiles A and B are under the threshold and owe $0. The 28% cap does not remove NIIT. The NIIT guide is the home for the thresholds, and states differ, so the state overview is the place to start.

What goes into basis

Topic 409 says basis is generally what the asset cost you, a purchase fee adds to basis, and a selling commission lowers the amount realized. The calculate guide owns that formula, and this page does not reprint it.

Inherited collectibles

Publication 551 says inherited basis is generally fair market value on the date of death, and a later sale of that collectible can still face the 28% ceiling. The holding period for inherited property is the gifts watch-out on the start-here guide, and this calculator has no inherited-basis field.

When a loss is deductible

A collectible held as an investment can produce a capital loss, while the Schedule D instructions say a loss on a capital asset held for personal use is not deductible. You still report the sale on Form 8949 if you received a Form 1099-K or, for real estate, a Form 1099-S. The loss-harvesting guide covers how a deductible loss is used, and this page does not promise a harvest.

An LLC or S corporation

The Schedule D instructions say gain from a partnership, S corporation, or trust interest held more than one year can still be collectibles gain when it comes from unrealized appreciation of collectibles, so the entity does not replace the 28% ceiling. The pages opened name a partnership and an S corporation, not a separate LLC rate, and this calculator has no entity field.

Collectibles inside an IRA

Publication 590-B says if your IRA invests in collectibles, the amount invested is treated as distributed to you in that year. You may also owe the 10% additional tax on an early distribution. The exception is limited to certain Treasury-minted gold and silver coins, and certain bullion, and those coins must stay with the IRA custodian. That exception is not a capital-gains exemption for a coin you sell outside an IRA. This calculator does not model an IRA.

Donating a collectible

The Form 8283 instructions say a gift valued over $5,000 needs a separate qualified appraisal, and Form 8283 is the appraisal summary, not the appraisal. The instructions name art and collectibles in that section, and this page does not state a deduction percentage.

Installments and a lower-income year

The Schedule D instructions say that if you will receive a payment in a later year, you generally report the gain on the installment method unless you elect out, on Form 6252, and this calculator does not compute that form. Selling in a lower-income year is the profile A result of $20,446 beside profile C at $28,000, and this page does not open a new installment-sale article.

How the sale is reported

Collectibles gain is 28% rate gain. The 28% Rate Gain Worksheet totals it for Schedule D line 18, including amounts from Form 8949 Part II and from a Schedule K-1. When line 18 is more than zero and the Schedule D lines are gains, you use the Schedule D Tax Worksheet. Line 47 of that worksheet is the smaller of the special tax, which includes 28% of the 28% rate gain, and the tax on all taxable income. If line 18 is zero, the instructions point you to the Qualified Dividends and Capital Gain Tax Worksheet instead. The rates guide has the bracket ceilings. This page does not print them.

A personal-use collectible is still reported on Form 8949. The Schedule D instructions say to check box F or box L when the sale is long-term, and box C or box I when it is short-term. The Schedule D guide covers the form. This page does not fill it in.

Next: the rates guide, the NIIT guide, and the loss-harvesting guide.