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Florida's sales tax treatment of precious metals is generally favorable to investors, but the rules are more technical than they first appear. Whether a purchase is taxable depends not only on the metal involved, but also on whether the item is treated as U.S. legal tender, bullion, Florida-recognized gold or silver legal tender, or another type of coin or currency.
Two recent changes are especially important:
The distinction between these categories matters. In particular, a coin commonly described in the precious metals industry as a "bullion coin" — such as a Canadian Gold Maple Leaf or Silver Maple Leaf — is not necessarily treated as bullion under Florida's sales tax rule.
Last updated: August 2026.
Florida Statute § 212.08(7)(ww) exempts the sale of gold, silver, and platinum bullion from Florida sales tax.
Effective August 1, 2025, House Bill 7031 eliminated the previous requirement that the sales price of qualifying bullion exceed $500. As a result, qualifying gold, silver, and platinum bullion is now exempt regardless of the transaction amount.
The important question is what Florida considers "bullion."
Florida's tax rules create several overlapping categories. For most retail precious metals purchases, four categories are especially important.
Florida does not impose sales tax on coins or currency that are legal tender of the United States.
This includes commonly traded U.S. bullion coins such as:
For these products, the exemption is based on their status as U.S. legal tender rather than their precious metal purity or the size of the purchase.
For example, a single fractional American Gold Eagle or a single American Silver Eagle may be purchased without Florida sales tax even when the transaction is well below $500.
Florida Department of Revenue guidance distinguishes coins that are currently legal tender of the United States from coins or currency that are no longer legal tender. Historical or obsolete coins therefore should not automatically be treated as exempt merely because they were once issued by the United States.
Florida Administrative Code Rule 12A-1.0371 defines "bullion" for this purpose as gold, silver, or platinum in the form of bars, ingots, or plates, normally sold by weight. The rule specifically states that finished goods such as coins and jewelry are not bullion.
Since August 1, 2025, qualifying bullion is exempt regardless of price.
Typical examples include:
This exemption is found in § 212.08(7)(ww), Florida Statutes.
Beginning July 1, 2026, Florida created an additional exemption for certain gold and silver products recognized as legal tender under § 215.986, Florida Statutes.
For purposes of that statute, qualifying gold or silver may take the form of rounds, bars, ingots, or bullion coins.
Generally, the product must:
The statute generally prohibits a qualifying product from bearing names, symbols, designs, or other information suggesting that it was minted or issued by a government. It may, however, bear its weight and purity and the name or symbol identifying its refiner or mint.
This new provision is particularly important for qualifying privately minted gold and silver rounds. Those products are not expressly included in the traditional "bars, ingots, or plates" definition of bullion in Rule 12A-1.0371, but qualifying rounds may now receive a separate exemption under § 215.986.
There is some overlap between this category and the ordinary bullion exemption. For example, a qualifying gold or silver bar may satisfy both provisions.
The Florida Department of Revenue summarizes the new exemption in Tax Information Publication 26A01-08.
Florida's separate rule for coins and currency remains important.
Under § 212.05(1)(j), Florida Statutes, coins or currency are generally taxable when they:
However, when the taxable amount represented by qualifying coins or currency in a single transaction exceeds $500, the entire amount represented by those otherwise-taxable coins or currency is exempt.
The statute says exceeds $500, so a taxable coin amount of exactly $500 does not satisfy the threshold.
This category generally includes foreign sovereign precious metal coins sold for their metal value, such as:
A foreign coin's purity does not by itself move the product into Florida's traditional bullion category.
For example, a Canadian Gold Maple Leaf is 99.99% pure gold and a Canadian Silver Maple Leaf is 99.99% pure silver. They are unquestionably "bullion coins" in ordinary precious metals terminology. But Rule 12A-1.0371 expressly says that coins are not bullion for purposes of its bullion definition.
The 2026 Florida legal tender law does not generally change this result for foreign government-issued coins. Section 215.986 provides that federal law controls the legal tender status of coins minted or issued by the United States or a foreign government. Federal law, 31 U.S.C. § 5103, states that foreign gold or silver coins are not legal tender for debts in the United States.
As a result, foreign sovereign bullion coins generally remain subject to the separate $500 coin-and-currency threshold when sold for their precious metal value.
This is one of the most counterintuitive parts of Florida law.
In the precious metals industry, products such as Gold Maple Leafs, Silver Maple Leafs, Krugerrands, Britannias, and Philharmonics are routinely described as "bullion coins" because their market value is primarily based on their precious metal content.
Florida's sales tax rule uses a narrower definition.
For purposes of Rule 12A-1.0371:
'Bullion' means gold, silver, or platinum in the form of bars, ingots, or plates, normally sold by weight.
The rule then states that finished goods, including coins, are not bullion.
Therefore, the tax treatment of a Canadian Maple Leaf is determined by the rules applicable to coins, not by the rule applicable to bullion bars and ingots.
Assume the following hypothetical Florida retail transactions:
The $500 test applies to the portion of the transaction consisting of coins or currency that would otherwise be taxable under § 212.05(1)(j). An exempt U.S. legal tender coin or an independently exempt bullion bar does not need the $500 threshold to qualify for its own exemption.
Florida's exemptions are broad, but they do not cover every metal product.
The bullion exemption in § 212.08(7)(ww) applies to gold, silver, and platinum, but not palladium.
Palladium bars and similar palladium bullion products therefore generally remain taxable. An American Palladium Eagle, however, is exempt because it is U.S. legal tender.
Copper bars, rounds, and similar products do not fall within Florida's gold, silver, or platinum bullion exemption or the 2026 gold-and-silver legal tender exemption. They are generally taxable tangible personal property.
Jewelry does not qualify as bullion under Rule 12A-1.0371. The rule also provides that jewelry or other objects made or fabricated using coins, currency, or bullion are taxable on the total sales price.
The 2026 Florida legal tender statute likewise excludes jewelry and other items of utility from its definitions of qualifying gold and silver coin.
Coins that are no longer legal tender, such as many ancient, medieval, obsolete, or collectible issues, do not receive the U.S.-legal tender exemption merely because they are coins.
They may therefore be taxable when sold for $500 or less. If the otherwise-taxable coin or currency amount in a single transaction exceeds $500, the coin-and-currency exemption in § 212.05(1)(j) may apply.
| Product Type | Florida Sales Tax Treatment |
|---|---|
| Current U.S. legal tender coins | Exempt regardless of amount |
| Qualifying gold bullion bars/ingots/plates | Exempt regardless of amount |
| Qualifying silver bullion bars/ingots/plates | Exempt regardless of amount |
| Qualifying platinum bullion bars/ingots/plates | Exempt regardless of amount |
| Qualifying private gold products under § 215.986 | Exempt |
| Qualifying private silver products under § 215.986 | Exempt |
| Foreign sovereign gold or silver coins sold for metal value | Taxable unless otherwise-taxable coin/currency amount exceeds $500 |
| Ancient or other non-legal tender coins | Generally taxable unless otherwise-taxable coin/currency amount exceeds $500 |
| Palladium bars and similar palladium bullion | Generally taxable |
| American Palladium Eagles | Exempt as U.S. legal tender |
| Copper bars and rounds | Generally taxable |
| Jewelry and fabricated precious metal objects | Generally taxable |
For Florida retail purchases, Florida Gold Exchange applies the sales tax treatment required for the specific product being purchased.
In general:
Because the tax treatment depends on the legal classification of the specific product, two items containing the same amount and purity of precious metal can receive different tax treatment.
For questions concerning how Florida sales tax applies to a particular product or transaction, contact us or consult a qualified tax professional.
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