As a result of the Supreme Court ruling last year in South Dakota v. Wayfair Inc., some online bullion dealers have begun charging sales tax on purchases. Many buyers had previously switched to buying bullion online in states that charge sales tax to keep the cost of investing in silver and gold bullion down.
Over the past few months, several major dealers revamped the checkout process on their websites to include sales tax for states that require it.
Two of the largest dealers have been APMEX and JM Bullion. Both dealers have published pages on their respective websites related to sales tax, which states that they are required to collect sales tax on bullion purchases.
Even with these guides, there is still a lot of confusion about sales tax on gold and silver bullion, gold and silver coins, and other numismatic and bullion-related items. Each state has its own unique definitions of how each is categorized and how it determines if sales tax should be charged on purchases.
Some dealers have also begun charging sales tax on bullion-related items purchased through their eBay Stores. This has led many buyers to alternative dealers that have not begun charging sales tax and to seek out alternate online platforms and communities for trading precious metals and other local sources.
