Washington Sales Tax on Gold and Silver: What Changed in 2026

Since January 1, 2026, Washington taxes retail sales of gold and silver bullion and coins. The Department of Revenue (DOR) says in its industry guide on coins and bullion that sales of bullion (gold bars, processed nuggets) and of coins are "taxable as sales of tangible personal property." For more than 40 years, from July 1, 1985 through December 31, 2025, those same sales were exempt. If you buy gold on Pure, there's a section below on the Pure Vault and how it fits with Washington's rules.

One note before the details. This covers Washington law as of October 6, 2026, and it's general information, not tax advice. For your own purchase or sale, ask the Washington Department of Revenue or a tax pro.

What Washington taxes now

The rule that spells this out was filed as a proposal. The department submitted it on April 17, 2026 as WSR 26-09-096, through the expedited process, and the key line is subsection (2): from January 1, 2026, sales of precious metal bullion and monetized bullion count as taxable "retail sales" and "wholesale sales." The repeal itself comes from a 2025 session law, which took effect January 1, 2026.

Two definitions decide what's covered. Bullion, as the rule describes it, is smelted or refined metal whose value comes from what it's made of, not its shape. Gold and silver are named, along with platinum, rhodium and palladium, and the list is open-ended. Monetized bullion means coins and other metal money that have been, are, or will be used as money under the laws of Washington, the US or any foreign country. There's no dollar floor in the proposed text, and no minimum fineness.

A few things sit outside those definitions or get their own treatment:

Paper money sold or traded as legal tender stays exempt, per the DOR guide. Paper currency sold for any other purpose, a collectible note for example, is taxable under the same guide.
Bullion sold for jewelry or works of art is subject to wholesaling or retailing B&O tax, depending on the nature of the sale, per DOR's guide.
Artistic or cultural organizations keep an exemption when they buy these items. That one's narrow; WAC 458-20-249 has the details.

So the paper-money exemption doesn't reach coins. A legal-tender gold coin counts as monetized bullion, and it's taxable.

How a 1985 exemption ended in a 2025 tax bill

The exemption goes back to a 1985 law (1985 c 471), which took bullion and coin sales out of the definitions of "sale at retail" and "sale at wholesale." It lived at RCW 82.04.062 and ran from July 1, 1985.

The repeal didn't get its own bill. It was one subsection of ESSB 5794, Chapter 423, Laws of 2025, "an act relating to improving the administration of tax preferences." The bill's findings cite a DOR study that counted 786 tax exemptions across the state's major taxes. Section 105(1) of the enrolled session law repealed RCW 82.04.062, alongside several unrelated business credits.

Both votes were close: 53-45 in the House on April 23, 2025, and 26-22 in the Senate a day later. Governor Bob Ferguson signed it on May 20, 2025. He vetoed two parts of Section 105, subsections (4) and (5), but not the bullion repeal in subsection (1). Section 406 set the start date, January 1, 2026.

One source still shows the old rule. The Legislature's online copy of WAC 458-20-248 still showed the old wording on October 6, 2026, saying these sales "are not subject to" retail sales tax. That text predates the repeal: the statute it rested on, RCW 82.04.062, was repealed effective January 1, 2026, and the department's guide and its April 2026 proposed amendment both describe the change.

Buying from outside Washington: use tax

For metal bought without Washington sales tax, DOR's proposed rule includes a use tax paragraph: "For purchases occurring on or after January 1, 2026, use tax applies upon the first use by a consumer of precious metals in this state if retail sales tax has not been paid." (The rule points to WAC 458-20-178, the general use tax rule.)

DOR's use tax page gives the everyday version: use tax covers goods used in Washington when no sales tax was paid at purchase, and its example is a resident who buys something in Oregon and brings it home. Individuals report it online through My DOR, or by mailing a Consumer Use Tax Return.

Where to check your rate

Washington's sales tax is destination-based. In DOR's words, collection "is based on the location where the customer receives the merchandise," so the rate on a shipped order follows the delivery address, and local rates differ from one city or county to the next.

DOR's Tax Rate Lookup Tool takes an address and returns its rate and location code. There's also a searchable local rate table. Local rates can change, so look yours up on the day you buy.

Selling gold or silver in Washington

The proposed rule says little about selling directly. It classes bullion sales as taxable "retail sales" under RCW 82.04.050 and "wholesale sales" under RCW 82.04.060. The rule doesn't say how either label applies to an individual selling their own metal. A seller with a specific question should put it to DOR.

The DOR guide adds one line for the trade: anyone earning commissions on bullion sales, a dealer or broker for example, is subject to business and occupation tax on those commissions under the service and other activities classification.

Sales tax is also a separate question from tax on any gain. Federal reporting is its own topic, and our guide to 1099-B reporting for bullion covers when a sale gets reported to the IRS.

Bills to bring the exemption back

Three bills tried in the 2026 session. HB 2115 and its Senate companion, SB 5894, share the title "Restoring the 1985 tax exemptions for the sale of precious metals and bullion." HB 2093 is "Reinstating the tax exemptions for the sale of precious metals and bullion."

All three got a first reading on January 12, 2026. The two House bills went to the Finance committee, SB 5894 to Ways & Means. As of October 6, 2026, the Legislature's bill pages show no action after that referral, and none of the three is law.

Buying gold into the Pure Vault from Washington

Washington collects sales tax based on where the buyer receives the metal. The Pure Vault is in California, so gold delivered into your Vault is received in California, not Washington, and California's rules apply. California exempts gold and silver bullion and coins from sales tax when a single purchase totals $2,000 or more. Purchases under $2,000, and platinum or palladium bars at any amount, are taxable there.

That goes for gold you buy elsewhere, too. If you order gold bars from a retailer like Costco and ship them to your Vault address, they're received in California. Message Pure support before you send a third-party shipment so the team can set it up on their end.

How the Vault works:

It holds gold and platinum. Silver isn't eligible yet.
It's in beta, with a waitlist to get in.
Orders on Pure sent to the Vault have no shipping fee. You pick the Vault at checkout. Every item is verified in house when it arrives, and you keep full ownership.
You can sell straight from the Vault. List stored metal for sale or fill a buyer's order, and it never has to ship to you.

One thing to know before you take metal home. If you later have Vault metal shipped to you in Washington, the use tax line covered above is the one to read: the proposed rule applies use tax on a consumer's first use of precious metals in the state when sales tax wasn't paid. Shipping out of the Vault also carries a shipping and handling charge. For your own situation, check with DOR or a tax professional.

Frequently asked questions

Does Washington charge sales tax on gold?

It has since January 1, 2026. Gold bars and gold coins are both taxable as sales of tangible personal property under the Department of Revenue's guidance, at the rate for the place where you take delivery.

When did Washington start taxing gold and silver?

January 1, 2026. ESSB 5794, signed May 20, 2025, repealed an exemption that had been in place since July 1, 1985.

Is there sales tax on silver coins in Washington?

Yes, from January 1, 2026. The Department of Revenue lists monetized bullion, its term for metal coins that are or ever were used as money, as taxable. The exemption DOR's guide keeps covers paper money traded as legal tender, not coins.

How does Washington use tax apply to gold bought out of state?

DOR's proposed amendment to WAC 458-20-248 says that for purchases on or after January 1, 2026, use tax applies upon a consumer's first use of precious metals in Washington if retail sales tax has not been paid. The Department of Revenue's use tax page explains how individuals report it.

Buying and selling on Pure from Washington

Pure is a peer-to-peer marketplace for precious metals and rare coins. Buyers post bids and sellers post asks, and every order shows on the product's order book. Prices are public. You don't need an account to see them, so you can keep a Pure price open next to whatever else you're comparing, whether that's gold bars and gold coins, or silver bars by the stack.

Sellers get an insured shipping label at no extra cost and send the item to Pure. It never goes straight to the buyer, because Pure tests every item in house first. Once the item checks in and passes verification, standard payout is automatic and arrives in about 3 business days. The selling guide has the step-by-step.