Most bullion sales at a US coin shop leave the counter without any tax paperwork attached. A specific short list of items, sold at or above specific quantities, is the exception: those sales trigger Form 1099-B, the same broker-proceeds form your stockbroker files when you sell a share of stock. This guide covers exactly which coins and bars are on that list, which quantities trip the wire, what you hand the dealer, what the dealer hands back, and why the assumption that “any large gold sale gets reported” is wrong in both directions.
Everything else, including American Gold Eagles, American Silver Eagles, American Gold Buffalos, fractional coins, and any modern numismatic piece, is outside the dealer’s 1099-B obligation. The exemption is about IRS reporting only. Capital gains tax on any profit is still owed on every sale, reported by you on Schedule D and Form 8949. Splitting a sale to stay under a threshold triggers the related-transactions aggregation rule and can also expose the seller to a structuring investigation under 31 U.S. Code Section 5324.
Why the 1099-B question matters when you sell
Form 1099-B is titled “Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions.” A dealer files it to tell the IRS “we bought these commodity items from this person on this date for this amount.” The IRS matches that filing against the tax return you file the following spring. If the numbers do not line up, you get a CP2000 mismatch notice. Dealers have other reporting duties beyond the 1099-B; what gold dealers report to the IRS covers Form 8300 and identification rules alongside it.
Two things make this specific to precious metals sellers. First, the trigger list is narrow: it is not “any bullion sale” and not “any sale over $10,000.” It is a defined product list tied to items that correspond to a regulated futures contract on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s contract markets. Second, the dealer files whether the sale produced a profit or a loss, and whether or not you paid capital gains on a previous sale. Form 1099-B is an information return, not a judgment. Knowing what is on the list and what is not is the difference between a routine buyback and one that ends with a Form W-9 on the counter.
The reportable-items list, product by product
The list below is the industry-standard reportable-items schedule, distilled from Treasury Regulation 1.6045-1, IRC Section 6045, and the compliance guidance issued by the Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA), now the National Coin and Bullion Association (NCBA). It is the working reference every US bullion desk applies at the counter.
| Reportable item | Threshold that triggers Form 1099-B | Practical example |
|---|---|---|
| 1-oz Gold Krugerrand (South Africa) | 25 or more coins (25 troy oz total) | Selling a tube of 25 back to a dealer |
| 1-oz Gold Maple Leaf (Canada) | 25 or more coins (25 troy oz total) | 25 loose Maple Leafs in a single sale |
| 1-oz Gold Mexican Onza (50 pesos) | 25 or more coins (25 troy oz total) | A partial roll of 50-peso pieces |
| Pre-1965 US 90% silver coinage (dimes, quarters, half dollars) | $1,000 face value or more | One full “junk silver” bag (approx. 715 troy oz) |
| Gold bars | 1 kilogram (32.15 troy oz) or more per bar | A single 1-kilo LBMA bar |
| Silver bars | 1,000 troy oz or more per bar | A COMEX-good-delivery 1000-oz silver bar |
| Platinum bars | 25 troy oz or more per bar | A single 50-oz platinum ingot |
| Palladium bars | 100 troy oz or more per bar | A single 100-oz palladium bar |
Two mechanics apply to every row. First, the threshold is per single transaction. Second, the IRS “related transactions” rule aggregates multiple sales by the same person to the same dealer within 24 hours (and, for some products, within longer windows if the dealer knows the sales are one plan). Selling 15 Maple Leafs on Monday and 15 more Tuesday to the same shop lands you at 30 total: one 1099-B filed.
Products that never trigger a 1099-B
This second list is just as important as the first. If your holdings are made up entirely of items below, you can sell any dollar amount to a US dealer without a 1099-B being filed. Not “probably not,” not “usually not.” Not filed at all. Sellers who want to get close to spot on those items can use the sell gold bullion guide to compare their options.
Two details that trip sellers up
The reporting rule is about the item and the quantity, not the dealer, the dollar amount, or the payment method. Two consequences of this are worth spelling out because they contradict what a lot of forum threads say.
Sale price is irrelevant to whether the 1099-B is filed. A single 1-kilo gold bar sold for $95,000 triggers a 1099-B because the bar is on the list. Ten 100-oz gold bars (1,000 total oz, worth well over $2 million) sold in one transaction trigger no 1099-B because 100-oz bars are below the kilo threshold. Dollar amount changes the tax bill you owe, not the dealer’s filing duty. This is the opposite of Form 8300, which is purely about the dollar amount of cash received. Sellers confuse the two constantly.
The dealer files even on a routine buyback of items you bought from them last year. If you bought 25 Maple Leafs from the same shop in 2024 and sold them back in 2026, the buyback is reportable. Your original purchase receipt does not change the 1099-B filing. It matters for your Form 8949 cost basis, but the dealer files regardless.
What actually happens at the dealer counter
Here is the sequence a US coin dealer follows when your sale hits the reportable list.
The 1099-B sale sequence
- Weight and identification check. The dealer weighs the coins or bars and confirms the item matches the reportable-list description. A tube marked “25 x 1 oz Gold Maple Leaf” is counted, weighed, and cross-checked against the spot price at that moment.
- Form W-9 request. The dealer hands you a Form W-9 to fill out with your legal name, address, and Social Security number (or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number). This is the identifier that will appear on the 1099-B the dealer files with the IRS. Refusing to provide a TIN typically means the dealer either refuses the transaction or applies 24% backup withholding under IRC Section 3406 to the proceeds.
- Government-issued photo ID. Most dealers photocopy a driver’s license or passport for their own anti-money-laundering file, on top of the W-9. This is standard US coin-industry practice under the Bank Secrecy Act customer identification program.
- Sale executed, payment issued. The dealer settles by check, ACH, or wire. Cash payouts on a buyback are rare and, when above $10,000, trigger a separate Form 8300 filing that runs alongside the 1099-B.
- Sale receipt in hand. You leave with a paper receipt showing the itemized sale, price per item, total proceeds, and a note that a 1099-B will be issued.
- Copy B mailed by January 31. By January 31 of the following year, the dealer mails you Copy B of Form 1099-B. It shows the proceeds and, in most cases, a “Box 5” indication that the item is a non-covered security (meaning the dealer is not required to report the cost basis, only the sale amount). You use this copy to file Schedule D and Form 8949 with your annual return.
- Copy A filed with the IRS. The dealer files Copy A of Form 1099-B with the IRS by the paper deadline (last day of February) or the e-file deadline (end of March). Businesses filing 10 or more information returns of any type in a year must e-file.
Two operational notes: some dealers process W-9 and 1099-B paperwork electronically at a tablet (same information, faster). Some also issue Copy B immediately with the sale receipt rather than waiting for January 31, which is allowed and useful for your own recordkeeping.
Selling peer-to-peer instead of to a dealer
An individual selling bullion to another individual is not a broker for 1099-B purposes. A private-party transaction, even for a full monster box or a kilo bar, does not generate a 1099-B because neither party is filing information returns on the other. That does not make the sale tax-free: the seller still owes capital gains on any profit and reports it on Schedule D and Form 8949.
Individual sellers exploring dealer alternatives: Goldiew maintains a state-by-state directory of buyers and a peer-to-peer marketplace so that you can compare local options before deciding whether a dealer sale (with a 1099-B, if applicable), a peer-to-peer sale, or a specialist buyer is the right fit for what you own. Start with the sell-gold hub for an overview, the peer-to-peer marketplace for direct listings, the gold-dealer directory for bullion desks in your state, or the coin-dealer directory for numismatic and mixed-inventory shops.
Two cautions apply to the peer-to-peer path. First, counterparty risk is entirely on you: verifying the buyer’s payment (wire, cashier’s check, cash) is your job, and cash transactions above $10,000 to the buyer trigger separate reporting obligations on the buyer’s side (see the Form 8300 cash reporting guide). Second, some states impose secondhand-dealer or scrap-metal recordkeeping rules on individuals who sell precious metals repeatedly. A single occasional sale is not a dealer activity; a pattern of them can be.
Reporting is not the same as tax owed
Two independent obligations sit on top of every bullion sale in the US, and the coin-shop counter is where sellers most often blur them. Dealer reporting (Form 1099-B) is triggered by the product and quantity list above. Seller taxation is triggered by any sale that produces a gain, whether or not a 1099-B was filed.
Gold and silver bullion held for investment fall into the IRS “collectibles” bucket under IRC Section 408(m) and IRC Section 1(h)(4). Long-term gains on collectibles are taxed at a federal maximum rate of 28% (state tax is on top). The absence of a 1099-B does not relieve you of the tax; it relieves you of the automatic IRS matching. Every profitable sale belongs on Schedule D whether the dealer filed a 1099-B or not. For the full tax mechanics, including the Form 8949 walk-through, cost-basis rules, and why “held for a few weeks and sold at a loss” plays out differently for bullion than for stocks, see the tax-focused sister guide on reportable bullion items on Form 1099-B.
Red flags at the counter (structuring warning)
Because the 1099-B thresholds are specific numbers (25 coins, $1,000 face, 1 kilo), a small industry of forum advice exists around “just sell 24 Maples this week and 24 more next week.” This advice is legally dangerous for two reasons.
The compliant approach when you genuinely need to sell more than 25 reportable coins is to sell them in one transaction, provide the W-9, accept the 1099-B, and report the sale correctly on Schedule D. Form 1099-B is not an accusation, does not create a tax liability by itself, and does not prevent you from selling.
Bottom line
Only a short list of bullion items in specific quantities triggers Form 1099-B when sold to a US dealer: 25+ oz of Krugerrands / Maple Leafs / Mexican Onzas, $1,000+ face 90% US silver, 1-kilo (or larger) gold bars, 1,000-oz (or larger) silver bars, 25-oz (or larger) platinum bars, and 100-oz (or larger) palladium bars.
American Eagles, American Buffalos, fractional coins, sub-threshold bars, and numismatic pieces do not trigger the form. The exemption is a reporting exemption only, not a tax exemption. Every profitable sale is reportable on your tax return regardless of what the dealer filed.
Splitting a sale to stay below a threshold is not a workaround. It is the fastest way to invite a structuring investigation on top of the 1099-B that gets filed anyway.
Frequently asked questions
Does the dealer file a 1099-B every time I sell gold?
No. A dealer files Form 1099-B only when the item you sell appears on the industry reportable-items list and you sell at least the threshold quantity in a single transaction or in related transactions. Sales of American Gold Eagles, American Silver Eagles, American Gold Buffalos, and any coin or bar not on the reportable list do not generate a 1099-B, no matter the dollar amount.
Which coins trigger a 1099-B when I sell 25 or more?
The 25-ounce (25-coin) reporting threshold applies to 1-ounce gold Krugerrands, 1-ounce Gold Maple Leaf coins, and 1-ounce Mexican Gold Onza coins. Selling 25 or more of any of these to a single dealer as one transaction, or as a series of related transactions treated as one, triggers Form 1099-B reporting. Fractional versions of these coins (1/2 oz, 1/4 oz, 1/10 oz) are not on the reportable list even if you sell 25 pieces.
Why are American Gold Eagles not reported on 1099-B?
American Gold Eagles, American Silver Eagles, American Gold Buffalos, and American Platinum Eagles are minted by the United States Mint and are not on the CFTC-regulated futures list that the IRS uses to define a reportable bullion sale under Treas. Reg. 1.6045-1. Because they do not correspond to a listed futures contract, dealer sales of these US Mint bullion coins fall outside the 1099-B trigger, whether you sell one coin or a thousand. This is a reporting exemption only. You still owe capital gains tax on any profit.
What is the reporting threshold for junk silver US coins?
Pre-1965 90% silver US coinage (dimes, quarters, half dollars) triggers a 1099-B when the total face value sold to one dealer reaches or exceeds $1,000. A $1,000 face bag contains approximately 715 troy ounces of silver, so at spot prices around $30 per ounce this threshold corresponds to roughly $21,000 to $22,000 in market value. Below $1,000 face in one transaction (or in related transactions aggregated), no 1099-B is generated.
Does a kilo gold bar sale get reported?
Yes. Any gold bar of 1 kilogram (approximately 32.15 troy ounces) or more triggers 1099-B reporting on a single-bar sale. The same rule applies to silver bars weighing 1,000 troy ounces or more, platinum bars of 25 troy ounces or more, and palladium bars of 100 troy ounces or more. Fractional gold bars (1 oz, 10 oz, 100 oz) do not appear on the reportable-items list and generate no 1099-B regardless of quantity.
What paperwork do I get when the dealer files a 1099-B?
At the counter, the dealer records your name, address, and Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, usually via a Form W-9. By January 31 of the following year, the dealer mails you Copy B of Form 1099-B showing the proceeds of the sale. You keep this copy for your tax return. The dealer also transmits Copy A to the IRS by the corresponding filing deadline. You must report the sale on Schedule D and Form 8949 whether or not you received a 1099-B, because the reporting rules and the tax rules are independent.
Can I sell my bullion peer-to-peer to avoid the 1099-B?
A private sale between two individuals is not a reportable transaction because a 1099-B is only filed by a broker or dealer acting in the course of a trade or business. However, the individual seller still owes capital gains tax on any profit and is expected to self-report the sale on Schedule D. Peer-to-peer sales also carry counterparty risk (payment fraud, fake currency, personal safety) that a licensed dealer transaction does not. The absence of a 1099-B does not mean the IRS is unaware or that the sale is tax-free.
Sources
- Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1099-B (2024): Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions. irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1099b.pdf
- Internal Revenue Service. Publication 550: Investment Income and Expenses (capital gains and collectibles treatment). irs.gov/publications/p550
- Cornell Law LII. 26 CFR 1.6045-1: Returns of information of brokers and barter exchanges. law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/1.6045-1
- Cornell Law LII. 26 U.S. Code Section 6045: Returns of brokers. law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/6045
- Cornell Law LII. 26 U.S. Code Section 1(h)(4): Collectibles gain (28% max rate). law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/1
- Cornell Law LII. 31 U.S. Code Section 5324: Structuring transactions to evade reporting requirement. law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/5324
- Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9: Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification. irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw9.pdf
- Internal Revenue Service. Form 8949 and Schedule D instructions (capital gains reporting for individual filers). irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-8949
- Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) filing requirements under 31 CFR Chapter X. fincen.gov/resources/statutes-and-regulations
- National Coin and Bullion Association (formerly Industry Council for Tangible Assets). Reportable coins and bullion under IRC 6045: industry compliance guidance. ncba.org