The Forms Shelf

Reporting a bullion sale on your taxes, in plain English.

The Forms That Matter

When you sell silver or gold, up to four IRS forms carry the story — two you file, two the dealer files:

• Form 8949 (you file) — the diary. Every sale gets its own row: what you sold, when you bought it, when you sold it, what it cost, what you received, and the resulting gain or loss.
• Schedule D (you file) — the summary. It adds up everything from Form 8949 and carries the totals to your Form 1040.
• Form 1099-B (the dealer files) — the dealer's report of your reportable sales to the IRS. Explained in full below.
• Form 8300 (the dealer files) — the $10,000 cash rule. Also below.

The collectibles rate does not change these forms — it changes the tax computation that happens after Schedule D, through the Schedule D Tax Worksheet in the 1040 instructions. You report normally; the 28% math happens in the worksheet.

A Worked Example, Row by Row

Say you bought 200 ounces of silver in March 2023 for $4,600 (about $23/oz all-in) and sold it in July 2026 for $7,400. Here is the Form 8949 row:

Because you held longer than one year, the row goes in Part II (Long-Term) of Form 8949, and the $2,800 flows to Part II of Schedule D. In the worksheet, that gain is taxed at up to 28% as a collectible — the unfair part.

Where It Goes — The Path in One Line

Form 8949 (each sale) → Schedule D (the totals) → 1040 Schedule D Tax Worksheet (the 28% math) → Form 1040

Form 1099-B: When the Dealer Reports Your Sale

Form 1099-B — "Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions" — is the form a precious-metals dealer files with the IRS when you sell certain products back to them in reportable quantities. Its purpose is to report the proceeds paid to you, so the IRS can check that sellers are reporting their income. A copy goes to you by January 31 following the year of the sale; you use it — along with your own records — to fill in your Form 8949 rows.

What triggers a 1099-B — and what doesn't

This is where most confusion lives. Dealer reporting depends on the product type and quantity, not simply the dollar amount. Two rules of thumb:

• Most ordinary retail sales are NOT reported. American Silver Eagles, American Gold Eagles, fractional gold coins, and most one-ounce products sold in everyday amounts never trigger a dealer 1099-B.
• Big sales of specific products ARE reported. The IRS publishes a Reportable Items List — certain foreign coins, kilo gold bars, 1,000-oz silver bars, and 90% junk silver at threshold quantities.

The IRS Reportable Items List — guidelines from the Industry Council for Tangible Assets (ICTA):

Thresholds and dealer interpretations evolve over time. Dealers follow IRS rules and their own compliance interpretation — confirm with your dealer before a large sale.

What is exempt

No dealer 1099-B, regardless of quantity: American Gold Eagles, American Silver Eagles, fractional gold coins, and any U.S. or foreign coins not on the Reportable Items List.

The rule that protects you either way

Form 8300: The $10,000 Cash Rule

A different form for a different event. When you buy metals and pay with more than $10,000 in actual cash — in one transaction, or in related transactions within 24 hours — the dealer must file Form 8300, "Report of Cash Payments Over $10,000 Received in a Trade or Business." It is an anti-money-laundering report, not a tax bill, and it applies only to cash:

• Counts as cash: U.S. or foreign currency, cashier's checks, money orders, bank drafts, traveler's checks.
• Does not count as cash: personal checks, bank wires, credit or debit cards, ACH transfers, payment apps like Venmo, Zelle, or PayPal. Pay $50,000 by wire and no Form 8300 is triggered.

If the KiDS Legacy Act Passes, Most of This Shelf Empties

Here is the good news worth fighting for. The KiDS Legacy Act — Keep Investments Diversified with Silver, and Gold too — would end the collectibles treatment of coins and bullion entirely. That means:

• The 28% collectibles rate goes away — gain on precious-metals coins and bullion would no longer be taxed like artwork.
• The reporting treadmill lightens with it. No collectibles gain means no collectibles-rate worksheet, and the Form 8949 / Schedule D / 1099-B paperwork stack that exists to track and tax that gain loses its reason for weighing on everyday stackers.

Until then, the shelf above is the law of the land — keep your records and file correctly. And if you want the whole problem fixed rather than managed, send the letter. The one-line ask: Revive and Support the KiDS Legacy Act.

Your Records Are Your Defense

The IRS taxes your gain, not your proceeds — which means your cost basis is what protects you. Keep for every purchase:

• Dealer invoices and receipts (date, quantity, price per ounce, premiums)
• Payment records matching the invoice
• A running stack log — one page, updated each buy: date, oz, all-in cost
• For sales: the sale invoice and, if issued to you, any 1099-B from the dealer

Common Mistakes

• Using spot price instead of all-in cost — premiums count in your basis.
• Averaging blind. If you sell specific lots, identify them; don't guess.
• Forgetting losses. A loss on bullion is still a capital loss — report it.
• Waiting for a 1099-B that never comes. The gain is taxable either way.
• Panicking over the 8300 rule. Paying by check or wire changes nothing — the $10,000 trigger is cash-only, and it has not been lowered.

Ready to do something about the 28% itself? The KiDS Legacy Act is the fix →