When I started setting money aside in gold, I assumed bars and jewelry were the same thing: weight, a spot price, a resale. Then I looked at what actually happens when you sell. Surprise: on a coin or a bar, the French state takes 11.5% of the sale price from the very first euro. On a piece of jewelry under €5,000, it takes nothing. That's exactly why I prefer jewelry to secure my money. Here's what I wish someone had told me earlier.
The trap: you watch the price per gram, not the exit
Most people do the math when they buy. The price per gram, the shop's margin, the hallmark. All of that is fine — but it's only half the road. The day you resell, taxes can eat into what you thought you'd get back, and no one warns you at the counter.
The issue is that in France, reselling gold isn't taxed the same way depending on what you sell. A coin, a bar, a piece of jewelry: three different treatments. And the woman who inherited three of her grandmother's rings is in a completely different situation from the one reselling a bar bought at the bank. If you don't tell them apart, you can either pay a tax you could have avoided, or end up filing late.
What you actually pay, depending on what you sell
There are two regimes. By default, it's the flat tax on the sale price. By election, and only if you have an invoice, it's the capital gains regime on your real gain. The table sums it up:
| What you resell | Exemption threshold | Flat tax (default) | Capital gains option possible? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gold bar | None (taxed from €1) | 11.5% of the sale price | Yes, with an invoice |
| Gold coins | None (taxed from €1) | 11.5% of the sale price | Yes, with an invoice |
| Gold jewelry < €5,000 | Exempt | €0 | Not applicable (nothing to pay) |
| Gold jewelry ≥ €5,000 | — | 6.5% of the sale price | Yes, with an invoice |
Gold jewelry resold under €5,000, you pay nothing. Not 6.5%, not 11.5%: zero.
That's the exemption many private sellers overlook, and it's the concrete reason why, for the same budget, I find jewelry smarter than a bar when the goal is to secure your money and be able to take a portion back out without tax friction.
Above €5,000 in sale value, jewelry switches to 6.5% (6% tax + 0.5% CRDS), still on the total sale price. Coins and bars stay at 11.5% (11% + 0.5%) regardless of the amount. And the flat tax doesn't care whether you made or lost money: it applies to the sale price, full stop.
When to choose the capital gains regime over the flat tax
The capital gains regime is the other door. Instead of taxing the sale price, it taxes your real gain — the difference between what you resell for and what you originally paid. The rate is higher than the flat tax — 36.2% (19% income tax + 17.2% social levies) in 2026 — but there are two gifts: a 5% allowance per year starting from the 3rd year of ownership, and after 22 years, a full exemption.
In practice: if you resell quickly, the flat tax almost always wins, because it's simple and the raw capital gains rate hurts. But if you've held the gold for a long time and you still have the purchase invoice, the allowance melts the bill down. Over a very long holding period, you can end up paying nothing at all.
The sticking condition is the invoice. No invoice proving the date and purchase price → you have no choice, it's the flat tax. That's why I keep everything: my receipts, my dates, the weight. When I buy gold for my daughters, I write down the date, the weight and the price paid. It's not obsessive — it's what later leaves me the choice between the two regimes instead of being stuck with the flat tax.
The 3 mistakes that cost you
- Throwing away the invoice. Without it, the capital gains regime is closed to you, even if you kept the jewelry for twenty years. You end up stuck on the flat tax when you could have been exempt. Store your proofs of purchase with your jewelry, not in a drawer you'll empty out one day.
- Forgetting the one-month filing. The sale must be declared and paid within the month following the transfer — form 2091-SD for the flat tax, 2092-SD if you elect for capital gains. Usually, when you sell to a professional buyer, they withhold and declare. But between private individuals, the responsibility falls on you. A delay means avoidable penalties.
- Confusing a bar with jewelry. Many think "it's gold, so it's all the same." No. Jewelry has its exemption under €5,000, the bar doesn't. If you're hesitating between selling a gold chain or a gold louis coin for the same cash need, the tax bill isn't the same. Think it through before selling, not after.
Before you sell, at least check the price per gram
Taxes are one thing. The price you're offered is another — and that's often where you lose the most. Many buyers count on the fact that you don't know the real per-gram value of your 18-karat jewelry. Before accepting an offer, check where the day's price per gram sits: that's exactly what I compare on OrOGramme, fresh each day, across the official shops I list. A well-taxed sale at the wrong price is still a bad sale. And if you're still unsure about the timing, I weighed up selling now or waiting — and conversely, why a dip in the price is better suited to buying second-hand.
Eleven French shops of second-hand 18-carat gold, normalized per gram and sorted by the best deal on the metal.
To wrap up
I'm telling you what I figured out while looking into it for my own gold, not as an expert. The rules can change and every situation is different — it's up to you to check yours and make your own choices. The point here is simply that you don't discover the tax on the day you sell.
Sources for the figures cited:
- Selling precious objects: what taxation? (FR): economie.gouv.fr, accessed 1 June 2026
- Tax on sales of precious metals, jewelry, art objects, R17176 (FR): Service-Public.gouv.fr, accessed 1 June 2026
- Form 2091-SD, flat tax on precious metals (FR): impots.gouv.fr, accessed 1 June 2026
- Form 2092-SD, election for the capital gains regime (FR): impots.gouv.fr, accessed 1 June 2026