Which minimum quantities trigger Form 1099‑B reporting for gold, silver, platinum and palladium in 2025?
Executive summary
The IRS 2025 instructions make clear that Form 1099‑B for precious metals is triggered only when a sale is of a metal in a form that the CFTC has approved for delivery against a regulated futures contract (RFC) and the quantity meets the minimum required by that RFC; sales that do not meet both the approved form and minimum-quantity tests are not reportable [1]. Industry guides and dealers translate that rule into specific product thresholds (for example, CFTC contract call sizes or a 1,000‑ounce silver example), but the official IRS text does not enumerate a single unified table of per‑metal minimums in the excerpts provided here, so dealer lists are often used in practice [1] [2] [3].
1. How the rule works — form plus quantity, not price alone
The controlling principle in the 2025 Instructions for Form 1099‑B is a two‑part test: the metal must be in a form that the CFTC permits for delivery against an RFC, and the quantity sold must meet or exceed the minimum quantity the RFC requires to satisfy delivery; if either prong fails the sale is “excepted” and not subject to 1099‑B reporting [1]. This is distinct from the Treasury’s cash‑payment reporting rule (Form 8300) that obliges dealers to report cash receipts of $10,000 or more — a separate anti‑money‑laundering threshold that does not by itself create a 1099‑B obligation [4] [5].
2. What the IRS examples show — coins and contract call sizes
The IRS gives practical examples illustrating the quantity rule: a broker selling a single gold coin does not need to file Form 1099‑B even if the coin’s form could be delivered against an RFC, when all CFTC‑approved contracts for that coin currently require delivery of at least 25 coins [1]. That example demonstrates that the minimum is set by the RFC’s delivery unit (number of coins or aggregate weight) rather than an arbitrary dollar value or a common retail package size [1].
3. Industry thresholds used in practice — dealer and trade‑group lists
Precious‑metals dealers and trade groups maintain reportable‑items lists that map IRS/CME/CFTC product standards to concrete thresholds; examples in the reporting include a 1,000‑ounce silver breakpoint illustrated by a case of twenty 50‑ounce bars and references to kilo‑level thresholds for refined gold depending on purity [2] [6]. These dealer resources and infographics are used widely because the IRS instruction defers to CFTC‑approved RFC product specs, and the RFC specs and exchange “service provider” lists determine which manufacturers and product forms are eligible for delivery [7] [3].
4. Where ambiguity persists and why dealers matter
Multiple sources note that the precise reportable quantity can be opaque to consumers because the IRS text relies on external CFTC/RFC definitions and exchange lists; as a result dealers adopt internal policies and the market uses vendor‑compiled “reportable items” lists to identify transactions that will generate 1099‑Bs [7] [3]. That industry practice produces variation among dealers about which specific coins, bars, purities, and aggregate weights they will treat as reportable—so a sale reportable at one dealer might be treated as non‑reportable at another if their interpretation of RFC deliverability differs [7] [8].
5. Practical takeaways and limits of available reporting
The bottom line for 2025: the statutory trigger is form‑and‑quantity tied to CFTC/RFC delivery specs (1099‑B required when both are met) and separate $10,000 cash‑receipt rules may require an 8300 even when a 1099‑B is not required [1] [4]. The provided IRS excerpts and industry pages include illustrative thresholds (e.g., RFCs calling for 25‑coin delivery; a 1,000‑ounce silver example; kilo‑level gold purity distinctions), but the exact minimums for every gold, silver, platinum, and palladium product in 2025 are not listed verbatim in the sources available here — consumers and dealers therefore rely on the IRS reportable‑items guidance plus the exchange/CFTC product lists and dealer policies to determine whether a specific transaction will generate a 1099‑B [1] [2] [3] [6].