Are there exemptions for small private gold sales in Washington?

1. What changed: repeal of the exemption and its effective date

The Washington legislature passed bills in 2025 that remove the previous sales-and B&O‑tax exclusion for precious metal bullion and monetized bullion; the Department of Revenue’s guidance says gross income from those sales becomes taxable starting Jan. 1, 2026 ^{[1] [2]}. Multiple industry and watchdog outlets report SB 5794 (and related budget language) as repealing the exemption and setting the new tax status to take effect at the start of 2026 ^{[5] [6] [3]}.

2. No reported small‑sale carve‑out in Washington’s law

Reporting and state guidance available in the search results describe a broad repeal without describing a transaction‑size exemption (unlike Maryland, which retained narrow exceptions tied to $1,000 transactions at a convention center) ^{[4] [1]}. Industry writeups that contrast state approaches list Washington as having “simply repealed” the exemption rather than imposing a threshold exemption, indicating the change was comprehensive ^{[7] [3]}.

3. How Washington differs from states that kept thresholds

Some states retain or expanded minimum‑purchase exemptions for bullion (example reporting: Florida and Connecticut updating rules and other states having $500 or $1,000 thresholds); Maryland’s 2025 measure explicitly kept an unusual $1,000/venue exception, but Washington’s repeal is repeatedly described as removing the tax preference altogether rather than replacing it with a threshold ^{[8] [4] [9]}. Analysts and trade groups note this moves Washington against the broader trend of protecting bullion purchases from sales tax ^{[10] [9]}.

4. Practical implications cited by dealers and trade groups

Dealers and trade organizations quoted in the coverage predicted material impact: potential added sales tax burdens near typical statewide combined rates (reported examples cite overall tax rates up to roughly 10% in some Washington localities) and warnings that the tax will make bullion a less attractive investment for in‑state buyers ^{[5] [8] [11]}. The National Coin & Bullion Association and local dealers expressed concern the repeal will harm competitiveness and reduce in‑state business ^{[10] [11]}.

5. What the Department of Revenue explicitly says and what it doesn’t

Washington DOR guidance identifies “precious metal bullion” and “monetized bullion” definitions and states that, effective Jan. 1, 2026, gross income from those sales is taxable as sales of tangible personal property ^{[1] [2]}. The DOR materials in the search results do not describe a small‑transaction exemption or a $1,000 threshold for ordinary retail bullion sales in Washington ^{[2] [1]}.

6. Limitations in the available reporting and next steps for buyers

Sources here are limited to DOR notices and trade reporting through mid‑2025/2025 follow‑ups; they do not reproduce the full statutory text nor any administrative rules that could later add clarifying exemptions or thresholds (available sources do not mention any later rulemaking that creates a small‑sale exemption) ^{[1] [2]}. Buyers or private sellers seeking certainty should consult the final statutory language of SB 5794, the Washington DOR’s official rulebooks after Jan. 1, 2026, or a tax attorney — those documents are not included in the current search results (available sources do not mention a definitive DOR rule implementing a small‑sale carve‑out) ^{[1] [2]}.

Bottom line: under the materials and reporting compiled here, Washington’s 2025 legislative package repealed the bullion sales tax exemption broadly and no source in this set reports a continuing small‑sale (e.g., <$1,000) exemption for private bullion transactions in Washington ^{[1] [3] [4]}.