How do Washington state tax rules interact with federal tax laws on precious metals sales?

1. What Washington changed — plain and immediate

The Washington Legislature repealed the statutory exclusion that had treated qualifying bullion and monetized bullion as outside the retail/wholesale tax base; beginning Jan. 1, 2026, gross receipts from sales of such bullion and monetized bullion generally are taxable as sales of tangible personal property and subject to retailing B&O tax and retail sales tax ^{[1] [2] [4]}.

2. Who and what is affected

“Precious metal bullion” is defined as refined/smelted metals valued for content (gold, silver, platinum, palladium, etc.), and “monetized bullion” covers coins or money manufactured from those metals that are used as legal tender; many dealers, collectors and retail buyers will see previously exempt purchases become taxable ^{[1] [2] [5]}.

3. How much tax — state vs. local exposure

Washington’s statutory state sales tax is 6.5%; local rates add to that and can push total rates higher (some reporting cites totals up to about 10% in parts of King County/Seattle) — the new bullion tax is expected to be collected at the same standard rates applicable to other tangible goods ^{[3] [6] [7]}.

4. B&O tax consequences for dealers and intermediaries

Sales subject to retailing B&O tax are also subject to retail sales tax; commissions on bullion or monetized-bullion sales remain subject to the “service and other activities” B&O tax. The Department of Revenue guidance signals dealers must begin collecting and reporting those taxes when gross income from such sales becomes taxable ^{[2] [4] [5]}.

5. Federal tax treatment stays distinct — capital gains and “collectible” rules

Federal rules that classify precious metals as collectibles for capital-gains taxation are separate from state sales and B&O taxes; the IRS’s capital-gains rates for collectibles (higher-than-preferred capital gains ceilings) still apply to disposition gains, but the provided state sources do not report any change to federal tax law or an interaction that alters federal collectible-treatment because of Washington’s move (p1_s11; available sources do not mention a federal-change connection).

6. Practical frictions and behavioral effects to expect

Industry groups warn the repeal will drive sales across borders (customers choosing Oregon or Idaho to avoid tax), reduce local dealer competitiveness, and potentially move commerce to online or out‑of‑state sellers; state auditors (JLARC) had earlier questioned whether the exemption met its intended public-policy goals, which helped drive the change ^{[8] [7] [9]}.

7. Conflicting narratives in coverage — revenue vs. industry harm

State reporting and analysis (including JLARC citations) framed the repeal as correcting a tax preference not meeting policy objectives; dealers, the National Coin & Bullion Association and trade publications portray it as a targeted blow to a niche industry that will harm small dealers and collectors — both perspectives are present in the publicly available coverage ^{[8] [9] [7] [10]}.

8. Unanswered questions and limits of current reporting

Available sources detail the state’s legislative change and Department of Revenue guidance, estimate tax rates and document industry pushback, but they do not describe any coordinated federal response, whether Washington will carve out exceptions (transaction minimums or numismatic distinctions) beyond published rules, or how enforcement and nexus issues for remote sellers will be implemented in practice (p1_s1; ^[2]; ^[4]; available sources do not mention these implementation details).

9. Immediate steps for buyers, sellers and tax advisors

Dealers must update point‑of‑sale systems and reporting to collect retail sales tax and remit retailing B&O tax on taxable bullion transactions; buyers should expect to pay state and local sales tax after Jan. 1, 2026 and consider cross-border purchase strategies while recognizing legal and reporting risks. Industry groups are pursuing advocacy and legal commentaries that buyers and dealers should monitor ^{[1] [2] [7] [8]}.

Bottom line: Washington’s change creates a sharp separation between state-level transactional taxation (sales/B&O) and unchanged federal treatment of metals for income/tax‑gain purposes; the state move shifts the immediate cash cost of buying physical bullion inside Washington, while federal collectible-capital-gains rules remain the dominant driver of tax on later sales ^{[1] [2] [6]}.