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Tennessee (TN) provides a comprehensive sales tax exemption on precious metals coins, currency, and bullion under Public Chapter 1092. The exemption enacted through House Bill 1874/Senate Bill 1857 covers all four major precious metals with no minimum purchase threshold and no purity requirement. Tennessee also has no state income tax, meaning capital gains from precious metals sales are not taxed at the state level.
Precious metals such as gold and silver are classified as collectibles under U.S. federal tax law. Profits realized when selling investment metals may therefore be subject to federal capital gains tax, with a maximum rate of 28%, depending on income level and holding period.
Capital gains tax generally applies when metals are sold for fiat currency or exchanged for goods and services. No tax is due simply for purchasing or holding bullion.
Tennessee does not impose a state income tax on individuals. As a result, there is no state-level capital gains tax on precious metals. Only federal capital gains tax applies when metals are sold at a profit.
Tennessee exempts qualifying precious metals from state and local sales and use tax under Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 67, Chapter 6, as amended by Public Chapter 1092 (2022). The exemption applies to all coins, currency, and bullion that are: (1) manufactured in whole or in part from gold, silver, platinum, palladium, or other material; (2) used solely as legal tender, security, or commodity in Tennessee or another state, the United States, or a foreign nation; and (3) sold based primarily on their intrinsic value as precious material or collectible items rather than their representative value as a medium of exchange.
This exemption is notably broad in two respects. First, it covers all four major precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, and palladium) with no purity requirement. Second, it expressly includes collectible and numismatic coins sold for their intrinsic or collectible value — not just standard investment bullion bars and rounds.
Items that remain taxable include:
The statewide base sales tax rate in Tennessee is 7%, with local jurisdictions adding additional taxes — Tennessee consistently ranks among the states with the highest combined state and local sales tax rates in the country. Qualifying precious metals purchases are exempt from both state and local sales tax entirely.
Tennessee is among the most favorable states for precious metals investors. The comprehensive sales tax exemption covers all qualifying coins, bullion, and currency across all four precious metals with no purity or purchase thresholds. Combined with the complete absence of state income tax, Tennessee investors face no state-level taxes on either the purchase or the sale of precious metals.
The only applicable tax is federal capital gains tax when metals are sold at a profit.