Taxes & Law

Ireland's anti-money-laundering legislation requires precious metal dealers to identify their customers above set cash thresholds and to report suspicious transactions.

The cash limit for gold purchases sets the amount from which dealers must establish and record the buyer's identity under Ireland's anti-money-laundering rules.

When precious metals cross borders, a declaration obligation applies within the EU from EUR 10,000, alongside import VAT and customs rules on entry from non-EU countries.

The FIFO principle (First In, First Out) assumes that when precious metals are sold, the units acquired earliest are treated as the ones disposed of first for tax purposes.

The holding period is the span between acquiring and disposing of an asset; in Ireland there is no holding-period relief for bullion — a gain is chargeable to Capital Gains Tax regardless of how long the metal was held.

Identity verification is the legally required customer due diligence a dealer must carry out when precious metals are bought or sold in cash above certain thresholds under Ireland's anti-money-laundering legislation.

Investment gold is a tax-privileged category of gold (bars and certain coins) whose purchase is exempt from VAT across the EU, including Ireland.

The margin scheme is a special VAT arrangement under which a dealer charges tax only on the trading margin (the difference between purchase and resale price) rather than on the full selling price.

An over-the-counter cash transaction is the purchase or sale of precious metals, securities or other assets for cash at the counter ("across the desk"), without recording the buyer's identity.

In Ireland, a private individual who sells bullion at a profit realises a chargeable gain that is subject to Capital Gains Tax, unlike Germany where a similar disposal within a one-year window falls under income tax and is otherwise tax-free.

The speculative holding period is the time after which private gains on the sale of precious metals and other assets become tax-free — a concept that exists in Germany but, importantly, not in Ireland, where such gains are always liable to Capital Gains Tax.

In Ireland an individual has an annual personal Capital Gains Tax exemption of EUR 1,270; gains up to this amount each year are free of CGT, and only the excess is charged at 33%.

Investment gold is exempt from VAT throughout the EU - and in Ireland under the VAT Consolidation Act 2010 - provided it meets set minimum standards of fineness and form.

Buying silver (bars, coins, industrial silver) attracts VAT in Ireland — unlike investment gold, which is fully VAT-exempt.

Ireland taxes investment income such as interest and dividends, but physical precious metals fall outside that regime - a private person's gain on selling bullion is instead liable to Capital Gains Tax at 33 %.