Rules of Gold in Virginia

Virginia Code § 58.1-609.1(20) exempts from the state's 5.3% sales/use tax (plus applicable local up to 1.7%, totaling 5.3-7.0% combined) "gold, silver, or platinum bullion or legal tender coins" provided the items meet four conditions: (1) refined; (2) contain at least 90% gold, silver, or platinum, or some combination of these metals; (3) sales price fluctuates with and depends on the market price of the underlying precious metal, not the item's rarity, condition, age, or other external factor; (4) the item is NOT jewelry or a work of art. Notable: palladium is NOT included (paralleling UT, SC, and a few other states). Definitions (codified): "Gold, silver, or platinum bullion" = gold/silver/platinum (any combination thereof) refined to a state where value depends on mass and purity not form, numismatic value, or other value. "Legal tender coins" = coins of any metal content issued by a government as a medium of exchange or payment of debts. History: Originally enacted 2017 with a $1,000-per-transaction floor threshold. HB 936 (Del. Amanda Batten, 2022) signed by Gov. Youngkin 2022-04-11 effective 2022-07-01 — eliminated the per-piece $1,000 threshold and required only that the entire transaction exceed $1,000 (subsequent reading per Greysheet coverage suggests transaction-threshold also effectively eliminated). HB 1600 (2025 budget) extended the sunset from 2025-07-01 to 2026-07-01. HB 2336 (2025, Del. Batten) would have extended sunset to 2032-06-30 but was laid on the table 5-3 by House Subcommittee 2025-01-21, effectively dying. Operator must verify whether a 2026 budget extension has been enacted before treating the post-2026-07-01 status as `Yes-full`.