Guide · 30/09/2026 · 6 min read

Selling Gold in Estonia: When Income Tax Applies

Buying gold in Estonia is straightforward, and investment gold carries no VAT. Selling raises more questions: if you sell a coin or a bar for more than you paid, do you owe the state anything? The short answer is yes — profit from selling gold counts as taxable income for a private individual and has to be reported on your annual tax return.

What follows is an overview of how the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (EMTA) treats gold sales: how the gain is calculated, which table of the return it goes into, what the deadlines are, and why losses on gold cannot be deducted.

Profit from selling gold is taxable income

EMTA singles out gold sales explicitly: according to its guidance, a gold sale must be declared in table 6.3 of the income tax return, “Transfer of other property”. The same guidance contains a second, equally important sentence: only transactions made at a profit need to be declared, because losses on a gold sale cannot be taken into account.

Note carefully what is being taxed. It is not the amount you received, but the gain — the difference between what the gold once cost you and what you got for it now. Sell at the same price or lower than you paid, and there is no taxable gain.

How the gain is calculated

The formula comes from § 37(1) of the Income Tax Act, and EMTA sets it out in its handbook on transfers of property:

sale price – acquisition cost – costs directly related to the sale = taxable gain

Acquisition cost is more than the bare purchase price. Per EMTA’s list, it covers all documented expenses the taxpayer incurred in acquiring the asset, including any commissions and fees paid on purchase. For gold, that means the premium built into the shop price on top of spot is part of the acquisition cost too — it is not “money lost”, but a figure your gain is later measured against.

One point EMTA spells out separately: where documentary proof is missing, the expenses cannot be taken into account for tax purposes. A purchase invoice, then, is not merely a warranty slip; it is the document that determines the size of your taxable gain. With no invoice, the acquisition cost is simply unproven.

A worked example

Suppose, hypothetically, that an investor bought a one-ounce gold coin for EUR 2,000 and sells it a few years later for EUR 2,600, incurring EUR 20 of documented costs directly related to the sale.

Applying EMTA’s formula: 2,600 – 2,000 – 20 = EUR 580 of taxable gain. The figure entered in table 6.3 is therefore 580 euros, not 2,600. What you report is the result of the transaction, not its turnover.

Had the same investor bought at EUR 2,000 and sold at EUR 1,900, there would be no gain and nothing to declare. The invoices are still worth keeping — the acquisition cost is what proves the gain was genuinely absent.

Losses cannot be offset

Investors used to securities usually find this rule surprising. With shares and fund units, a loss on one transaction can be set against a gain on another. Not with gold — EMTA’s wording is unambiguous that losses on a gold sale cannot be taken into account.

In practice, every transaction stands on its own. Sell one coin in a given year at a EUR 200 gain and another at a EUR 200 loss, and the two do not cancel out: the profitable transaction must be declared, while the loss-making one simply counts for nothing in the tax calculation. Breaking even in your wallet does not always mean breaking even on the return.

Where and when to declare it

The gain from a gold sale goes into table 6.3, “Transfer of other property”, on the income tax return of a resident individual. The return is filed once a year for income received during the previous calendar year.

According to EMTA’s page on declaring 2025 income, the 2025 return can be filed from 16 February until 30 April, the rate applied in that return is 22%, and any additional income tax due must be paid by 1 October. The same pattern repeats every year: a transaction you make today only reaches a return the following spring.

Unlike salary, a gain on a gold sale is not pre-filled on the return — it is income the individual reports themselves. Current rates are listed on EMTA’s tax rates page: for 2026 the income tax withholding rate is 22% and the basic exemption is EUR 700 per month, or EUR 8,400 per year, regardless of the size of a person’s income.

A VAT exemption is not an income tax exemption

This is an easy place to get confused. Investment gold falls under the special scheme for gold in the EU VAT Directive, under which investment gold is exempt from VAT. That is exactly why no VAT is added to the price of a Canadian Maple Leaf gold coin or an Argor-Heraeus gold bar.

But these are two different taxes. The VAT exemption concerns the sale of goods in VAT accounting and says nothing about the income tax an individual pays on a gain from transferring property. Investment gold can be VAT-exempt and a source of taxable gain at the same time — one does not rule out the other.

What to do at the moment of purchase

Because the entire tax calculation rests on documents, the cheapest step is the one taken when buying, not when selling.

• Keep your purchase invoices. The invoice is what proves the acquisition cost. A digital copy in the cloud costs nothing.
• Track holdings transaction by transaction. If you buy Austrian Philharmonic gold coins in several instalments at different prices, you will later need to know which coin was acquired at which price.
• Record the fees paid on acquisition. Commissions and fees belong to the acquisition cost under EMTA’s list.
• Review inherited or gifted gold. Where no purchase invoice exists, the tax questions are best worked through before a sale rather than after.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to declare a gold sale made at a loss?
Under EMTA’s guidance, only transactions made at a profit need to be declared, because losses on a gold sale cannot be taken into account.

Is the sale price taxed, or the gain?
The gain. The taxable amount is the sale price less the acquisition cost and any costs directly related to the sale.

Where on the return does a gold sale go?
Into table 6.3, “Transfer of other property”.

Does selling silver work the same way?
On the income tax side, the general logic of transfers of property applies to all precious metals. On the VAT side there is a difference: the special scheme in the VAT Directive was established for gold, so the exemption that applies to a Britannia gold coin does not carry over to silver coins.

Where can I find more detail?
On the Estonian Tax and Customs Board website, and for your specific situation, from a tax adviser. This article is a general overview, not tax advice.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a solicitation to buy or sell precious metals. Precious metal prices fluctuate. Before making any investment decision, consider your own circumstances and consult a specialist if necessary.

Goldman & Sons editorial team