NC No exemptions Last reviewed: April 2026

Rules of Gold in North Carolina

What this means for me Coin & bullion dealers 5

The six facts

Statute-level rules. Each fact is sourced; click through to the primary citation.

Exempt

Sales tax on bullion

North Carolina exempts non-coin currency, investment metal bullion, and investment coins from state sales and use tax under N.C.G.S. §105-164.13(69), effective July 1, 2017 (enacted via H 434 in the 2017 session). Statutory definitions: "Investment metal bullion" means any elementary precious metal that has been put through smelting or refining and is in a state where its value depends on its content and not on its form — explicitly excluding fabricated precious metal that has been processed or manufactured for industrial, professional, or artistic uses. "Investment coin" means numismatic coins or other forms of money and legal tender manufactured of metal under the laws of the United States or any foreign nation with a fair market value greater than any statutory or nominal value. "Non-coin currency" means forms of legal tender other than metal coins valued at more than face value. The exemption applies to all four major precious metals (Au/Ag/Pt/Pd) at any quantity with no transaction threshold and no broker/dealer registration requirement. Standard NC state sales tax is 4.75%; combined state-plus-local rates range 6.75% to 7.5% depending on county, but bullion transactions are 0%-rated under §105-164.13(69).

Source As of 2017-07-01 · high confidence

Recognized as legal tender

North Carolina has not enacted a statute recognizing gold or silver coin or specie as legal tender for public or private debts. HB 836 (2025) "North Carolina Sound Money Act", sponsored by Reps. Mark Brody and Warren (with Adams, Kidwell, Ward as cosponsors), would (a) recognize investment coins and investment metal bullion of refined gold or silver stamped/marked/imprinted with weight and purity as legal tender in NC and (b) allow taxpayers to deduct gain or loss from disposition of investment coins/bullion when calculating NC taxable income. The bill cleared the House Federal Relations and American Indian Affairs subcommittee on April 29, 2025 and was re-referred to House Finance Committee — last legislative action on record. Tax provisions would be effective tax year 2025; legal-tender provisions would be effective October 1, 2025 if enacted. As of April 2026, HB 836 has not advanced past House Finance and has not been ratified, signed, or vetoed. If enacted, NC would become the 8th state to recognize gold and silver as legal tender (joining UT/WY/OK/AR/ID/LA/TN/TX). An earlier vehicle, HB 448 "Constitutional Tender Act", took a broader approach (state-money definition + tax prohibitions) and did not advance.

Source As of 2026-04-26 · medium confidence

Taxed

Capital gains on bullion

North Carolina taxes capital gains as ordinary income at a flat 4.25% rate for tax year 2025 (no separate capital-gains rate, no holding-period distinction, no precious-metals-specific carve-out under current law). NC's flat-rate income tax was established by 2013 reform and has been steadily phased down — from 5.75% (pre-2014) to 5.499% (2014-2018), to 5.25% (2019-2021), to 4.99% (2022), to 4.75% (2023), to 4.50% (2024), and to 4.25% (2025). Further phasedown to 3.99% (2026) is scheduled under HB 259 (2023 budget law). NC's flat-rate income tax structure is comparatively favorable for high-AGI bullion investors relative to graduated-bracket states — a NC resident realizing $1M of bullion gains pays $42,500 in state tax in 2025 versus $109,000 in NJ (10.9% top rate) or $147,000 in NYC (combined). Pending change: HB 836 (2025) would create a state-level deduction for bullion gain/loss starting tax year 2025 — if enacted, NC would join the precious-metals-cap-gains-exempt club. Not yet enacted.

Source As of 2025-01-01 · high confidence

State bullion depository

North Carolina has not enacted enabling legislation for a state-administered bullion depository. The State Treasurer (currently Brad Briner, elected 2024, took office January 2025) does not operate, license, or otherwise authorize a public bullion depository facility. HB 836 (2025) does not include depository authorization — it focuses on legal-tender recognition and capital-gains deduction.

Source As of 2026-04-26 · medium confidence

State gold & silver reserves

The North Carolina State Treasurer does not hold physical gold or silver as a reserve asset. There is no statutory authority for a NC state precious-metals reserve. NC has not pursued any HB-302-style (New Hampshire) authorization for state-treasury PM holdings.

Source As of 2026-04-26 · medium confidence

No disclosure

Pension fund holdings

The North Carolina Retirement Systems (NCRS), administered by the State Treasurer's Department, follow a unified target asset allocation across all pension plans (TSERS — Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System being the largest): 38% global equity, 33% fixed income, 8% real estate, 8% alternatives, 7% opportunistic fixed income, and 6% inflation sensitive assets. The "inflation sensitive assets" sleeve could in principle include physical commodities or precious-metals exposure (TIPS, real return strategies, commodity ETFs), but the specific composition of this sleeve is not enumerated in the publicly-available retirement and investment disclosures FY24 PDF. As of capture, no physical-precious-metals or commodities line item is explicitly disclosed; pension field marked `No-public-disclosure` rather than definitive `No` to acknowledge possible PM-adjacent exposure within the inflation-sensitive sleeve. NCRS combined AUM is approximately $125 billion (FY24).

Source As of 2024-06-30 · medium confidence

What this means for buyers

When you buy bullion in North Carolina: investment-grade bullion is exempt from state sales tax. The exemption typically covers gold, silver, platinum, and palladium meeting standard investment-grade purity. Verify the exemption applies to your specific purchase — definitions and minimum-purity thresholds vary by statute.

When you sell or otherwise realize a gain: capital gains on bullion are taxed as ordinary income at North Carolina’s state-tax rates, stacked on top of the federal 28% collectibles rate. This is a real drag on long-term holdings — consult a CPA before realizing a major position.

Mostly standard taxation; one carve-out worth knowing about. Confirm it covers your specific purchase before relying on it.

Coin & bullion dealers in North Carolina

Verified retail dealers — sourced from state corporation registries, BBB, and trade associations.

Full directory

Coins & Stuff

NGC, PCGS

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Golden Isles Coin

PCGS, NGC

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Hyatt Coin

Operating since 1959
NGC, PCGS

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Mattox Coins and Currency

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NC Coppers

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About this page. Legislative data captured by the Empirical Research Orchestrator. Each fact links to its primary source. State laws change — confirm material facts with your CPA or the state Department of Revenue before acting on a transaction. Fair Market Value does not provide legal or tax advice.

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