Rules of Gold in Vermont

Vermont 32 V.S.A. § 9741 exempts from the state's 6% sales/use tax (plus applicable local up to 1%) sales of rare coins of numismatic value, gold or silver bullion or coins, or gold or silver tender of any nation traded according to its value as precious metal — provided the sales are valued at $1,000.00 or more AND the first $1,000.00 of value shall remain taxable. This is a UNUSUAL "floor threshold" structure distinctive in the dataset: most states either fully exempt qualifying bullion (e.g., PA, GA, OH) or use a >$1,000-then-fully-exempt threshold (e.g., NJ for coins). Vermont's "first $1,000 always taxable, anything above $1,000 exempt" structure means a $5,000 gold purchase faces tax on the first $1,000 ($60 at 6%) and exemption on the remaining $4,000. Excluded from the bullion definition: precious metal that has been assembled, fabricated, processed, or manufactured for industrial, professional, esthetic, or artistic uses. H.295 (2023, introduced) would have modified the exemption framework — disposition not confirmed in this research pass; the still-applicable statute as of 2026-04-26 is the "$1,000 floor threshold" framework. Vermont is in the still-taxes-bullion minority alongside ME, MD-post-2025-July (pending SB 309 restoration), NV (NAC 372.170 50%-over-face-value test), and NM.

Vermont has not enacted a statute recognizing gold or silver coins or bullion as legal tender for payment of debts. Comprehensive search of Vermont General Assembly 2021-2026 sessions identified no active legal-tender, depository, or specie bill. Vermont remains absent from the legal-tender state list as of 2026 with no apparent legislative momentum toward joining the cluster — among the most static jurisdictions in the dataset on sound-money topics, paralleling NM and RI.

Vermont taxes capital gains as ordinary income through its 4-bracket individual income tax system (3.35%, 6.60%, 7.60%, 8.75% top rate above approximately $230,150 single / $284,000 MFJ for TY 2025). Two exclusion options for net capital gains: (1) flat exclusion of up to $5,000 on federal net adjusted capital gains (since TY 2014); (2) 40% exclusion of net adjusted long-term capital gains on assets held at least 3 years — with critical scope limits: the 40% exclusion does NOT apply to residential real estate (primary or non-primary), depreciable personal property (except farm property or standing timber), or publicly traded financial instruments (stocks and bonds). Physical bullion appears to qualify for the 40% LT exclusion since it is not publicly-traded, not real estate, and not depreciable personal property. So effective top-bracket LT bullion rate = 8.75% × 0.60 = 5.25% with the 40% exclusion applied; full 8.75% rate applies to short-term gains and any LT gains exceeding the exclusion arithmetic. Operator should verify the bullion-eligibility of the 40% LT exclusion against VT Department of Taxes guidance before publication for retail public-site copy.

Vermont has not enacted enabling legislation authorizing a state-administered or state-chartered bullion depository. Per Sound Money Defense League coverage, "Vermont law does not currently allow for a state bullion depository." No depository-authorization bill identified in 2021-2026 sessions. The Vermont State Treasurer has no statutory authority to operate a depository or hold physical bullion as a state asset.

The Vermont State Treasurer (Mike Pieciak, D, in office since January 2023 — Vermont's 31st State Treasurer) does not hold physical gold or silver as a reserve asset. Vermont statutes do not authorize state-treasury PM holdings. Treasurer Pieciak's published priorities focus on climate-risk integration in pension investments (Pieciak co-signed multi-state letters calling on Wall Street to continue considering climate risk in pension investments), the Vermont Saves bipartisan public retirement initiative, and federal-transition policy responses — directionally opposite to PM-reserve advocacy. Vermont's investment-policy direction is substantively divergent from the UT/NH/TN/SD sound-money axis.

Vermont Pension Investment Commission (VPIC) acts as trustee for Vermont's defined-benefit plan investments — the State Teachers' Retirement System of Vermont (VSTRS), Vermont State Employees' Retirement System (VSERS), and Vermont Municipal Employees' Retirement System (VMERS) — with the State Treasurer's Office providing administrative support including portfolio rebalancing, review, and due diligence. VPIC achieved approximately $600M in net investment returns in FY24. VPIC's investment policy emphasizes climate-risk integration and does not enumerate physical-precious-metals exposure as a discrete line item. Field marked `No-public-disclosure` rather than definitive `No` because the alternatives sleeve composition is not fully enumerated in publicly-available summary documents — physical PM exposure is presumed minimal-to-zero (and likely strictly zero given VPIC's ESG/climate posture) but cannot be ruled out without ACFR-level review.