Numismatic Sales Tax - ARRRRRRRRGH!
Lakesammman
Posts: 17,514 ✭✭✭✭✭
Coming to WA state on 1-1-26. Already appearing when I make an offer on ebay.
Death of coin shows in the state?
Significant disadvantage in bidding against those in states w/o the tax.
Might be the end of my dabbling in buying/selling fun plastic on ebay .... 
"My friends who see my collection sometimes ask what something costs. I tell them and they are in awe at my stupidity." (Baccaruda, 12/03).I find it hard to believe that he (Trump) rushed to some hotel to meet girls of loose morals, although ours are undoubtedly the best in the world. (Putin 1/17) Gone but not forgotten. IGWT, Speedy, Bear, BigE, HokieFore, John Burns, Russ, TahoeDale, Dahlonega, Astrorat, Stewart Blay, Oldhoopster, Broadstruck, Ricko, Big Moose, Cardinal.
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I live in MD... same here... :-/
Successful BST transactions with: SilverEagles92; Ahrensdad; Smitty; GregHansen; Lablade; Mercury10c; copperflopper; whatsup; KISHU1; scrapman1077, crispy, canadanz, smallchange, robkool, Mission16, ranshdow, ibzman350, Fallguy, Collectorcoins, SurfinxHI, jwitten, Walkerguy21D, dsessom.
Yes, i have spoken with multiple collectors and dealers alike, the overwhelming consensus is that most folks will travel out of state, likewise the dealers. The shows in neighboring states will increase in size and frequency. Hobbiests with a bit of time on their hands (and money) won’t mind a whole lot. The real loser in the equation is the smaller economy collectors. And the brick and mortar shops, i don’t believe anyone can predict until the tax is in place and they begin collecting it.
There's a lesson in here somewhere.
Move to a free state. There are lots of them!
Why not just have everything shipped to an out of state friend?
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
Or an in-state friend who has a re-sale certificate.
chopmarkedtradedollars.com
The tax police will be along any minute to set everyone straight.
Technically neither option is legal (however unlikely anyone is to be found out), but I imagine if the state caught someone misusing a reseller certificate, they could make things not fun for them. Speaking from experience, thus far WA has refused to give me a reseller certificate because most of what I sell (up to this point) is not taxable, so I've had to claw back sales tax paid on resale items. After doing that a few times, they gave me a lot of paperwork covering years of sales to make sure I wasn't cheating them.
I have some thoughts from PNNA in my post here, and there's some more discussion in the replies, as well. https://forums.collectors.com/discussion/1117338/another-october-2025-pnna-show-report-the-penultimate-tukwila-show
For small purchases, it's not worth bothering people to help out.
Buying and selling plastic has been fun, but looks like it's over for me.
I don’t recommend using a resale certificate (yours or someone else’s) unless you plan to resell what you buy. It’s against the law and at least in California it’s taken very seriously by the authorities.
Yep. Going to affect who sets up at shows, who goes, much less buys, at local shows, and even affect buying on ebay and other places....for those that have been in the hobby for years. New people may just take it in stride
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
I got mine with a check
I live in WA. Hopefully the hobby and coin shows don't die.
Proud follower of Christ!
I don't understand why everyone doesn't do the following:
Set yourself up as a business entity, such as " your_name Enterprises " .
Keep track of all your expenses and purchases. The miles driven to coin shows and other expenses related to buying/selling/holding become part of the cost basis of your coins.
Apply for a sales tax license. All coins purchased are then exempt from all state/city sales tax.
But note that you will also have to charge sales tax when you sell to an entity that is not exempt from sales tax.
For a small business, typically you will have to file a sales tax return quarterly.
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Maybe they don’t do it because it’s not legal
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It is legal.
If coins are purchased with the intent of selling at some point (hopefully at a profit), then it can be considered a business.
Of course, you also have to pay income tax on any profits from coin trading. But you would have to do that anyway, even if you were still doing so as an individual rather than a "business".
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Businesses don’t have the advantage of paying the lower capital gains rate on profits.
Doggedly collecting coins of the Central American Republic.
Visit the Society of US Pattern Collectors at USPatterns.com.
It is legal IF you sell frequently enough, and at a profit. If you buy significantly more than you sell every year or you lose money year after year, then you are a "hobby" per the IRS.
I'd also point out that if you are doing your accounting accurately on a business, you are going to pay income taxes on the value of unsold "inventory".
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
@jmlanzaf your last point sounds like accrual and not cash accounting.
Or have an out of state friend buy it. Do they go by billing address or ship to address?
You would be whacked for Social Security tax too, no?
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"Cash" accounting seems simpler, so that is how I would do it.
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I just bought a coin on eBay yesterday and didn't see the sales tax applied.
The Resale Misuse Penalty is 50%. If it is during an audit, you could also be subject to a 29% late penalty and a 5% Tax Assessment penalty - plus interest. With the Wayfair decision, your ability to purchase from non-Wasington/non-registered companies is all but gone. Coin show sales will mainly be dealer to dealer and cash transactions in the parking lot.
If Washington wanted to kill the coin business (this tax applies to all monetized bullion, so 90%, Sovereigns, etc.), especially shops that border Idaho or Oregon. Most people would drive an hour to save $400 on a gold eagle
Seems to be hit and miss currently - here's an offer I cancelled yesterday after seeing the sales tax.
And as a business, you're going to have to pay B&O tax (a tax on gross sales in WA) for any coins you do sell - not to mention making sure to collect sales tax from your sales. The state is going to want to see some correlation between your inventory purchases and sales to not question your intent of running a business vs personal collection
The sales tax doesn't go into effect until 1/1/26.
Yes - though it sounds like LakeSammMan is seeing it now...
Yeah, no.
https://dor.wa.gov/taxes-rates/retail-sales-tax/reseller-permits
https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/heres-how-to-tell-the-difference-between-a-hobby-and-a-business-for-tax-purposes
eBay is awful when it comes to properly applying sales tax. I recently spent hours working to get sales tax refunded on a bullion purchase a buyer made, and he lives in a state that has no tax on bullion. While I'm guessing @Lakesammman is showing a coin/bullion offer, if perchance it's currency, that is already taxable in WA and the listed sales tax would be correct.
Per the OP it doesn't start until 01/01/26.
Is it possible to get a PO Box in a nearby state with more reasonable sales tax laws and use that for your mail order purchases?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
The offer was for rare plastic that happened to have a coin included.
One of the few taxing positives about Oregon is no sales tax.
Technically - you still owe use tax once you bring it into the state, though that's a self-reported thing. But yeah, been thinking whether that makes sense or maybe sending to a relative out of state.
You could get a PO Box in Tualatin just south of Portland. Right along I-5 and a safe town. The PO is right off the freeway @ Nyberg.
There is no sales tax on coins in CT, but the morons at ebay charge it anyway because they are too lazy to separate coins from bullion. I have been trying for years to get them to change it to no avail, so I just eat it (like you will have to in WA). Next I will try to get a refund from the state.
Buy coins from the BST and avoid paying any sales tax.
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value---zero."----Voltaire
"Everything you say should be true, but not everything true should be said."----Voltaire
If you spend more than $1000 In Massachusetts you will not be taxed on coins. Ebay still taxes for purchases over a grand.
I am not sure about silver and gold bullion.
Maybe someday there will be a class action lawsuit.
Student of numismatics and collector of Morgan dollars
Successful BST transactions with: Namvet Justindan Mattniss RWW olah_in_MA
Dantheman984 Toyz4geo SurfinxHI greencopper RWW bigjpst bretsan MWallace logger7
Thes new taxes appear onerous enough to consider a move elsewhere period. With AI, it will only get worse as governments refuse to curtail their drunken sailor spending.
Either way, you still owe use tax.
As an aside, WA doesn't have income tax. I'm not celebrating paying sales tax, but I'm still coming out way ahead.
Under either method, change in inventory value goes into costs of goods sold (section III of schedule C)
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
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Coin dealers operate without paying sales tax when they purchase inventory.
There is no stipulation that inventory must be sold in the same year that it was purchased.
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They also actively and continuously engage in buying and selling. A collector’s collection isn’t a dealer’s inventory, no matter how much you want to skirt clear and obvious laws.
How about this? You go ahead and do this, but also write a letter to the IRS and your state detailing your strategy. Report back with their responses.
He's "special"
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
Maybe...depending where in the state you live to define "nearby". If you live near seattle, or on the peninsula, you are likely 3-5 hours from Oregon, 5-8 from Idaho, so would you consider that "nearby"?
I've been told I tolerate fools poorly...that may explain things if I have a problem with you. Current ebay items - Nothing at the moment
Mr. Carr, of course, probably has a resale certificate from his regular minting business. Hiding a few coin purchases won't raise any red flags. For a hobbyist without another business, it's a little harder to simply hide your collection from both the State and Federal tax authorities.
All comments reflect the opinion of the author, even when irrefutably accurate.
I had to consider using my sister's address in NY as my own for bullion purchases before NJ stopped taxing coins
valued over 1000 earlier this year (any tax reduction in NJ = a modern miracle}
I sadly said goodbye to Heritage when they announced that having an office in NYC meant they were being forced to collect tax from NJ and CT residents even before the universal law was implemented
I would genuinely love to know how the purchase of a 20 million dollar artwork by a NYC resident is handled, do they cheerfully pay the 1.8 million dollar sales tax knowing that living in New Hampshire would have cost them 0 sales tax? In that case, paying 95 a year for a PO box in NH and claiming it as your home address sounds like it would invite an audit and punishing fines.
Or do they create non profit educational foundations, as I believe Cardinal did, to buy and hold their art
Commems and Early Type