Numismatic Sales Tax - ARRRRRRRRGH!

I live in MD... same here... :-/

@Lakesammman said:
Death of coin shows in the state?

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

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.

@airplanenut said:

@lermish said:

@MrEureka said:

@Lakesammman said:
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 ....

Why not just have everything shipped to an out of state friend?

Or an in-state friend who has a re-sale certificate.

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 got mine with a check

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.

.

@airplanenut said:

@dcarr said:
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.

Maybe they don’t do it because it’s not legal

.

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".

.

@dcarr said:

@airplanenut said:

@dcarr said:
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.

Maybe they don’t do it because it’s not legal

.

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".

.

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".

@MrEureka said:

@Lakesammman said:
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 ....

Why not just have everything shipped to an out of state friend?

Or have an out of state friend buy it. Do they go by billing address or ship to address?

@dcarr said:

@airplanenut said:

@dcarr said:
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.

Maybe they don’t do it because it’s not legal

.

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".

.

You would be whacked for Social Security tax too, no?

I just bought a coin on eBay yesterday and didn't see the sales tax applied.

@WACoinGuy said:
I just bought a coin on eBay yesterday and didn't see the sales tax applied.

The sales tax doesn't go into effect until 1/1/26.

@dcarr said:

@airplanenut said:

@dcarr said:
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.

Maybe they don’t do it because it’s not legal

.

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".

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

@WACoinGuy said:
I just bought a coin on eBay yesterday and didn't see the sales tax applied.

Per the OP it doesn't start until 01/01/26.

@PerryHall said:
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?

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.

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.

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.

@PerryHall said:
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?

@PerryHall said:
Buy coins from the BST and avoid paying any sales tax.

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.

@BAJJERFAN said:

@dcarr said:

@airplanenut said:

@dcarr said:
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.

Maybe they don’t do it because it’s not legal

.

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".

.

You would be whacked for Social Security tax too, no?

@airplanenut said:

@dcarr said:

@airplanenut said:

@dcarr said:
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.

Maybe they don’t do it because it’s not legal

.

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".

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

.

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.

.

@WACoinGuy said:

@airplanenut said:

@WACoinGuy said:
I just bought a coin on eBay yesterday and didn't see the sales tax applied.

The sales tax doesn't go into effect until 1/1/26.

Yes - though it sounds like LakeSammMan is seeing it now...

He's "special"

@airplanenut said:

@dcarr said:

@BAJJERFAN said:

@dcarr said:

@airplanenut said:

@dcarr said:
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.

Maybe they don’t do it because it’s not legal

.

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".

.

You would be whacked for Social Security tax too, no?

@airplanenut said:

@dcarr said:

@airplanenut said:

@dcarr said:
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.

Maybe they don’t do it because it’s not legal

.

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".

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

.

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.

.

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.

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.