Buying Physical Gold in Switzerland, VAT-Free
The form of the purchase decides the tax — before the price moves.
Maison Jade Club is a private luxury concierge in Zürich, Switzerland. Clients see a piece first in a private live-video viewing from Swiss boutiques, before they decide — watches, jewellery, collector cars and gold, sourced and delivered fully insured.
VAT, before the gold price
Physical gold carries a decision most buyers miss. Investment gold is exempt from Swiss VAT; jewelry and many collector coins are not.
The exemption covers gold bullion of at least 995 fineness — cast or stamped bars — and certain state-minted coins. Worked gold, and coins that do not qualify, carry the 8.1% rate. The form of the purchase settles 8.1% of the outlay before the gold price has moved at all.
What good delivery means
Not every bar is equal. Maison Jade Club sources LBMA good-delivery bars from recognised Swiss refiners — Valcambi, PAMP, Argor-Heraeus — each with its own serial number and assay.
Every bar enters the client's dossier by number: piece, serial number, refiner certificate, weight, photograph and storage date. That inventory is what protects the position against any later question — from a bank, an auditor, or a buyer on resale.
Store it in Switzerland, or take it home
Gold is movable, so the choice is yours.
- Swiss custody. Insured storage in Switzerland — a bank vault, a private high-security vault, or a bonded warehouse. See buying and storing valuables in a Swiss bonded warehouse. Placement is documented by live video.
- Or exported to you. On a documented export the sale is exempt from Swiss VAT, and no Swiss import tax arises. Your home country's duties then apply.
- Non-resident, no Swiss anchor. For a person resident abroad, gold held in Swiss custody generally creates no Swiss tax liability — confirmed per case by a licensed partner. Home-jurisdiction reporting still applies.
Transport, insured
Gold moves with a specialist secure carrier such as Brink's, or the seller's own logistics partner — your choice, fully insured, with a documented chain of custody. Maison Jade Club coordinates the customs and export formalities.
Selling later
For a Swiss resident, the capital gain on privately held gold is exempt from income tax (Art. 16 para. 3 DBG), subject to the line to commercial dealing. Gold pays no yield, so there is no withholding-tax question. And the serial-number dossier that documented the purchase speeds the anti-money-laundering check on resale — the record is money's worth twice.
For a client resident abroad, a later gain follows the home jurisdiction, with the client's own advisors.
What Maison Jade Club does
Maison Jade Club sources the bars, verifies fineness and serial numbers, and documents the position. It arranges insured Swiss custody or a clean export. It does not give tax advice; where a case raises structuring questions, a licensed structuring partner addresses them in the partner's own name.
The questions people ask
Is investment gold VAT-free in Switzerland?
Yes. Investment gold — bullion of at least 995 fineness and certain state-minted coins — is exempt from Swiss VAT. Jewelry and many collector coins are not, and carry the 8.1% rate. The exemption turns on the form of the gold, not the buyer's residence.
Which gold is exempt — bars, coins or jewelry?
Cast or stamped bars of at least 995 fineness and qualifying state-minted coins are exempt. Worked gold — jewelry — is taxed, as are coins that do not meet the criteria. Maison Jade Club sources LBMA good-delivery bars from recognised Swiss refiners.
Can a non-resident buy and store gold in Switzerland?
Yes. Gold is bought and held in insured Swiss custody — a vault or bonded warehouse — or exported. For a person resident abroad, gold held this way generally creates no Swiss tax liability; home-jurisdiction reporting still applies. Confirmed per case by a licensed partner.
Is a gain on gold taxed in Switzerland?
For a Swiss resident, the capital gain on privately held gold is exempt from income tax (Art. 16 para. 3 DBG), subject to the line to commercial dealing. For a non-resident, a gain follows the home jurisdiction, handled with the client's own advisors.
How is gold stored and insured?
In an insured Swiss vault or bonded warehouse, with the placement documented by live video and each bar recorded by serial number. It travels with a specialist secure carrier such as Brink's, or the seller's logistics partner — your choice, fully insured.
How this article is verified
Articles in the Jade Journal are drafted with AI assistance and checked before publication. Any statement of Swiss law passes a three-agent review, then a licensed human.
- Existence & wording. Every legal statement is checked against primary sources — federal law on fedlex.admin.ch, the customs and tax administrations, and the Federal Supreme Court. Anything not found in a primary source fails.
- Context & limits. The wording is checked for overreach. No statement may imply a guaranteed tax outcome, and the line between information and advice must hold.
- Currency. Each norm is confirmed in force and unrevised, with any pending change flagged.
- Licensed sign-off (Gate 4). A licensed structuring partner signs off in writing. The AI review is a filter, not legal advice.
Status: the investment-gold VAT exemption, the non-resident position and the private capital-gain treatment were checked against primary sources on 14 July 2026; sources are listed below. The licensed sign-off (Gate 4) remains pending.
Official sources
- VAT Ordinance (MWSTV), SR 641.201 — investment gold of ≥995 fineness (bars, plates, granules) and certain state-minted coins are VAT-exempt (Art. 44); jewelry is not. fedlex.admin.ch
- VAT Act (MWSTG), SR 641.20 — the investment-gold exemption (Art. 107) and import VAT, triggered on import, not export. fedlex.admin.ch
- Customs Act (ZG), SR 631.0 — bonded warehouses and duty deferral (Art. 62 ff.). fedlex.admin.ch
- Federal Direct Tax Act (DBG), SR 642.11 — private capital gains are tax-free for a resident (Art. 16 para. 3). fedlex.admin.ch
- Tax Harmonization Act (StHG), SR 642.14 — a non-resident's movable assets create no Swiss wealth-tax nexus (Art. 4). fedlex.admin.ch
Qualifying fineness and coin criteria, and the non-resident position, are confirmed per case by a licensed partner. Home-jurisdiction tax is never assessed by Maison Jade Club.
See it live.
Every bar is shown to you on a private live-video viewing — serial number, assay, placement into storage — before and after any decision. The Journal is the method; the live viewing is where it happens.
This article is general information — not legal, tax or financial advice — and creates no contractual relationship. It is drafted with AI assistance and checked against primary sources, and, where noted, through a three-agent legal review; it does not replace advice from your own qualified advisors, and rules change and depend on your circumstances. © 2026 Maison Jade Club.
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