Question
I am considering buying gold. The Perth Mint unallocated certificates seem the best (I think I can trust OZ govt.!) but I will have to buy through Goldcore .com who are in Dublin. How do I check if Goldcore are OK (will not send me fake certificates, or none!). Are there any tax implications? Also, as I intend to keep these longterm, what would happen if I should die while still owning them? Answer
Just a quick recap for those who don’t know, gold certificates give you legal title to gold and are normally backed by physical gold held in storage. The Australian Government backed Perth Mint Certificate Program offers the most widely recognised certificates nowadays – they’re backed by both physical gold bars and the Western Australian Government.
As Goldcore is the approved Perth Mint Certificate Program dealer for the UK and Ireland I think there’s negligible risk of you not getting a genuine certificate. Nevertheless, once received it would be sensible to contact the Perth Mint directly with your certificate number to verify its authenticity.
The minimum initial investment is US$ 10,000 and US$ 5,000 thereafter. When you buy there’s the option for allocated and unallocated accounts. Allocated means there’s a piece of gold held specifically for you, but you’ll have to pay initial fabrication costs and storage costs of 1% a year. Unallocated means you have an interest in a large pool of gold rather than owning a specific piece of gold. Although not as safe as allocated gold, the risk appears small given the scheme is backed by the Western Australian Government.
Any gains you make when selling the certificates will be subject to UK capital gains tax in the normal way. At the moment that means tax of 18% on any gains above an annual allowance of £10,100, but the new Government has said it intends to raise the capital gains tax rate to bring it in line with income tax rates.
If you hold the certificate jointly then full ownership will automatically pass to the survivor upon first death. If held in your name only then it will pass into your estate and be dealt with according to your will (e.g. sold with the proceeds being paid into your estate).
The certificate contains a transfer form allowing you to pass ownership to someone else by completing the form and returning it to Perth Mint. If you do this you’ll still be liable to capital gains tax on any profits unless transferring to a spouse.
Finally, remember that the government guarantee relates to your ownership and not the gold price. If the price of gold falls you'll lose money.
Hope you make a mint!
I am considering buying gold. The Perth Mint unallocated certificates seem the best (I think I can trust OZ govt.!) but I will have to buy through Goldcore .com who are in Dublin. How do I check if Goldcore are OK (will not send me fake certificates, or none!). Are there any tax implications? Also, as I intend to keep these longterm, what would happen if I should die while still owning them? Answer
Just a quick recap for those who don’t know, gold certificates give you legal title to gold and are normally backed by physical gold held in storage. The Australian Government backed Perth Mint Certificate Program offers the most widely recognised certificates nowadays – they’re backed by both physical gold bars and the Western Australian Government.
As Goldcore is the approved Perth Mint Certificate Program dealer for the UK and Ireland I think there’s negligible risk of you not getting a genuine certificate. Nevertheless, once received it would be sensible to contact the Perth Mint directly with your certificate number to verify its authenticity.
The minimum initial investment is US$ 10,000 and US$ 5,000 thereafter. When you buy there’s the option for allocated and unallocated accounts. Allocated means there’s a piece of gold held specifically for you, but you’ll have to pay initial fabrication costs and storage costs of 1% a year. Unallocated means you have an interest in a large pool of gold rather than owning a specific piece of gold. Although not as safe as allocated gold, the risk appears small given the scheme is backed by the Western Australian Government.
Any gains you make when selling the certificates will be subject to UK capital gains tax in the normal way. At the moment that means tax of 18% on any gains above an annual allowance of £10,100, but the new Government has said it intends to raise the capital gains tax rate to bring it in line with income tax rates.
If you hold the certificate jointly then full ownership will automatically pass to the survivor upon first death. If held in your name only then it will pass into your estate and be dealt with according to your will (e.g. sold with the proceeds being paid into your estate).
The certificate contains a transfer form allowing you to pass ownership to someone else by completing the form and returning it to Perth Mint. If you do this you’ll still be liable to capital gains tax on any profits unless transferring to a spouse.
Finally, remember that the government guarantee relates to your ownership and not the gold price. If the price of gold falls you'll lose money.
Hope you make a mint!
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