Gold bar value by size
A gold bar from an accredited refiner is 999.9 fine, so its metal value is its weight times nearly the full price of pure gold: the calculator takes the spot price of a troy ounce in pounds from gold-api.com, shows when it was set, and works out the gold in any bar from 1 g to 1 kg. Type the price a dealer is asking and it shows the premium over that metal, which is the cost of buying gold in small pieces. Bars of at least 995 thousandths in a weight the bullion market accepts are investment gold under HMRC VAT Notice 701/21 and carry no VAT; the sizes in the list are those the notice names. When you sell, a bar is a chattel for Capital Gains Tax, not currency. Gold by Carat is an independent site, not a gold buyer or a dealer: it sells no bars.
Example: gold in a 100 g bar at 999.9
£9,961
No VAT on a bar of at least 995 fine in a weight the market accepts
| Per gram of fine gold | £99.62 |
Figures and rules checked by the site’s publisher, Radif Partners · How the values are worked out · Editorial policy
Metal value of each gold bar size
| Bar | Gold at 999.9 |
|---|---|
| 1 g | £99.61 |
| 2.5 g | £249.03 |
| 5 g | £498.06 |
| 10 g | £996.12 |
| 20 g | £1,992 |
| 1 troy oz | £3,098 |
| 50 g | £4,981 |
| 100 g | £9,961 |
| 250 g | £24,903 |
| 500 g | £49,806 |
| 1 kg | £99,612 |
More detail below: tap a heading to open it.
Premium: what you pay above the metal
No dealer sells gold at spot. The difference between the price and the metal is the premium, and it falls as the bar gets bigger. Type a dealer’s price into the calculator and it shows the premium in pounds and as a percentage of the metal. Compare two or three dealers on the same bar size and on the same day, because the spot price moves.
When you sell, the dealer pays something below spot, so the round trip costs both the buying premium and the selling discount. For a small bar that round trip can be large. A bar is worth buying for its gold only if you expect to hold it long enough for the price to cover both.
VAT and the accepted weights
HMRC’s VAT guidance treats as investment gold a bar or wafer of at least 995 thousandths fine in a weight accepted by the bullion markets, and lists those weights in grams, kilos and ounces. Sales of investment gold are exempt. A bar sold as a pendant, or one below the fineness, is not. The VAT page runs the full test.
Capital Gains Tax on bars
A bar is not legal tender, so the sovereign exemption does not apply. It is a chattel, and the £6,000 rule decides most small sales. The Capital Gains Tax page works out a gain on a larger bar, and the Britannia page explains why some investors choose UK coins instead.
VAT on a gold purchase
Example: VAT on this purchase
Exempt
Investment gold coin: 900 fine or more, legal tender, sold at no more than 180% of its gold
| Metal value | £729.47 |
| Price as a share of metal | 96.0% |
| Coin limit | 180% |