Selling inherited gold jewellery and coins
When you inherit gold, the cost that counts for Capital Gains Tax is not what your relative paid but the value at the date of death, the figure normally used for probate, so a gain is only what the gold has risen since then. Most inherited jewellery is sold in pieces worth less than £6,000 each, and each such item or set is exempt as a chattel under the tax law. Sovereigns and Britannias are sterling currency and outside the tax altogether. The calculator works out the tax, if any, for 2026 to 2027 from the sale price, the probate value and your taxable income, using the annual exempt amount of £3,000 and the rates of 18% and 24%. Before that, the carat pages give the metal value. Gold by Carat is an independent site, not a gold buyer or a dealer, and this is not tax advice.
Example: Capital Gains Tax, 2026 to 2027
£0.00
Sold for £6,000 or less: no tax to pay
| Profit on the sale | £2,000 |
Assumes no other gains this tax year. Not tax advice.
Figures and rules checked by the site’s publisher, Radif Partners · How the values are worked out · Editorial policy
Step one: before selling inherited gold, know what it is worth
Before any tax question, sort the pieces by hallmark and weigh them. The scrap gold calculator gives the metal value of a mixed lot at the price of the moment, and the sovereign page values coins without weighing. Set aside anything that might sell better as jewellery than as metal: a signed piece, a period brooch, a ring with a significant stone. An auction house or jeweller can give an opinion on those.
Compare what you find with the estate’s valuation. If the metal is now worth much more than the probate value, the gain matters; if it is worth about the same or less, there is no gain to tax.
More detail below: tap a heading to open it.
Step two: the probate value is your cost
For inherited assets the cost for Capital Gains Tax is the market value at the date of death. Executors value personal possessions, including jewellery, for Inheritance Tax and probate. Keep a copy of that valuation: it is your evidence of cost. If the jewellery was valued as one lump, ask for a breakdown, because the chattel rule works item by item.
Step three: the chattel rule
Jewellery, watches and bars are chattels: tangible movable property. Under the tax law a gain on a chattel sold for £6,000 or less is exempt. Above £6,000, the gain is capped at five thirds of the amount by which the sale price exceeds £6,000; GOV.UK’s worked guidance explains the calculation, which matters for sales up to about £15,000. A pair of earrings, a matching necklace and bracelet or a set of rings sold together to the same buyer count as one item.
| Sale price | Probate value | Gain | Capped gain | Taxable after £3,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £5,800 | £2,000 | £3,800 | Exempt | £0.00 |
| £7,500 | £3,000 | £4,500 | £2,500 | £0.00 |
| £12,000 | £4,000 | £8,000 | £8,000 | £5,000 |
Step four: coins are different
Sovereigns, half sovereigns and Britannias are legal tender in the United Kingdom, and the tax law excludes sterling currency from chargeable assets. Selling them creates no gain or loss, whatever their value. Krugerrands, Maple Leafs and other foreign coins are not sterling, so HMRC treats them as chargeable; GOV.UK lists coins among the personal possessions covered by the £6,000 rule. Whether several coins sold together count as a set is decided on the facts, so the calculator treats what you enter as one sale. The Capital Gains Tax page sets out each case.
Step five: the rate
For 2026 to 2027, the first £3,000 of total gains is free of tax. The rest is taxed at 18% where it falls within your unused basic rate band and 24% above it (GOV.UK, Capital Gains Tax rates). The calculator at the top of the page uses your taxable income to split the gain between the two rates. It assumes no other gains in the year.
Sharing gold between family members
If several relatives inherit together, each owns a share and each has an annual exempt amount. Dividing the pieces between beneficiaries before any sale can mean several people each sell items under £6,000. Gifts between spouses and civil partners are made at no gain and no loss. These choices are worth a conversation with whoever administers the estate before anything is sold.