New Delhi: Gold jewellery is the most popular form in which gold is kept in most of the Indian families. Gold jewellery is very likely to be passed onto the forthcoming generations and it is widely used for gifting purposes on special occasions.
At a time when the yellow metal has hit historic highs, many of us might want to sell it to get a good deal out of it. Also, people who might be facing liquidity issues during this economic crisis that has been induced due to the pandemic and planning to sell any amount of inherited or gifted gold that you might possess should be aware of the tax implications of selling it.
There is no tax in case you inherit gold or receive gold as a gift from blood relatives, but when you sell it, you are liable to pay capital gains tax in case of profits. Let’s understand how the tax on capital gains is calculated in case of inherited or gifted gold.
There are four ways to buy gold in India 1) Physical Gold via jewellery or coins 2) Gold mutual funds or ETFs 3) Digital gold 4) Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB). When you sell gold you are taxed and the tax rate depends on the form it is purchased.
1. Tax on gains from physical gold via jewellery and coins: The most common way of buying gold is in the form of jewellery and coins. The taxation for this form of gold depends on how long you held the gold jewellery or coins. If the gold is being sold within three years from the date of purchase then it is considered as short-term. The short term capital gains will be added to your income and taxed as per your applicable income tax slab. Gold sold after three years is considered as long term and long term capital gains will be taxed at 20% after providing for indexation.
2. Tax on gains from gold mutual funds, gold ETFs: Gold ETF invests its corpus in physical gold, aiming to track the price of gold. Gold mutual funds in turn invest in gold ETFs. Gains from gold ETFs and gold mutual funds are taxed just like physical gold.
3. Tax on digital gold: Digital gold is a new way to purchase and accumulate gold. Many banks, mobile wallets, and brokerage companies have tied up with MMTC-PAMP or SafeGold to sell gold through their apps. Gains from digital gold is also taxed just like physical gold or gold mutual funds or gold ETFs.
4. Tax on Sovereign Gold Bonds: These are government bonds denominated in grams of gold. They are substitutes for holding physical gold. These bonds are issued by RBI on behalf of the Government of India and come with a maturity period of eight years, with an exit option from the fifth year.
Sovereign Gold Bonds when redeemed at the end of eight years, any capital gains arising at the time of redemption will be entirely tax-free. However, if you exit earlier via the early redemption window ( opens after 5 years) or via the secondary market, capital gains tax will be applied similar to what is applicable for physical gold or gold mutual funds or gold ETFs.
Comments are closed.