“Should I buy gold?” I do not answer that – it would need an investment advice licence I do not hold. What I can do is explain how gold works as a tangible asset and which German rules apply.

Physical gold

Bars range from 1 gram to 1 kilogram; bullion coins usually weigh one troy ounce (31.1 g). You always buy above the metal value and sell below it: for one ounce the spread is typically around 5–6 % according to the consumer advice centres, for tiny units 20 % or more.

“Paper gold” and counterparty risk

ETCs and certificates track the gold price but are legally debt securities – a promise by an issuer. If the issuer fails, the paper can become worthless even if “physically backed”. A bar in a safe carries no such counterparty risk.

Storage

At home: free, but theft risk, and household insurance (Hausratversicherung) usually caps valuables at a percentage of the sum insured (often around 20 %) and cash or metals outside a certified safe at a small fixed amount – check your policy. Bank safe-deposit box: annual fee, contents insured only up to a limit.

Taxes

  • VAT: investment gold is exempt (§ 25c UStG): bars of at least 995/1000 fineness, coins of at least 900/1000 minted after 1800, legal tender, priced no more than 80 % above gold value. Silver, platinum and palladium carry 19 % VAT (§ 12 UStG).
  • Gains: tax-free after more than one year (§ 23 (1) no. 2 EStG); within a year taxable unless all private sale gains stay below the €1,000 threshold (§ 23 (3) EStG) – one euro above and the whole gain is taxed.

Cash and anonymity

Dealers must identify buyers for cash payments of €2,000 or more (§ 10 (6a) GwG; precious metals are “high-value goods”, § 1 (10) GwG). Splitting purchases counts as one transaction. From 10 July 2027 the EU Anti-Money-Laundering Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 adds a general cash cap for commercial payments: traders may neither accept nor make cash payments above €10,000 (exactly €10,000 stays allowed; private-to-private deals are not covered) – adopted, applicable from 2027.

Price: context, not forecast

Gold pays no interest or dividends and fluctuates sharply. Rounded London benchmark annual averages in US dollars per ounce: about 280 (2000), 1,225 (2010), 1,770 (2020), 3,430 (2025). A record above 5,400 $ was set in late January 2026; in late October 2026 the price is around 4,050 $ (about €3,650) – roughly a quarter below the high. Nothing about tomorrow follows from that.

Counterfeits and dealers

Fake bars exist (tungsten cores). Buy only from dealers in a trade association, with LBMA-standard certified bars. German gold dealers need no special licence – some are not reputable. Whether and what suits you is something to clarify with an adviser licensed for that purpose.

How to proceed

  1. Clarify the purpose – reserve, diversification, gift?
  2. Compare buy and sell prices of the same coin at several dealers.
  3. Solve storage first: policy wording or safe-deposit costs.
  4. Keep receipts – they prove the one-year holding period.
  5. Discuss with a licensed adviser whether gold fits your overall picture.

General information, not legal, tax or investment advice. Sources: German VAT Act (§§ 12, 25c UStG), Income Tax Act (§ 23 EStG), Anti-Money-Laundering Act (§§ 1, 10 GwG), Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 (Art. 80), consumer advice centres (as of 23 Feb 2026), London benchmark price (LBMA) via price services – as of October 2026. Questions about insuring your valuables? Get in touch.