Selling physical gold in France is taxed under one of two regimes you choose at sale: a flat tax on the total sale price, or a capital-gains tax on your profit only, which needs proof of your original purchase and can fall over time.
In France, selling physical gold triggers one of two tax regimes, and you choose the one that suits you at the point of sale. The default is the flat tax on precious metals (taxe sur les mtaux prcieux), levied on the full sale price regardless of any profit. The alternative is the capital-gains regime (plus-value sur biens meubles), which taxes only your actual gain and requires documentary proof of your original purchase.
The professional buyer usually declares and pays the tax for you, deducting it from your payout.
Pick the capital-gains regime only if you can prove what you paid; otherwise the flat tax applies automatically. To qualify for the capital-gains option, you must hold a dated invoice or certificate showing the purchase price and date. Without that proof, French law defaults you to the flat tax on the total sale price. This matters most for inherited jewellery or coins bought long ago, where no receipt survives, in which case the flat tax is often your only route. Where you do have proof and have owned the gold for many years, the capital-gains regime with its holding-period allowance can be markedly more favourable, sometimes down to zero. Keep every invoice, inheritance document and auction slip: they are the difference between the two regimes.
Beyond tax, every gold sale in France follows strict traceability rules that protect both parties. Payment must be traceable: the buyer settles by bank transfer or cheque, never in cash, above the legal thresholds for precious-metals transactions. You must present valid photo ID, and the dealer records the sale in a mandatory police register (livre de police). These obligations are legal duties, not optional courtesies, and a buyer who offers cash or skips your ID is operating outside the law. The published spot price of gold is public and identical for everyone; what actually decides your payout is the buyback rate, the percentage of spot the dealer chooses to pay, plus the metal's fineness (24k=999, 22k=916, 18k=750, 14k=585, 9k=375), weight and any numismatic premium on collectable coins. You can compare gold buyers in your city to see who publishes their rate.
Under the flat tax on precious metals, yes, because it applies to the full sale price regardless of profit or loss. If you can prove your purchase price, you may instead opt for the capital-gains regime, which taxes only a genuine gain and so charges nothing on a real loss.
No. French law requires traceable payment by bank transfer or cheque for precious-metals sales, never cash. The buyer must also record your ID and the transaction in a mandatory police register. A dealer offering cash is breaking the law.
No. Tax is applied to the sale, not set by the dealer. What varies between buyers is the buyback rate, the percentage of the public spot price they pay, along with your gold's fineness, weight and any collectable premium. Compare rates before selling.