Sold old gold jewellery? Can buying new gold using the proceeds help you save tax — here’s what the law says

Selling old gold jewellery can trigger a capital gains tax liability if the asset is sold for more than its cost of acquisition. Some taxpayers may believe that they can reduce or altogether eliminate the requirement to pay tax if they simply use the sale proceeds to buy new gold jewellery.

Since gold is treated as a capital asset by the income tax department, any profit arising from its sale is subject to taxation. Taxpayers must also note that the levy is calculated only on the profit, and not on the full selling amount.

Under Section 2(14) of the Income-tax Act, jewellery is excluded from the definition of “personal effects”, with the law specifically including ornaments made of gold, silver, platinum or any other precious metal.

In simple terms, the law states that gains from the sale of jewellery can be taxed even if it was held for personal use, unlike some other movable objects such as clothes and furniture.

Can you save tax by exchanging jewellery?

Buying new jewellery does not automatically make the capital gain from selling old gold tax-free because the sale or exchange of the old jewellery and the purchase of new jewellery are treated as separate transactions for tax purposes, according to a report by Upstox.

If the jewellery was inherited or gifted, the previous owner’s cost of acquisition and holding period may also be considered when calculating the capital gain, in line with income tax rules.

For example, if you purchased a gold item for ₹2 lakh and later exchange it for new jewellery at a value of ₹4 lakh, the resulting ₹2 lakh gain may be taxable.

How are these sale proceeds taxed?

The rate at which your profits on gold products gets taxed depends on the period for which you have held the investments. Here’s how they are taxed:

The gift of jewellery received at the occasion of marriage or from specified relatives are fully tax free at the time of its receipt. The same rule also applies to assets received through inheritance.

But taxpayers must also know that gifts received from any other person, such as friends, are exempt only as long as aggregate of all the gifts in any form received by you does not exceed ₹50,000 in a financial year.

How can you save LTCG tax from selling gold?

In case you have long term capital gains from selling a gold item, you can avail exemption under Section 54F of the Income-tax Act, provided you invest the sale consideration for acquiring a residential house within specified period.

In case you do not invest the full consideration, the exemption will get reduced proportionately. This exemption is available only if you do not own more than one residential house property on the date of sale of the gold item.