Gold Price in Euros Today

VAT on investment gold and on jewelry in the euro area

Across the European Union, investment gold is exempt from VAT under the special scheme in the VAT Directive (2006/112/EC), while jewelry pays the full national rate. The Directive defines what qualifies, and the definition is strict enough that some popular products fall outside it.

Why the EU made investment gold tax-free

Before 2000, member states taxed gold in different ways, and much of the trade moved to non-EU centers such as Zurich. Directive 98/80/EC created the special scheme from 1 January 2000, treating investment gold like a financial asset rather than a consumer good. The rules were later carried into the recast VAT Directive of 2006.

Each year the European Commission publishes a list of coins that meet the criteria, which dealers use as a reference. Commemorative coins sold far above their gold value can fail the price test and be taxed like any other product.

In German the category is called Anlagegold, and the term appears on invoices and dealer websites across the German-speaking countries.

VAT on gold jewelry across the euro area

Jewelry is taxed at the standard rate of each country, so the same ring costs different amounts across borders even when metal and labor are identical.

Worked example: a 10 g 18K ring

1. At an example 18K rate of €80 per gram (illustration only), the gold is worth €800.
2. An example labor and margin of €200 brings the net price to €1,000.
3. With German VAT at 19%, the shelf price is €1,190.
4. With Italian VAT at 22%, the same ring costs €1,220.

Visitors from outside the EU can often reclaim VAT on jewelry when they leave, subject to each country’s minimum purchase and paperwork. The goods must leave in personal luggage and the export form must be validated by customs at departure.

Second-hand jewelry and the margin scheme

Dealers in second-hand goods can use the EU margin scheme, charging VAT only on their profit margin rather than on the full price. That is one reason estate and antique gold jewelry can cost less per gram than new pieces of the same fineness.

Fineness marks and the coins Europeans buy

Europe marks purity in thousandths rather than karats. What you will see depends on the country and its jewelry traditions.

• Germany sells a lot of 333 (8K) and 585 jewelry alongside 750. 333 is inexpensive but holds only a third gold, so its scrap value is low.
• Italy works mostly in 750, stamped with a star-shaped maker’s mark containing a registration number and a province code. Vicenza and Arezzo are major jewelry-making centers.
• France uses the eagle’s head mark for 18K gold.
• Across the area, 585 is the standard for mid-range pieces and 999 for bars and coins.

Why 18K dominates in southern Europe

Italian, Spanish and Portuguese buyers have long treated 18K as the minimum for fine jewelry, while German and Austrian shops offer lower purities at lower prices. When comparing a gram price between countries, match the fineness first; a 333 gram and a 750 gram differ by more than half in gold content.

Coins Europeans buy

The Austrian Philharmonic, first struck in 1989, is the best-known euro-denominated bullion coin. The 1 oz coin is 999.9 gold with a face value of €100. The South African Krugerrand is equally common in Germany, and British sovereigns and Britannias trade widely too. All qualify as investment gold when they meet the Directive’s tests.

For the Krugerrand’s specifications, see our Krugerrand page.

Because the exemption applies across the EU, a buyer in one member state can buy qualifying coins or bars from a dealer in another without VAT. Jewelry bought in another member state carries VAT at that state’s rate, with no refund for EU residents.

Coins versus bars

Bars carry the lowest premium per gram, especially at 100 g and above. Coins cost more per gram but are easier to sell in small amounts and are more widely recognized. Since both are VAT-free, the choice in the euro area usually comes down to premium versus flexibility.

Finding the gold price per gram in euros

1. Take the international price in dollars per troy ounce.
2. Multiply by the number of euros per dollar.
3. Divide by 31.1035 for euros per gram of 24K.
4. Multiply by 0.75 for 18K, 0.585 for 14K or 0.333 for 8K.

At an example $3,000 per ounce and 0.90 euros per dollar, an ounce is €2,700 and a gram about €86.81. Twenty grams of pure gold would be about €1,736, and fifty grams about €4,340. These are worked examples only.

The dollar input for the sum is the current gold price per ounce.

Europe’s central bank gold

Germany and Italy hold the second and third largest official gold reserves in the world, after the United States. Between 2013 and 2017 the Bundesbank moved a large part of Germany’s reserves from New York and Paris to Frankfurt. Those holdings are reported in euros on the national balance sheets, so euro-area central banks see the same EUR/USD effect as private buyers.

The LBMA Gold Price is set in dollars, with a euro equivalent published alongside, so the euro price always carries the EUR/USD exchange rate inside it. A strong euro can make gold look flat in euros while it rises in dollars.

Selling gains, and a short glossary

Income tax on selling is national, not European. In Germany, physical gold held for more than one year can be sold tax-free by private individuals. France offers sellers a choice between a flat tax on the sale price of precious metals, 11.5% including social charges, and a capital gains regime. Other countries have their own rules, so check current rules where you live.

Selling jewelry in the euro area

• Buyers pay per gram of the tested fineness, below the melt value.
• Stones are removed or deducted; they rarely add much for a gold buyer.
• Many countries require identification for gold purchases by dealers.
• Coins and bars sell closest to the gold price; jewelry sells furthest from it.

To use the German exemption you need to show when you bought, so keep invoices for as long as you hold the gold. Buyers in German Goldankauf shops will also ask for identification on larger sales.

Common mistakes

• Comparing a German 333 price with an Italian 750 price as if both were “gold.”
• Buying a collectible coin and assuming it is VAT-free.
• Ignoring the EUR/USD move when reading a dollar chart.

Our gold price per gram is quoted in dollars for comparison.

Glossary

• Anlagegold: German for investment gold.
• Feingehalt: fineness, in thousandths.
• Goldpreis: gold price.
• Carati: Italian for karats.
• Punze and poinçon: German and French for a hallmark stamp.
• Goldankauf: a German gold-buying shop.

Spanish readers can use the precio del oro en euros page.

For sterling, see the UK gold price.

Other currencies are on the gold price by country list.