How to report gold Liberty coins on taxes - face value or gold value?

You absolutely need to report the fair market value of those gold coins, not the face value. The IRS considers payment in property (including gold coins) to be taxable at the fair market value at the time you received them. The $20 face value is just the legal tender value, but these Liberty gold coins are worth substantially more because of their gold content and collectible value. For example, if you received a $20 Liberty gold coin worth $2,500 based on current gold prices, you need to report $2,500 as income, not $20. It's similar to being paid with other valuable property - you report what it's actually worth, not some nominal value. Keep records of when you received each coin and what the gold spot price was on that date to substantiate your reporting.

After spending hours trying to understand the IRS rules on reporting gold coins, I found this amazing AI tool called taxr.ai that saved me tons of time. I was in a similar situation with some silver eagles I got as payment, and wasn't sure if I should report the face value or metal value. I uploaded my documents to https://taxr.ai and it immediately identified that precious metal coins need to be reported at fair market value, not face value. It even showed me the relevant IRS regulations and gave me a template for record-keeping. The tool explained exactly how to document the value at the time of receipt for each transaction.

I was skeptical about taxr.ai when I first heard about it, but I ended up trying it for my situation with some rare coins I received as payment. It was incredibly helpful! The tool actually provided me with the exact instructions for reporting the coins based on their full market value (including both precious metal content AND any collectible premium). What really impressed me was that it generated a customized record-keeping template that I could use throughout the year to track each coin received, with columns for date, weight, gold spot price, numismatic premium, and total value. It saved me from a potential audit headache since I was originally just planning to report face value. Definitely changed my approach to handling these transactions!

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I can't believe I'm saying this, but Claimyr actually works! After seeing it mentioned here, I tried it even though I was super skeptical. I've been trying to get through to the IRS for MONTHS about how to handle gold bullion reporting. Got connected to an IRS rep in about 35 minutes (longer than the 20 minutes mentioned, but still WAY faster than I expected). The agent explained that I need to keep detailed records of the fair market value of each coin on the date received, and confirmed that face value reporting would be considered incorrect and potentially fraudulent. They also sent me some documentation about reporting requirements for precious metals transactions. If you're dealing with this gold coin situation, definitely worth using their service to get an official answer directly from the IRS instead of relying on internet advice.

Small business CPA here. Just to add some technical clarity: When you receive gold coins as payment for services, it's considered a barter transaction. IRS Publication 525 clearly states you must report the FMV (fair market value) of property or services received from bartering at the time of receipt. For Liberty gold coins, the FMV is determined by: 1) The gold content value (weight × current spot price) 2) Any numismatic/collector premium the coin may have Keep meticulous records of: - Date each coin was received - Gold spot price on that date - Any premium value for rarity/condition - Total FMV reported as income This becomes your basis in the coins. If you later sell them for more/less than this value, you'll have capital gains/losses to report.

Has anyone used tax software like TurboTax to report gold coin payments? I'm trying to figure out where/how to enter this since there's no specific field for "payment received in gold coins" lol.

As someone who's dealt with precious metals transactions for years, I want to emphasize something that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you're also considering the self-employment tax implications. Since you're doing freelance graphic design work, that gold coin income isn't just subject to regular income tax, but also the 15.3% self-employment tax on the fair market value. Also, don't forget that your client should be issuing you a 1099-NEC if the total value of payments (including these gold coins) exceeds $600 for the year. If they don't, you still need to report it, but it's worth having a conversation with them about proper reporting since they may need to report it on their end too. One more tip: consider opening a separate business bank account and depositing the cash equivalent of each coin's value when received. This creates a clear paper trail and makes record-keeping much easier for both accounting and tax purposes.

Just wanted to chime in as someone who's been through this exact situation! I'm a freelance web developer and had a client pay me with American Gold Eagles last year. Initially tried to report just the face value ($50 per coin) but my CPA immediately shut that down. Here's what I learned the hard way: the IRS doesn't care what the face value says or what you and your client agreed to - they want the actual fair market value reported. I ended up having to go back and recalculate everything based on the gold spot price on each date I received payment. Pro tip: I started using a gold price tracking app to screenshot the daily closing prices whenever I got paid. Also keep any documentation about the coin's condition since some Liberty coins have collector premiums beyond just the gold content. The good news is once you establish the fair market value as your basis, if you ever sell the coins later, you'll only pay capital gains tax on any appreciation above that amount. But yeah, expect to pay both income tax AND self-employment tax on the full market value - it definitely adds up!