Is gold GST free in Singapore?

Big Bullion · Published 15 September 2026 · Updated 15 September 2026 · 5 min read

Reviewed by the Big Bullion team, 15 September 2026

Investment-grade gold carries no GST in Singapore, so a qualifying bar costs you the price on the ticket and nothing more. Gold jewellery is a different thing in the eyes of the tax rules, and it is taxed at the full 9%.

The rate, and the exemption from it

Singapore's rate of Goods and Services Tax is 9%, and it has been 9% since 1 January 2024.

IRAS publishes the rate on its Current GST rates page. Read 15 September 2026.

Gold that counts as an Investment Precious Metal is exempt from it, and the rules that decide what counts are set out in the IRAS e-Tax Guide GST: Guide on Exemption of Investment Precious Metals (IPM), Twentieth Edition. Read 15 September 2026.

That is why a gold bar on our shelf has no tax added at the till. The exemption is written into the GST Act itself rather than being a concession anyone grants us, which is also why it does not depend on who you buy from.

Every gold bar we hold is priced live, with no tax added at checkout.

See every gold bar we hold

What a bar has to be

The guide sets three tests, and a bar has to pass all of them.

Purity. Gold of at least 99.5%, silver of at least 99.9%, or platinum of at least 99%.
A refiner the world recognises. For gold and silver that means a refiner on the current or former Good Delivery list of the London Bullion Market Association, or one endorsed by Enterprise Singapore.
A mark that is internationally accepted as guaranteeing quality, which in practice is the refiner's hallmark stamped on the bar.

You can check the first and the third yourself, because a qualifying bar carries the refiner's name or hallmark, its purity and the metal on its face. If you are looking at a bar and cannot find all three, that is the moment to ask.

The refiners themselves are on a public list, the Good Delivery List for gold, published by the London Bullion Market Association. Read 15 September 2026.

A design on the bar does not break the exemption

This is where people talk themselves out of a bar they would have been happy with. A picture on the face of a minted bar does not make it taxable, and the guide settles the question by naming three of them outright: the PAMP Suisse Fortuna bar, the PAMP Suisse Lunar series bar and the Argor-Heraeus gold Kinebar all qualify, because they are traded on their gold content rather than their design.

What does break it is a bar built to be worn or looked at. The guide gives the examples: a bar with a hanger or a hole in it so it can go on a chain, and odd shapes such as a boat, an animal or a heart. Those sell for their shape as much as their metal, so they are taxed like any other ornament.

Where the 9% still lands

Jewellery is the big one. Gold jewellery is not an Investment Precious Metal however pure it is, so GST applies to it at the full 9%, and the same is true of gold scrap and of coins bought as collectables rather than as metal.

Coins have their own list, and it is not the same list for gold and silver, so a coin needs checking on its own before you assume either way.

What it means at our checkout

Every gold bar we sell qualifies, so the price you see on a product page is the price you pay, with nothing added at the end. If you ever want to check it for yourself, the refiner's name on the bar and the Good Delivery list above are the whole of the test.

Exempt is not the same as cheap. A qualifying bar still carries our premium over the gold in it, and that is a separate figure we publish beside the price.

Questions we are asked about this

Is there GST on gold bars in Singapore?

Not on investment-grade bars. A bar of at least 99.5% gold, from a refiner on the current or former LBMA Good Delivery list, carrying that refiner's hallmark, is exempt under the IRAS rules. Every gold bar we sell meets that.

Is there GST on gold jewellery in Singapore?

Yes, at the full 9%. Jewellery is not an Investment Precious Metal whatever its purity, so the tax applies to it in the ordinary way. Gold scrap is taxable too.

Does a decorated bar lose the exemption?

A picture on a minted bar does not. The IRAS guide names the PAMP Suisse Fortuna bar, the PAMP Suisse Lunar series bar and the Argor-Heraeus gold Kinebar as qualifying. A bar with a hanger or a hole so it can be worn does lose it, as do odd shapes such as a boat, an animal or a heart.

Is 916 gold GST free?

No. 916 is 22 karat, which is about 91.6% gold, and the exemption starts at 99.5%. It is also usually jewellery, which is taxable whatever its purity.

Is anything added or taken off when I sell a bar back to you?

No. The rate published on our sell page is the figure you receive for that bar, and nothing is added to it or taken off it at the counter. If your own tax position is a question, that is one for IRAS rather than for us.

Sources

IRAS, Current GST rates (Read 15 September 2026)
IRAS e-Tax Guide, GST: Guide on Exemption of Investment Precious Metals (IPM), Twentieth Edition, paragraphs 2.3, 3.2, 3.3 and 3.6 (Read 15 September 2026)
London Bullion Market Association, Good Delivery Current List for gold (Read 15 September 2026)