Selling your jewelry is a good way to get a lot of money back.

It’s been a while since the diamond ring you inherited from your great-grandmother has been sleeping at the bottom of your jewelry box. Why not give it a second life by finding a new buyer? Before you start selling your antique jewelry, it is important to be aware of the taxes you may be subject to. Here is what you need to know about the sale of jewelry and taxation.

Taxation and the sale of jewelry: what tax should you pay?

Is your jewel for sale subject to the fixed tax on precious objects (T.F.O.P.)?

5,000 € is the selling price that must not be exceeded to be exempt from the T.F.O.P. When you wish to sell a piece of jewelry, if the total amount of the sale is less than 5,000 €, you will not be liable for the flat tax. However, if the sale price is more than €5,000, you will have to pay this tax. Not to be confused with the category of precious metals, here are the different jewels and precious objects that may be subject to the tax:

• Fine or cultured pearls neither mounted nor set ;
• Diamonds neither mounted nor set (excluding goods for industrial use);
• Gemstones neither mounted nor set (excluding goods for industrial use);
• Synthetic or reconstructed stones neither mounted nor set (excluding goods for industrial use);
• Articles of natural and cultured pearls, of gemstones or of synthetic stones (excluding goods for industrial use);
• Articles of jewelry and parts thereof of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal, including blanks and incomplete articles;
• Goldsmiths’ and silversmiths’ wares and parts thereof of precious metal or of metal clad with precious metal, including blanks and incomplete articles;
• Imitation jewelry;
• Wristwatches, pocket watches and the like;
• Watch straps and the like of precious metal;
• Other articles of precious metal.

Good to know: Precious objects made of worked gold or silver are considered as jewelry and therefore do not fall into the category of precious metals.

How to calculate the flat tax for the sale of your jewelry ?

To calculate the amount of the flat tax, several options are available to you.

Case n° 1 : you cannot justify the origin of your jewel

If you cannot provide any proof of the origin of the diamond necklace or ring that you wish to sell, you will be subject to a 6% tax, to which must be added the 0.5% C.R.D.S. (Contribution pour le Remboursement de la Dette Sociale). These 6.5% taxes are due in the month following the sale.

Case n° 2 : you can justify the origin of your jewel

As for all transactions of this kind, it is always preferable to be able to provide proof, as this often allows you to benefit from tax deductions or even exemption. This is the case for the sale of a jewel:

• If the jewel has been in your possession for more than 22 years: you will not pay any tax, it is a total exemption.
• If the jewel has been in your possession for less than 22 years: you will accumulate the 5% deduction per year of ownership (from the 2nd year of ownership) with the 36.2% of the taxable capital gain. In any case, the combination of these two elements is often fiscally more interesting than the lump sum tax.

Case 3: Jewelry as a customary gift

A decision of the Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation stipulates that customary gifts are considered as “gifts made on the occasion of certain events, in accordance with a custom, and not exceeding a certain value”. A piece of jewelry qualified as a customary gift is not required to be declared to the tax authorities and will therefore not be subject to any tax.

Good to know: to benefit from this exemption, a gift must not exceed 2% of the donor’s assets or 2.5% of his annual income.

Taxation and sale of gold: do we have to declare the gold to the taxes ?

As with jewelry, the sale of precious metals, and therefore gold, is subject to a flat tax. The amount of this tax is 11.5% (including 0.5% CRDS) of the sale price, whatever it is. The sale of the gold must be declared using the Cerfa 2092 form no later than one month after the transfer of your gold. The declaration and taxes also apply in the case of online gold sales. There is no taxation on the purchase of gold, it only concerns the resale.

As with the sale of jewelry, you will be subject to the flat tax or capital gains tax. This is to be determined according to the same criteria as for jewelry, namely :

• Possibility or not to provide proof of the date and price of acquisition of the gold;
• Duration of the possession: beyond 22 years, the exemption is total.

Good to know: gold sales do not have to be included in your tax return.

Have your jewelry appraised to determine the selling price

You have decided to sell your jewelry? It is important to have them appraised by a specialist who will determine the precise value of your goods. The ideal is to call upon an expert gemmologist: the estimation of the value of one or several precious stones requires very specific skills. A quality appraisal will allow you to calculate as accurately as possible the taxation to which you will be subject in case of resale. You will then be able to determine the most advantageous taxation for you or even consider a total tax exemption depending on your situation, as we have just detailed above. For a first free estimate, do not hesitate to contact us: we carry out the expertises of jewels in all confidentiality.

What are the alternatives to selling a piece of jewelry ?

You don’t want to part with your jewels but you find them too old-fashioned to wear? Don’t worry, this is often the case and your beautiful jewelry, even if it is no longer in fashion, is not destined to remain in its box. To give new life to your grandmother’s sapphire necklace or to modernize your grandmother’s emerald ring, why not call on our creative workshop? At Pierres de Julie, we completely redesign your old jewelry so that it can once again adorn your necks, your wrists or your hands and enhance your most beautiful outfits. With you, we decide to restore your vintage jewelry or to remove the gem to recreate a more modern setting adapted to your taste. Come and see us in our boutique in the Village Suisse in the 15th arrondissement of Paris: we will be delighted to welcome you and to discuss with you.