US and Canada bullion purchases: CBP declaration, GST/HST purity, and USMCA basics

What to take away

What CBP requires when you bring bullion into the United States

Every good acquired abroad must be declared on arrival. Bullion is a good, and no exemption turns a gold bar into something you can leave off the form.

The exemption is a number. Returning US residents out of the country for 48 hours or more may bring back $800 in goods free of duty, once every 30 days. Trips under 48 hours carry a $200 exemption, and families traveling together may pool theirs. The arrival guidance on the USAGov travel pages covers documents and inspection lanes.

Above the exemption, the next $1,000 is dutiable at a flat 3 percent. Confirm those CBP figures before a metal run.

The written declaration is CBP Form 6059B, the Customs Declaration, which an officer or a kiosk at the airport may hand you. Metal you already owned before the trip is documented on CBP Form 4457, the Certificate of Registration for Personal Effects Taken Abroad, filed before you leave. Without it, an officer may treat the return as a new import.

Carrying more than $10,000 in currency or monetary instruments requires FinCEN Form 105, known as the CMIR. A bar is not a monetary instrument, but whether a legal-tender coin counts as currency is a question to put to CBP or a customs broker, not to assume.

Declare in writing whenever a form is offered, and keep a copy. Undeclared metal can be seized, and the penalty costs more than the duty.

An invoice naming the dealer, the item, weight, purity and price paid answers most questions at the primary lane. An estimate does not.

GST/HST: the purity thresholds that decide the answer

GST is Canada's federal consumption tax, and HST adds a provincial part in participating provinces. Purity and form decide whether either applies.

The Excise Tax Act zero-rates precious metal supplied as a coin, bar, ingot or wafer, in Schedule VI of the Act. Gold qualifies at 99.5 percent or finer. Silver, platinum and palladium qualify at 99.9 percent or finer. A one ounce gold Maple Leaf clears the gold test.

Lower-purity products do not qualify. A 90 percent silver bag, a coin set, jewellery, and a numismatic coin sold for its collector premium are taxable.

The classification belongs on the invoice. The CRA explains which GST/HST rate to charge, including zero-rated supplies.

An unmarked or undocumented bar invites a taxable classification, so keep the assay and mint marks with the invoice.

Provincial tax: how the invoice changes by province

Federal zero-rating does not bind the provinces. In HST provinces the provincial part is zero-rated with the federal tax, so qualifying bullion arrives untaxed. Elsewhere the retail tax stands on its own statute.

Quebec's QST follows the federal approach for investment-quality gold and silver, and Revenu Québec publishes the rule. British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba each list investment bullion among the goods exempt from their own sales tax, but their definitions of qualifying bullion differ. Read the bulletin from the BC Ministry of Finance, the Saskatchewan Ministry of Finance or Manitoba Finance for your product before you buy.

Delivery address drives the result. The same bar shipped to Alberta and to British Columbia can produce two different invoices, so ask which tax applies at the ship-to address.

Landed cost also moves with the exchange rate and the dealer premium. The bullion pricing guide separates spot, premium, spread and fees, which is what a US invoice needs before it can be compared against a Canadian quote.

USMCA and the duty rate it can change

USMCA, formally the Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada, governs tariff treatment for goods traded between the three countries. Canada calls it CUSMA. Metal meeting the agreement rules of origin can qualify for a preferential rate. Metal that does not falls back to the general rate.

Tariffs are classified under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. Gold sits under heading 7108, silver under 7106, and platinum and palladium under 7110. The US general duty rate for unwrought forms in these headings has been free, so USMCA often changes little for plain bullion. Check the current HTSUS entry for your exact product, because coins and fabricated items classify elsewhere.

Origin needs documentation. USMCA has no required form, but the importer or exporter must hold the nine data elements that certify origin and keep the records for five years. Without paperwork naming the metal and its source, the importer carries the burden of proof and the lower rate is not automatic.

The agreement does not cover services and does not replace either tax code. Sales tax, income tax and capital gains reporting stay national questions.

Licences, shipping and the documents that settle disputes

Most personal bullion purchases need no import or export licence. Licences attach to controlled goods, commercial shipments and restricted parties. Work the question in this order.

Carrying, shipping and storing the metal on one side each leave a different trail. The ownership, cost and record questions behind those choices are set out in this physical precious metals guide.

A Canadian resident returning home faces a separate exemption, typically CAD $200 after 24 hours away and CAD $800 after 48 hours, subject to limits. Canadian entry runs through the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which takes goods on its declaration card, Form E311, or through the advance declaration in ArriveCAN.

Insured shipping with a declared value and carrying the metal yourself differ in cost and in the evidence they produce. Storing bullion in Canada avoids an import event until you move it, though custody records still matter.

Keep the invoice, the assay certificate, the declaration copy and the payment record together. A bank or card statement dates the purchase and ties the payment to the item.

Common questions