Leaving Robinhood for Gold? Tax Implications Explained

Before you switch: the tax picture with and without a plan

If you’ve been watching gold this year, you’re not imagining it, spot prices pushed to fresh records earlier this year, north of $2,400/oz, and retail demand has stayed stubbornly strong into Q4. Headlines aside, the IRS didn’t change the rulebook for 2025. Your path out of Robinhood and into gold is what moves your tax bill. The phrase people keep googling, “tax-implications-of-leaving-robinhood-for-gold”, is a real thing, and the difference between winging it and planning is…not subtle.

Winging it tends to mean surprise capital gains, fat spreads, state taxes you didn’t budget for, and a Form 8949 pile-up in April. Planning tends to mean fewer surprises and better control over timing, character, and paperwork.

Without a plan, here’s what bites

• Forced sales = taxable gains now: Selling appreciated stocks or ETFs in a taxable Robinhood account realizes capital gains immediately. Short-term gains are taxed at ordinary income rates (top federal bracket is 37% in 2025). Long-term gains sit at 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on income, and high earners can also face the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax.
• Collectibles rate on gold: Physical gold, and grantor-trust gold ETFs like GLD, are treated as “collectibles” for long-term gains, capped at 28% federally (IRS rules unchanged; that cap has been around for years). I know, annoying. Short-term still hits your ordinary rate.
• Wider spreads than you think: Dealer buy/sell spreads on popular bullion coins often run 4-10% in normal markets; during stress they can spike higher. Even bars typically carry 1-3% spreads. Compare that to penny-wide ETFs.
• State taxes stack: States like California (up to 13.3%), New York (up to 10.9% state + up to 3.876% NYC), and others layer on top of federal. No special break for gold there.
• Paperwork drag: Multiple sales mean multiple tax lots on Form 8949 and Schedule D. Some bullion sales won’t trigger a 1099-B, but you still have to self-report basis and gains. Miss a lot lot, and April gets messy.

With a plan, you keep more control

• In-kind transfers where possible: Use ACATS to move eligible Robinhood positions in-kind to a brokerage that can align with your gold strategy. No sale = no immediate gain. You generally can’t in-kind transfer into physical bullion, but you can move securities first and decide where to sell.
• Intentional lot selection: Use specific identification to sell high-basis or long-term lots first, not FIFO by accident. That single checkbox can shift a 37% short-term hit into a 15-20% long-term bill, or even a smaller one if you’ve got losses.
• Smart account choice (taxable vs IRA): If you’re going physical inside a retirement account, a self-directed IRA with an approved custodian can defer taxes on trades. Remember: IRA-held bullion has purity and custody rules; you don’t store it at home.
• Use year-end timing: Harvest losses to offset realized gains, wait for positions to cross the one-year mark, or push a sale into January to move the tax year. In Q4 2025, those calendar edges matter a lot.

Two quick reality checks from the market side: gold’s big 2024-2025 bid doesn’t erase the 28% collectibles cap, and spreads don’t care about your aspirations, they’re just the toll. I’m probably oversimplifying a hair on state rules, because some states have exemptions for small bullion purchases, and thresholds shift. But the core point stands: your transaction path determines your tax line.

What you’ll get in this section: a clear, step-by-step contrast of “sell now, figure it out later” versus “transfer, select, time, and choose the right account,” so your Q4 switch doesn’t become an April headache. I’ve watched too many people pay for speed with basis they didn’t mean to realize. You don’t need to do that.

Selling at Robinhood vs transferring: what actually triggers tax

Selling at Robinhood vs. transferring: what actually triggers tax

Here’s the clean version first: selling positions in a taxable Robinhood account is a taxable event; transferring those same positions in-kind to another broker with an ACATS move is not. Everything else is plumbing and paperwork. I know that sounds almost too simple, but I’ve watched people learn it the hard way when they sold in a hurry to “go buy gold,” realized a big gain, and then asked why their tax software was yelling in April.

Taxable when you sell: If you sell stocks, ETFs, or crypto in a taxable account, you realize a gain or loss. Gains held ≤12 months are short‑term and taxed at your ordinary marginal rate (which tops out at 37% in 2025). Gains held >12 months are long‑term and taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20% depending on income, and if your modified adjusted gross income is above the Net Investment Income Tax thresholds, $200,000 for single filers and $250,000 for married filing jointly (unchanged since 2013), you can owe an extra 3.8% NIIT on net investment income. That’s federal; states layer on their own stuff, which is… yeah, not fun.

Not taxable when you transfer in-kind: An ACATS in‑kind transfer just moves your existing shares, basis, holding period, the whole history, from Robinhood to the new broker. No sale, no gain, no Form 1099‑B from that move alone. Tax shows up only when you eventually sell. This is the move if you want to keep the embedded gains tucked away while you decide what to do next.

Buying gold is a separate step: If you sell at Robinhood and then buy gold, that’s really two moves: (1) a sale that can be taxable, then (2) a purchase that’s usually non‑taxable by itself. Over‑explained version: the IRS doesn’t tax you for swapping cash for an asset; it taxes the sale that generated the cash. That’s it. The nuance is in what you sold and how long you held it. And yes, with spot gold hovering near record territory earlier this year (we printed north of $2,300/oz in 2025), the temptation to chase is high, but your basis doesn’t care where bullion trades.

Wash sale rules: Securities wash sale rules apply, if you sell a stock or fund at a loss and buy a substantially identical security within 30 days before/after, the loss is disallowed and added to the new basis. That gets tricky if you dump a broad miners ETF and rotate into a very similar miners ETF the same week while you “pivot to gold,” because those portfolios can overlap a lot. On crypto, as of 2025, the wash sale rules still do not apply to digital assets, Congress has talked about closing that gap for years, but no change yet, so a crypto loss paired with a near‑immediate repurchase isn’t a wash sale under current law. Different story if you’re toggling between GLD/IAU or two near‑clone miners funds; that’s where people trip.

Retirement accounts are different: In IRAs and 401(k)s, selling to reposition is tax‑deferred. You can sell your ETF at Robinhood IRA and buy a gold ETF or miners inside the IRA without a current tax hit. The mistake to avoid is taking cash out to “re-deposit later”, that can be a taxable distribution, and if you’re under 59½, you can also trigger the 10% early distribution penalty. I once watched a client pull funds for five days to “be safe” settling a wire; the 60-day rollover clock isn’t a game you want to play casually, and missing it ain’t cheap.

Quick decision map:

• Want out of Robinhood but not ready to realize gains? Use an ACATS in‑kind transfer. No tax today.
• Want to rotate now and you’re in a taxable account? A sale is taxable, short‑term at ordinary rates, long‑term at 0%/15%/20% + possible 3.8% NIIT.
• Pairing sales and buys the same day doesn’t “net out” the tax; it just means you realized and then re‑deployed.
• Harvesting losses to offset gains still works in 2025, but mind the 30‑day wash sale window for securities.
• Inside IRAs/401(k)s, trade freely; avoid distributions unless you’ve planned the tax.

My take: Speed is expensive when it converts unrealized gains into realized ones right before year‑end. If you believe the gold bid has legs into late 2025, consider in‑kind first, then pick your spots.

Which ‘gold’ you buy decides your tax rate

Which “gold” you buy decides your tax rate

Here’s the part a lot of folks miss: the metal is the same, but the wrapper changes your tax. With spot gold flirting near highs in 2025 and plenty of people rotating out of brokerage platforms, tax treatment is the quiet variable that moves your after‑tax return more than you’d think.

• Physical bullion & coins: The IRS treats most gold bars and sovereign coins as collectibles under current law. That means long‑term gains (held >1 year) can be taxed at a maximum 28% federal rate instead of the usual 15%/20% capital gains bands. Short‑term is still ordinary income. I know, it feels odd that a gold Eagle gets different treatment than an S&P 500 ETF, but that’s the code.
• Grantor‑trust gold ETFs (e.g., structures like GLD): Many of the big spot‑backed funds are grantor trusts and are generally taxed like collectibles for long‑term gains, again, up to 28%. Always check the fund’s prospectus and tax section; structures can differ and sponsors occasionally tweak language. I’m 95% sure GLD still points you there, but always verify the current supplement.
• Gold miners & mining stock ETFs: These are just equities from a tax lens. Long‑term gains hit the standard 0%/15%/20% brackets, short‑term at ordinary rates, and dividends may be qualified or not depending on the fund’s holdings and your holding period. If you want “gold beta” without the collectible rate, miners are the usual route, comes with business risk, of course.
• Gold futures (Section 1256): CME gold futures are marked‑to‑market on Dec 31 with the 60/40 rule: 60% long‑term, 40% short‑term, regardless of how long you held the contract. Reported on Form 6781. That blended rate can be friendlier than pure short‑term if you trade around a lot, and year‑end MTM avoids the “I didn’t close it yet” debate.
• Gold ETNs: Typically taxed as capital gain upon sale with no annual K‑1, and no collectibles rate. But read the issuer’s tax supplement and remember you take on issuer credit risk. If the bank hiccups, your gold exposure isn’t the only thing that matters.

Inside IRAs/HSAs/401(k)s, these differences mostly disappear because tax hits on distribution, not trade timing. So if you’re shifting “which gold” inside a retirement account, the collectible vs equity vs 1256 nuance isn’t driving the immediate bill. Outside, it absolutely is.

One practical note with where markets sit this year: if you already have a big embedded gain from earlier 2025 and you swap a grantor‑trust gold ETF into miners in a taxable account, that sale is what triggers the collectible vs equity treatment. The wrapper you end up in doesn’t retro‑fix the tax on the thing you sold. Been there; paid that.

My take: If you want the purest metal exposure and you’re in taxable, budget for the up‑to‑28% long‑term collectible cap. If you prefer equity rates, miners or a factor‑tilted mining ETF can make sense, just know you’re taking on cost curves, hedging policies, and management quality. And if you’re an active tactician, 1256’s 60/40 plus Form 6781 reporting is cleaner than it sounds. When in doubt, read the prospectus footnotes, the dull lines are the ones that decide your after‑tax CAGR.

Account choice and rollovers: keep the IRS off your back

Alright, mechanics. If you’re moving from Robinhood to a gold‑friendly setup in 2025, the path you pick decides whether you’re writing a check to the IRS this spring or just some transfer paperwork now. Gold is near its highs again this year, so embedded gains are real. Don’t turn a portfolio change into a taxable event unless you actually want to reset basis.

Taxable account (simple, but taxable)

• The cleanest move is an in‑kind ACAT transfer of your existing positions from Robinhood to a broker that supports the gold exposure you want (miners, 40‑Act gold ETFs, or futures access). In‑kind = no sale = no immediate tax. Selling to switch wrappers does trigger tax.
• If you sell appreciated positions to pivot into gold, gains are realized the day you sell. For long‑term gains on collectibles (certain grantor‑trust physical gold ETFs and direct bullion), the federal cap is up to 28% under current law. Equity ETFs and miners keep the usual 0%/15%/20% long‑term capital gains structure.
• Looking to soften the hit? Two practical levers: (1) donate appreciated shares to a qualified charity or donor‑advised fund, deduct fair market value and avoid the gain; (2) pair gains with harvested losses elsewhere. Just keep wash sale rules in mind on the equity side, don’t sell and rebuy a substantially identical security inside 30 days.

IRA to self‑directed IRA for physical gold

• If your Robinhood IRA doesn’t support physical metal or certain gold vehicles, open a self‑directed IRA (SDIRA) with a custodian that does. Then request a trustee‑to‑trustee transfer. That’s the gold standard (sorry): no possession, no 60‑day clock, no annual rollover limit.
• Avoid the 60‑day rollover when you can. If you take a distribution and miss the 60‑day redeposit window, it’s taxable, and if you’re under 59½ there’s generally a 10% early‑withdrawal penalty on top. Also note the IRS one‑rollover‑per‑12‑month rule for indirect IRA rollovers, which can trip people up.
• Inside an IRA, you can sell your current ETF and buy your new gold exposure with no current tax. The tax happens later on distribution, not when you rebalance.

Traditional vs Roth dynamics

• Trades inside both are tax‑deferred (Traditional) or tax‑free (Roth). The fork in the road is the exit: Traditional IRA withdrawals are ordinary income in retirement; qualified Roth IRA withdrawals can be tax‑free if you’re over 59½ and meet the 5‑year rule.
• If you think your future marginal rate could be higher, common concern with brackets indexed but spending needs rising, a Roth tilt can make sense. If you need the deduction now, Traditional still works fine. No magic, just cash‑flow math.

RMDs, age 73, and illiquid metal

• Required Minimum Distributions start at age 73 under the rule effective since 2023. That applies even if your IRA holds physical gold.
• Logistics matter. If you hold bullion or coins at a depository in an SDIRA, you still need to distribute cash or metal equal to the RMD amount. That can mean selling a slice of metal at an awkward time, or doing an in‑kind distribution and dealing with taxes on the distributed fair value. Plan liquidity ahead of December. I’ve seen year‑end scrambles you do not want.

HSA angle (quick, but important)

• HSAs aren’t typically the right sleeve for gold risk. The 2025 IRS HSA contribution limits are $4,300 self‑only and $8,550 family, with a $1,000 catch‑up at 55+. That money compounds triple‑tax‑advantaged when used for medical expenses, hard to justify swinging it at commodity volatility unless you’re sitting on a very large surplus and meticulous receipts.

Practical 2025 playbook

1. Taxable: if you must switch exposures, try in‑kind transfer first. If selling, map gains and pair with losses or charitable gifts.
2. IRAs: favor trustee‑to‑trustee transfers into an SDIRA for physical gold. Avoid the 60‑day rollover risk.
3. Choose the wrapper to match taxes later: Traditional (ordinary income on withdrawal) versus Roth (potentially tax‑free if qualified).
4. If you’re near 73, keep RMD liquidity top‑of‑mind. Physical gold’s great until you need exact dollars on December 20th.
5. Leave the HSA for healthcare. It’s your stealth retirement medical fund, not a metals sandbox.

One last human note: markets are jumpy this quarter, and spot gold has been flirting with record territory again this year. Don’t let that chase you into a taxable reshuffle you regret in April. Structure the move first; then change the exposure.

Year-end tactics for 2025: lot picking, loss harvesting, and state taxes

Calendar math is your friend in Q4. If you’re exiting Robinhood and moving into gold, you can trim the tax sting by being picky about which shares you sell and when. Start with specific-lot selection: when you have multiple purchase lots of the same ETF or stock, choose the highest cost-basis lots to sell first. That reduces your realized gain per share, sometimes by a lot. Tiny example: if you own 500 shares across five lots ranging from a $28 basis to $41, selling the $41 lot first can turn what would’ve been a $13/share gain into something close to zero. Two quick gotchas: you must identify the lot at the time of sale and get written confirmation from the broker; and if you don’t specify, brokers default to FIFO, which can spike the bill. On the reporting side, this all flows to Form 8949 and then Schedule D, yep, it’s paperwork, but it’s worth it.

Tax‑loss harvesting is the other lever. You can offset 2025 realized gains with capital losses you realized earlier this year or harvest in the next few weeks. If losses exceed gains, up to $3,000 can offset ordinary income for 2025 (IRS rule in effect for many years), and any leftover losses carry forward indefinitely. Slight over-explanation here, but it helps: a $12,000 net capital loss offsets $3,000 of wages this year and leaves $9,000 to carry into 2026 and beyond. That carryforward then nets against future gains first, before you get another $3,000 ordinary income offset. Point is, bank the losses before December 31.

Wash sales: don’t trip the wire. If you sell a gold miner ETF at a loss, avoid buying a substantially identical fund within the 30-day window before or after the sale (it’s effectively a 61-day lookback/lookforward). If you sell on December 20, your re-entry date to stay clean is January 20, 2026. I know, waiting a month can feel silly when you want back in, but a disallowed loss that gets rolled into basis doesn’t help your 2025 tax return at all.

State taxes are where it gets messy. Some states fully tax capital gains; a few have preferential rates; others have no income tax. On sales tax for bullion, rules vary widely and they keep changing, some states broadly exempt investment-grade precious metals from sales/use tax, others only above certain dollar thresholds, and a handful still tax most retail purchases. Check your state’s 2025 Department of Revenue guidance before you buy coins or bars this holiday season. One practical trick: if you’re on the border, compare total landed costs (spot + premium + potential sales tax + shipping). The tax tail can easily add 1-7% depending on zip code.

And the federal extra: the Net Investment Income Tax is 3.8% on the lesser of your net investment income or the amount your modified AGI exceeds the thresholds, $200,000 for single, $250,000 for married filing jointly, $125,000 for married filing separately (statutory thresholds that haven’t been indexed). If you’re flirting with those levels after a strong year, model NIIT before pushing a big December sale. Sometimes pacing trades across late December and early January spreads the tax impact nicely.

One last real-world quirk: if you harvested losses earlier this year and are now rotating out of Robinhood positions, match long-term with long-term and short-term with short-term where you can. The rate difference matters when gold’s been choppy and your tech names ran. And if you’re not sure your broker recorded the right lots, yea, I’d double-check the 1099-B preview. I’ve had that mismatch conversation more times than I care to admit.

Paperwork, basis, and dealer reporting: don’t guess at forms

When you exit Robinhood positions and move into gold, the paperwork shifts a bit. For your taxable brokerage at Robinhood, you’ll get a consolidated 1099 (typically by February 15): that package covers 1099‑B (sales of stocks/ETFs/options), 1099‑DIV (dividends), and 1099‑INT (interest). The big thing: make sure cost basis and holding periods are correct. If you transferred lots in or used specific-lot sales, mismatches happen, earlier this year I saw a client’s long-term Nvidia lot show up as short-term after a mid-year ACAT. Fix it early. Brokers do issue corrected 1099s (it happens, especially with late K‑1 data), but you don’t want to be amending in April if you can avoid it.

On gold, the form depends on what you buy and how you trade:

• Grantor-trust gold ETFs (e.g., GLD, IAU): Reported on 1099‑B. They’re treated as interests in physical gold, so long-term gains can be taxed at the collectibles maximum rate (up to 28%). Your broker should track basis and holding period like a stock sale.
• Gold futures (COMEX): Taxed under Section 1256 on Form 6781 with the 60/40 split, 60% long-term and 40% short-term, regardless of how long you held the contract. Net Section 1256 loss carrybacks can apply to the prior three years (subject to limits).
• Physical coins and bars: Sales through dealers can trigger 1099‑B reporting, but it’s item- and quantity-specific. Example (not exhaustive): certain 1 oz sovereign coins (like Krugerrands/Maple Leafs) can be reportable at larger quantities, and larger bars can be reportable too. The lists get nitpicky. Confirm with the dealer before you sell. If you’re unloading size because spot’s hovering near the high‑$2,300s to ~$2,400/oz range this fall, know what paperwork you’ll generate before you lock a price.

Payments matter, too. Dealers that receive cash over $10,000 in one transaction (or related transactions) must file Form 8300. “Cash” includes currency and some money orders/cashier’s checks. Bank wires and checks are trackable, so they generally don’t trigger Form 8300 by themselves. Keep payments clean and traceable; it saves headaches and questions.

Basis isn’t just the sticker price. Keep purchase invoices, storage fees, insured shipping, and certain transaction costs, those can be added to basis for physical metal. Same idea for ETF transaction costs embedded in your fills. The dealer spread/premium isn’t separately deductible, but it’s baked into your effective basis, what you paid is what you paid. For storage in a vault, I keep a simple running spreadsheet: date, ounces, price, premium, shipping, insurance, storage. Nothing fancy. But when you sell two years later… you’ll thank yourself.

Quick human note: paperwork timing gets weird. You might get your Robinhood 1099 mid‑Feb, decide to sell bullion in March, and then your dealer files a 1099‑B for that sale. Different tax years, different folders. I keep a “Gold, receipts” PDF stash and a “1099‑B, Robinhood” stash. Not elegant, but it works.

Rule of thumb: verify what form you’ll get before transacting, especially with physical. Two-minute call, big peace of mind.

The payoff: a cleaner exit and a smarter gold position

Here’s where it all comes together so your tax bill is intentional, not accidental. Start with fit. Decide first which gold vehicle matches your tax profile: a collectible ETF (grantor trust holding bullion), gold miners (equities), futures (Section 1256), or IRA‑held bullion. The tax math is not subtle:

• Collectible ETF/bullion: long‑term gains are capped at 28% under the collectibles rate (Internal Revenue Code Section 1(h)(5)). The 3.8% NIIT can still apply for higher‑income investors.
• Futures (Section 1256): marked to market on 12/31 with a 60/40 split, 60% taxed at long‑term rates and 40% at ordinary rates, reported on Form 6781. Many top‑bracket folks end up near a ~30% effective rate before state taxes. You’ll get a consolidated 1099‑B with a 1256 summary.
• Gold miners: plain equity tax treatment, short‑term at ordinary rates; long‑term at 0%/15%/20% depending on your bracket plus NIIT if applicable. Wash‑sale rules do apply here.
• IRA‑held bullion/ETFs: tax‑deferred (Traditional) or tax‑free on qualified distribution (Roth). Distributions report on 1099‑R. No 28% collectibles rate inside the account, only when/if you distribute.

Then map the path. If you’re leaving Robinhood for gold, yes, “tax‑implications-of-leaving-robinhood-for-gold” is a mouthful, push for in‑kind ACATS where possible (e.g., a bullion ETF share transfer) to avoid a surprise sale. Where in‑kind isn’t possible (physical, futures at a new FCM), use specific‑lot instructions on sales so you control basis. In Q4 2025, use the calendar: harvest losses in miners to offset realized gains elsewhere; watch your ordinary vs LTCG brackets; and remember Section 1256 gains are locked in on 12/31 regardless, no hiding. If you need cash but want exposure, harvest a loss in miners and wait 31 days to avoid wash‑sale… or shift to a not‑substantially‑identical proxy.

Use the right account. Keep high‑tax‑rate gold vehicles, collectible ETFs, futures, inside tax‑advantaged accounts when you can. Futures inside IRAs are trickier operationally, but bullion/ETFs in an IRA is straightforward. Taxable account? That’s where miners shine if you plan to hold >12 months.

And document everything. Basis, premiums, dealer invoices, storage fees, and forms. Physical may generate a 1099‑B with limited basis info or none; some dealers also file Form 8300 on >$10,000 cash. Futures roll into Form 6781. Your ETF broker issues a 1099‑B (and it might be non‑covered if you bought ages ago). I know, it’s a lot. It ain’t pretty. But future‑you, mid‑March with coffee and a shoebox of receipts, will be grateful.

Reality check: gold set record highs last year (2024) above $2,400/oz and has stayed volatile this year. That means gains/losses can swing in weeks. If you’re on the fence about timing, model both scenarios, sell now vs. January, and quantify the tax drag.

End result: you keep the same gold exposure, but with lower leakage to taxes, cleaner reporting, and tighter control of your 2026 cash flow. If this feels overly complex… that’s because it is. Taxes are path‑dependent. But a few deliberate choices in Q4 2025, vehicle, account, in‑kind vs. sale, lot ID, turn the mess into a plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I move from Robinhood to physical gold without getting slammed on taxes?

A: Two big levers: timing and lot selection.

• Use specific-lot ID when selling: in Robinhood, pick high-cost lots to minimize realized gains. Screenshot the lot choices for your records.
• Pair gains with losses: harvest losses in other positions this year to offset gains dollar-for-dollar, then up to $3,000 against ordinary income if losses exceed gains.
• Mind short vs long term: wait until positions age past 12 months to hit the 0%/15%/20% long-term brackets (top federal long-term rate is 20% in 2025, plus 3.8% NIIT for high earners). Short-term is your ordinary rate, up to 37% this year.
• Stage sales: split across calendar years if you’re near a bracket cutoff or NIIT threshold.
• Consider where you buy gold: physical bullion has dealer spreads (often 4-10% on coins, 1-3% on bars). Budget that friction.
• Keep a clean paper trail: download 1099-B, use Form 8949/Schedule D, and keep dealer invoices for basis when you later sell the gold. Not glamorous, but that’s the playbook I use with clients when they don’t want April surprises.

Q: What’s the difference between buying GLD in a taxable account vs buying coins, tax-wise?

A: For long-term gains, both are generally treated as collectibles. That means up to a 28% federal rate on gains for physical bullion and for grantor-trust gold ETFs like GLD or IAU. Short-term gains still hit ordinary rates either way.

• Physical coins/bars: collectibles treatment; wider buy/sell spreads; keep dealer receipts for basis.
• GLD/IAU: also collectibles for gains because they’re grantor trusts that hold metal. Spreads are penny-wide, but no qualified-dividend angle since there’s no dividend.
• State taxes: same story either way, your state rate stacks on top (e.g., CA up to 13.3%, NY up to 10.9% state + up to 3.876% NYC). So the tax character is similar; the real difference is trading friction and custody.

Q: Is it better to sell everything now or spread sales across this year and next?

A: It depends on your income volatility and thresholds, yeah, annoying answer, but it’s real. Good rule of thumb:

• If realizing all gains this year pushes you into the 20% LT bracket or triggers the 3.8% NIIT (MAGI over $200k single/$250k MFJ), consider splitting across years.
• If your 2026 income will be higher (promotion, RSUs vesting), you might intentionally realize more in 2025.
• Bunching deductions (charitable gifts, SALT up to the cap) in the same year as gains can help. Donating appreciated shares to a donor-advised fund can eliminate the gain and give you a deduction, then use cash to buy gold.
• Watch the short-term clock. Waiting a few weeks to cross 12 months often pays. Run a quick projection or have a CPA do a two-year tax map. I’ve seen a 2-4% total-tax swing just from staggering sales by 6-8 weeks.

Q: Should I worry about state taxes and paperwork if I switch, and are there alternatives that avoid the collectibles rate?

A: Yes on state taxes and paperwork; both can sting. You’ll get a 1099-B for the Robinhood sales, then you’re tracking basis for gold sales later. As for alternatives:

• Gold exposure without collectibles: gold miner stocks or diversified mining ETFs are taxed like regular equities (standard cap-gains rates, not the 28% collectibles cap). You take on operating and equity risk, though.
• Futures: COMEX gold futures have Section 1256 treatment, 60% long-term/40% short-term and mark-to-market at year-end, which often means a lower blended rate. Needs comfort with margin and K-1? No K-1 here, but you’ll get a 1099-B with 1256 detail.
• Tax shelters: holding gold-related exposure in a tax-advantaged account (Traditional/Roth IRA) defers or eliminates current taxes. Many IRAs allow gold ETFs; physical bullion requires a self-directed IRA with a custodian.
• Or…don’t sell winners: donate appreciated Robinhood shares, then use the cash you would’ve donated to buy gold. You avoid realizing gains on those shares and still shift your exposure. I’d price the spreads and your tax bracket side-by-side, sometimes the 4-10% coin spread is the bigger cost than the collectibles rate, which folks forget in the heat of the moment.

@article{leaving-robinhood-for-gold-tax-implications-explained,
    title   = {Leaving Robinhood for Gold? Tax Implications Explained},
    author  = {Beeri Sparks},
    year    = {2025},
    journal = {Bankpointe},
    url     = {https://bankpointe.com/articles/robinhood-to-gold-taxes/}
}