Buying coins from the US

[youliveyoulean]

Hi all,

I was considering buying a coin from a us dealer and was curious what the taxes and duties would look like. There is an article on here from 2011 but I'm sure things must have changed since then!

If I use an example of a silver coin which cost £2,000 and it was to be couriered, could anyone give me an idea of the total amount in additional costs for taxes and duties etc.? Are there any tax exemption forms which may reduce the cost?

Thanks in advance,

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rob]

28 minutes ago, youliveyoulean said:

Hi all,

I was considering buying a coin from a us dealer and was curious what the taxes and duties would look like. There is an article on here from 2011 but I'm sure things must have changed since then!

If I use an example of a silver coin which cost £2,000 and it was to be couriered, could anyone give me an idea of the total amount in additional costs for taxes and duties etc.? Are there any tax exemption forms which may reduce the cost?

Thanks in advance,

Import VAT is 5%. That's it. It's the same tax that you see imposed on the hammer price in auctions which have been submitted from outside the EU. It is reclaimable if you subsequently re-export outside the EU.

[youliveyoulean]

Thanks for the quick reply. Much appreciated.

[Coinery]

Don't be tempted to mark down the value of a high-value coin on the customs forms to avoid the duty. The insurance company wouldn't even look at you if it went missing! Even if they did, you've have to prove you weren't behaving fraudulently first...you'd likely end up with an unwanted fine and sentence, well in excess of the original tax.

If you can find an international courier that will fully insure a £2k coin for a reasonable price I'd be interested to know about them!

[azda]

1 hour ago, Coinery said:

Don't be tempted to mark down the value of a high-value coin on the customs forms to avoid the duty. The insurance company wouldn't even look at you if it went missing! Even if they did, you've have to prove you weren't behaving fraudulently first...you'd likely end up with an unwanted fine and sentence, well in excess of the original tax.

If you can find an international courier that will fully insure a £2k coin for a reasonable price I'd be interested to know about them!

STEWIEEEEEEEEEEEEE 

[Colin G.]

Just be careful because occasionally they will try and charge a 20% import duty, I always get the persons shipping where possible to add the customs code for the 5% duty. 

[pokal02]

I bought a high-end coin from Heritage a few months ago and was pleasantly surprised at the customs charge.  Now I know why - I'd imagined VAT to be 20%!!

[youliveyoulean]

Thanks all. Very useful.

[Peter]

Just be aware a few coins I've bought from the US the import charges have been 20% .i argued over a James 1 1/-.Got nowhere but wrote it off (£12) as I have had many delivered FOC of import costs..Win some/lose some at the moment $ v £ is a non starter.I will wait until we are $2 to the £.

[TomGoodheart]

Only other thing is that the Royal Mail collect charges on behalf of HM Customs & Excise for which they charge a bit under a tenner.  Which is small on a £2000 coin, but annoying if you buy a low value item for which duty was not payable and can't reclaim it!

I've had very few problems over the years, although sometimes things get through without any charge and sometimes they try to claim 20%.  But you can reclaim for an overcharge.

Only real issue was something posted via USPS which then became a package when it got to the UK and was given to Parcelforce.  Wouldn't have been a problem but that the address I gave the seller was a PO Box.  To which Parcelforce don't deliver.  Fortunately the dealer tracked it for me and I got my coin in the end!  Good service from York Coins!

[rpeddie]

i use a forwarding address in the usa for purchasing coins from across there called shipito.

they charge a flat $2 for per package, i usually get items free delivered(ebay) to my address over there and send untracked from myself(usa) to myself(uk) for cheaper than they offer as i don't need signed delivery.

they also offer multiple postage options(fedex dhl the likes) but again i am with coinery with the insurance, cannot get a reasonable rate but so far i am 23/23 for packages received from my forwarding address

I don't have to worry about being charged the wrong tax as i just use the 5% vat code and never a mix up.

 

[1949threepence]

5 hours ago, Peter said:

Just be aware a few coins I've bought from the US the import charges have been 20% .i argued over a James 1 1/-.Got nowhere but wrote it off (£12) as I have had many delivered FOC of import costs..Win some/lose some at the moment $ v £ is a non starter.I will wait until we are $2 to the £.

You might have a very long wait.

[ozjohn]

For Australia I think up to $1000 GST free then 10% GST. If multiple items it would be advisable to arrange split packages to avoid GST.

[1949threepence]

I think I've been quite lucky, as I've paid nothing extra on the several coins I've bought from the US.