Sales of precious metal with unavailable original purchase records.

[TaxTimeIsMagical]

I purchased gold several years ago.  I do not have any records of the purchase.  I know roughly what I paid and roughly when I acquired it but, again, I have no available records of this purchase as I purchased with cash many years ago.  I recently sold the gold for a small profit.  How do file this on my taxes.

[DianeW777 · Accepted solution]

It can be filed under an investment sale in TurboTax. Use the information you have to enter your informtion.  You can use a 'V' for date acquired which means various.  Be sure to select long term for the holding period since it's been more than one year you have owned the gold.

Physical holdings in precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and titanium are considered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to be capital assets specifically classified as collectibles.

To record your sale/redemption in TurboTax Online as follows:

1. Open your TurboTax Return > Search ( upper right) > type collectibles > Click the Jump to... link
2. Add More Sales > Select Other > Continue 
3. Enter the information about your sale on the screen 'Tell us more about this sale' type Gold
4. Select Collectible as the type > I purchased it > Description
5. Select Something other than a date > Select Various
6. Enter the selling price, date and cost information for this screen then select Done > 
7. Review the next screen and when finished select Continue
8. See the images below for assistance.