How is GLD (gold ETF) reported on Schedule D? On Turbotax? LOL inconsistent answers in this forum

[NewUserNov2020]

How is GLD (gold ETF) reported on Schedule D? On Turbotax (TT)? LOL inconsistent answers in this forum

Incredible that such a simple question has such widely divergent answers.  First off, I realize that in theory GLD (a large gold ETF "grantor" trust that holds gold bars in London) is treated as a collectable subject to a 28% tax rate, not to an ordinary long-term or short-term stock capital gains rate.  However, in practice on the 1099-B of my brokerage (REDACTED, but a major brokerage) the GLD etf  transactions are treated as an ordinary 'index fund' transaction along with other stock sales.  Secondly, on this Intuit Turbotax forum you have people claiming that a gold coin is a 'collectable' while a gold bar (such as bought by the GLD ETF custodians--they buy gold bars and store them in London) is not, which is I think wrong advice but in a way it's consistent with how REDACTED BROKERAGE and others treat GLD (like an ordinary 'stock' index fund).  Thirdly, I cannot find how you would enter a collectable into Form 8949 and/or Schedule D in TT.  This last part is the most annoying to me, since I paid for Turbotax to help me with the dreaded Schedule D.

Who's right?   

I also tried doing this in my hard drive / non-online version of Intuit Turbotax: "in TurboTax Premier or Home & Business, by performing the following actions. Simply type in the word "collectibles" into the search box on your TurboTax screen. Then you can select the "Jump To" link that will appear after you hit the "Find" button, and you will be taken to the appropriate place in the program. " - Nope, not working.  I do get "Jump To" but nothing happens when I click on the link.  I bought the Premier version for this year (2022 tax year)

My questions therefore are:

1)  Is GLD etf a 'collectable' or a 'stock'?  My guess is that it's the former, but since my own brokerage treats it as the latter, the IRS, if the amounts are small enough (like say the gain is less than say $10k in profit), probably, I am guessing, doesn't really care (unless they want to stick it to you for other reasons, like if you're Al Capone which I'm not).  So my guess is if you pay capital gains taxes as if GLD is a short term capital gain, then probably for most trivial profits below say $10k you'll be OK, if you're in a middle or upper income bracket.  I know that's sloppy thinking but hey we're dealing with the government here.  Correct me if I'm wrong, as I'd like to do it the 'correct' way but can't find the Turbotax screen

2)  where is the "collectable' screen for Intuit Turbotax 2022?  Another post implied it's missing for Turbotax for 2022?  I would link to that question but I'm a noob at posting.

As I say, the reason I bought TurboTax was for filling out Schedule D, and it it cannot deliver on this I'm not really interested in continuing as a customer. 

Any replies appreciated.

[DianeW777 · Accepted solution]

Yes. Funds that invest in precious metals like gold and silver are treated like collectibles for U.S. tax purposes, which means long-term capital gains from those funds will be taxed at a top rate of 28%, compared with a maximum rate of 20% for stocks. Short term gains will be taxed at the ordinary or marginal tax rate for your situation.

• IRS Snapshot of Collectibles

TurboTax can handle your collectible sale as you will see next.

To record your sale/redemption in TurboTax Desktop (non-online version) use the following steps:

1. Open your TurboTax Return > Search ( upper right) > type collectibles > Click the Jump to... link
2. Edit beside your Sale or Add More Sales > Continue (and Edit depending on where you are on your entry)
3. Enter the information about your sale on the screen 'Tell us about your 'Investment Firm' 1099-B'
4. Select the correct holding period covered or noncovered > Continue
5. On the 'any of these less common items on your 'Investment Firm' 1099-B?' select on Box 3 checkbox for collectibles > 
6. Enter any other information for this screen then select Done > Review the next screen and when finished select Continue
7. See the images below for assistance.

Note: Brokers are required to show 'noncovered' if they do not have the information about the cost basis or holding period. This happens usually for one of two reasons.  

1. The fund or stock was transferred to them from another broker and they don't have the history; or
2. It was held with them for longer than the IRS began to require this information from the broker. (The owner of the investment was always required to have this information in the past.

[Anonymous_]

GLD is taxed at the maximum collectibles tax rate of 28% and below are links to a couple of official sources.

https://www.spdrgoldshares.com/media/GLD/file/SPDR-Gold-Trust-Tax-Information-2020.pdf

https://www.irs.gov/retirement-plans/investments-in-collectibles-in-individually-directed-qualified-...

[NewUserNov2020]

Thanks.  That was great, I appreciate it. I actually found this "Proceeds are collectables" checkbox subsequent to posting this question, but I will cut and paste your answer into my notes since it's so visually impressive.

I hope Turbotax does make the correct "28%" calculation for the tax on gold collectables like GLD etf, and I'm in the process of doing a dummy run and double checking that it does.   So far so good and I'm back to being a loyal TT customer (for now, lol).