If you’re looking for the nearest gold bullion dealers to your house, then your best options may actually be several hundreds or even thousands of miles away. That’s because these days, the best way to invest in gold bullion is via an online bullion dealer, and where you are located will dictate which dealer and which service works best for you.

United States

There are sales taxes in most US states. There are tax-free states and there are also taxed states with exceptions, including several states where the tax only applies to purchases of less than $1,000. There are also many bullion dealers located throughout the country, but for the cheapest bullion, your best bet is to look online, preferably to online dealers located in the United States.

This includes JM Bullion, which is based in Texas and is able to offer tax-free gold, silver, platinum and palladium to customers across North America. More often than not, the only benefit to shopping locally is that you’re not paying for shipping, which can help to keep the costs down, even with the added premiums charged by brick-and-mortar locations. But JM Bullion have an answer for this, as they offer free shipping across the United States, regardless of the size of your order.

JM Bullion also have a wider range than you can find at your local dealer, with everything from bullion coins and rare coins, to silver bullets, copper bars and more.

Europe

In most European countries, you need to pay VAT on sales of precious metals. There are some exceptions to this rule though. In the UK, for instance, there is no such tax on the sale of gold bullion, but if you want to purchase silver, platinum or palladium, then you will need to cough-up an extra 20%. And that price is added to the total value of the coin and not just the intrinsic value, which makes it very difficult to purchase rare and collectible coins.

What’s more, if you import from overseas, where there are no such taxes, then you may still be forced to pay, and you could also be fined. However, if you pay VAT in one country then you do not need to pay it in another. So, many Europeans living in countries with high taxes simply buy from another country, pay a little extra for shipping and then make big savings.

Still, as you can see from the following silver taxes, these can still be quite high:

  • Switzerland: 8%
  • Netherlands: 21%
  • Germany: 7% on coins; 19% on bars.
  • Austria: 20%
  • Sweden: 25%

If you want to avoid taxes altogether, then you can simply join the ranks of Europeans investing in bullion storage solutions such as GoldBroker. Not only do they offer high quality bullion at close to spot price, but they will store it in their secure vaults for you. And because they don’t need to ship it to you, it means that you don’t need to pay VAT on it.

The Rest of the World

To avoid sales taxes, VAT, shipping charges and other premiums around the world, you can simply trade gold through a service like BullionVault. There are few major bullion dealers outside of Hong Kong and Singapore, so if you don’t reside in these countries, you will be forced to pay large premiums, and that’s before tax. You don’t need to pay these charges with BullionVault though, and you can trade gold and silver instantly, buying when the price drops and selling it for a profit as soon as it increases.

Conclusion on the nearest gold bullion dealers from your house

If you can shop local and still get the bullion you want, and at a price that is respectable, then by all mean purchase it. But the simple fact is that local dealers cannot compete with online dealers. That applies as much to bullion as it does to clothes, electronics and everything else, if not more so. A wise investment is one purchased at close to spot price, but even if you can avoid taxes, VAT and all the other extortionate premiums, you still can’t get around the fact that local dealers need to pay staff and rent, which means they need to add additional premiums to cover those fees.

So, wherever you are, just remember that there are always better options online.