Buying silver in Lincoln, NE
Nebraska does not charge sales tax on qualifying silver bullion and coins. Jewelry is taxed at the 5.5% state rate plus any local tax. The combined state and local sales tax rate in Lincoln is about 7.25%.
Silver has one national spot price in US dollars: the prices on this page are the same as on the silver price in the United States page. What differs in Lincoln is tax, explained below and on the Nebraska page.
Sales tax on silver in Lincoln
Not on investment bullion. Coins, currency and bullion are exempt from state and local sales tax (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2704.66). Bullion means gold, silver, platinum or palladium bars, ingots and commemorative medallions. Jewelry is taxable. The combined state and local rate is about 7.25% here.
Full state rules: silver price and tax in Nebraska.
Tax when you sell silver in Nebraska
LB 1317 (2024) removes gains on precious-metal bullion and coins from Nebraska taxable income. At the federal level, the IRS treats bullion and most silver coins as collectibles: long-term gains (assets held more than a year) are taxed at your ordinary rate, capped at 28%, and short-term gains as ordinary income.
Selling silver or silver jewelry to a dealer in Nebraska
- Hold period: 5 days. Under 69-206 as amended in 2012: secondhand jewelry may not be sold or taken from the place of business for 5 days after the card or ledger copy is delivered to police or the sheriff (other property: 14 days), and secondhand jewelry may not be destroyed, damaged or defaced (for example melted) for 14 days after purchase or receipt (LB 941 replaced the earlier 72 hours with 14 days). Pawnbrokers must keep property they take in separate for 48 hours. So in practice jewelry can be resold intact after 5 days but not scrapped for 14 days.
- What the dealer records: Dealers keep a card or ledger entry for each purchase and deliver a copy to the police department or sheriff (69-205). Details of the record were not confirmed.
- The law: Pawnbrokers, dealers in secondhand goods and junk dealers, Neb. Rev. Stat. 69-201 to 69-206 (hold periods in 69-206, as amended by LB 941, approved 10 April 2012; police copies under 69-205). For 69-206, jewelry means any ornament worn on or about the body made wholly or partly of a precious metal, including gold, silver, platinum, copper, brass or pewter.
Dealers report a customer's sale to the IRS on Form 1099-B only for certain forms and quantities, such as 1-kilo gold bars, 1,000 ounces of silver bars or 25 or more Krugerrands or Maple Leafs; American Eagles and smaller lots are generally not reported. Any business that receives more than $10,000 in cash in one transaction or related transactions files IRS Form 8300. Bring a photo ID when you sell.
Tax and duty information last reviewed October 2026. Rules change — confirm with your dealer or tax authority before a large purchase.