Selling silver - capital gains tax when no idea about "purchase costs"?

itwasntme001

I have some silver bars that have been held for many generations and simply kept in the loft as it is passed down the generations.

I plan to sell it soon but I am wondering how the tax for the capital gains is handled in situaitons like mine where its simply been passed down, no original purchase price is known at all etc?

Money_Grabber13579

If it was inherited on death, I would probably expect your base cost to be its market at the date of death, so working out it’s market value in that date would be the appropriate course of action.  If it was added down in advance of death however, I think it will be more difficult to determine as you’d need to know what reliefs, if any, were claimed and whether any CGT was paid at that time.

masonic

Do you have any documentation relating to you inheriting the silver bars?

itwasntme001

No there is no documentation whatsoever.

There wasn;t any actual gifting down generation to generation as such, at least not officially.  Just kept and given when alive usually to offspring then repeat.

BikingBud

Literally selling the family silver!

One must ask what the original intent was and is it being met?

wmb194

itwasntme001 said:

I have some silver bars that have been held for many generations and simply kept in the loft as it is passed down the generations.

I plan to sell it soon but I am wondering how the tax for the capital gains is handled in situaitons like mine where its simply been passed down, no original purchase price is known at all etc?

I'd use the value at the time you inherited it or were given it. Should be pretty easy to work out.

Atkinsons' website has a price history in sterling, dollars and euros.

https://atkinsonsbullion.com/charting/silver-price

masonic

itwasntme001 said:

No there is no documentation whatsoever.

There wasn;t any actual gifting down generation to generation as such, at least not officially.  Just kept and given when alive usually to offspring then repeat.

You're only responsible for the gain since you've owned it, so it would have been helpful to have some evidence of when that was in case of query by HMRC. Gains prior to that were the tax evasion of your forebears, assuming it gained a sufficient amount in one generation.

ColdIron

How many troy ounces of silver do you have?

Even if you assume zero cost, 70 ounces (over 4 lbs) at £40 is below the annual exempt amount

LHW99

Possibly gains pre 1982 are irrelevant anyway, as Nigel Lawson rebased gains to that date in 1988?

https://www.charles-stanley.co.uk/insights/commentary/the-history-of-capital-gains-tax