Buy Gold in Singapore

Singapore's GST exemption, and where it stops

GST in Singapore is 9%, since January 2024. Investment Precious Metals, IPM, are exempt from it: gold bars and wafers of 99.5% purity or higher that are tradeable on the international bullion market, and qualifying legal-tender coins of the same purity. That covers most of what a private buyer here actually wants.

It does not cover jewellery, collector coins priced above melt, or scrap. Those carry the full 9%. There is no capital gains tax on gold in Singapore either way, IRAS can tax gains as income only where the activity looks like trading rather than holding, a fact-pattern question, not a bullion question.

Foreigners face no restriction buying or holding gold here, and no Singapore bank account is required to transact with us. Retail 24K gold was trading around SGD 177 a gram in Singapore in late September 2026, against the $4,298/oz spot reference that moves daily and gets quoted live when you ask. We cite Le Freeport, The Reserve and Metalor as the infrastructure that makes this market credible, not as partners we route business through. Our guide to buying gold in Singapore as a foreigner goes deeper on residency and storage questions specifically.

How a private purchase runs in Singapore

1. A short WhatsApp brief: product, quantity, timeline.

1. A live quote against spot the moment we reply.

1. Standard due diligence. Singapore's Registrar of Precious Stones and Precious Metals Dealers (Ministry of Law) requires regulated dealers to run customer due diligence on every client and file a Cash Transaction Report for any cash deal above SGD 20,000, under the PSPM Act 2019. MAS separately supervises any dealer that is itself a financial institution. That threshold is about the payment method, not gold itself, and applies whatever currency the cash arrives in. Discretion with us means quiet, appointment-based handling, never a way around that reporting.

1. Settlement, then collection or storage. Hand-carried investment-grade gold needs no permit up to 0.5kg for personal use; above that, a GST Relief (Import) permit is declared at customs with invoices and purity certificates ready.

1. Vaulting is a genuine local option, not just a sales pitch: Le Freeport and The Reserve both operate bonded, high-security storage built for gold sitting under duty-and-GST suspension inside the Changi Free Trade Zone.

Products we supply, indicative bands

Every figure below is indicative against the $4,298/oz spot reference from 25 September 2026. Spot moves daily and we quote live at the time you order, so treat this as a starting point for a conversation, not a fixed price list.

Common mistakes buying gold in Singapore

Three things catch buyers here.

Assuming everything is GST-free is the biggest one. The exemption applies strictly to 99.5%+ bars, wafers and qualifying coins. Jewellery, numismatic pieces priced for rarity, and scrap all carry the full 9%, ask before you buy, not after.

Payout spread is the second, more relevant if you are also selling: buyback quotes for the same item have reportedly varied 15 to 30% between dealers here, which is exactly why an assay-first, comparison-quoted process matters even on the buy side, since it tells you whether today's asking premium is reasonable.

Unsealed or damaged assay cards are the third. Treat a missing card the same way anywhere else: ultrasound or XRF before you pay, refiner serial checked where one exists. Our guide to verifying a gold bar is real and our coin comparison guide cover the checks specific to bars and to coins separately.

• Bullion DNA scan for 2014-plus Maple Leafs against the Royal Canadian Mint database
• Laser-engraved maple security mark checked
• RCM-listed distributor only
• Sealed assay card or mint capsule intact on bars and coins alike