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Gold belongs to you. It is still not free.

In short: a bar is not a promise, it is property. It cannot default the way a bank can. In return you pay 2.56% to 3.83% above the pure gold value when you buy, around 6.6% lies between the purchase price and the buy-back price, and storage costs money every year. Investment gold is at least exempt from VAT (§ 25c UStG). This page says what other providers write only in the small print.

Updated on · Michael Jung, Broker specialising in tangible assets

The difference

Why gold at all?

Because it is the only thing in your wealth that is nobody's liability. Your bank balance is a claim against the bank, your life insurance a claim against the insurer, a bond a claim against a state. A bar in the safe is not a claim, it is simply there. That is why it also cannot be drawn into a bail-in.

≈ €3,830
per troy ounce of gold in early September 2026
≈ 9.5% a year
average performance of gold in euros since 1999. Historical, no guarantee for the future.
§ 25c UStG
Under the German VAT Act, investment gold is exempt from VAT: bars with a fineness of at least 995 thousandths, coins with at least 900 thousandths and minted after 1800. The exemption does not apply to silver.

For context: the ≈ 9.5% a year is a look back since 1999, not a promise for tomorrow. The gold price moves, downwards too, and it pays neither interest nor rent.

The costs

What do you pay above the metal value?

  1. 100-gram gold bar2.56%
  2. 1-ounce gold coin (Krugerrand)3.83%
  3. 1-ounce silver coin (Maple Leaf)39%
Premium over the pure metal value, market average on 06.03.2026. The smaller the unit, the more expensive it is, and silver is in a league of its own.

The gold price first has to rise 6.6%, before you even break even. Nobody else does that sum for you.

What gold and silver cost in a year, with source and date
WhatHow muchWhat that means
Gold coin, 1 ounce3.83%The premium over the pure metal value. You pay it when you buy, and you never see it again.
Gold bar, 100 grams2.56%Large units cost less than small ones. In return, a bar cannot be sold in parts.
Silver coin, 1 ounce39%Silver starts far below break-even. Anyone buying silver needs patience or a good reason.
Buy-sell spread6.6%This is how far the gold price has to rise before you break even.
Storage, per year€200–300A precious metals account at a dealer. A bank safe-deposit box starts at €31 a year, an international vault platform at 0.12% of the value.
VAT§ 25c UStGInvestment gold is exempt from VAT. Silver is not, so there the tax comes on top of the premium.

Market values, not offers. Premium and spread move with the market. The date is shown with every figure. Not investment advice.

Storage

Where should it be kept?

With a safe-deposit box, most people look at the annual rent. Another figure matters more. When 3,256 safe-deposit boxes were broken open in Gelsenkirchen in 2025, the Sparkasse replaced at most €10,300 per box under its rental agreement.

€10,300
Maximum the Sparkasse reimburses per safe-deposit box (under the rental agreement)
€200–300
Precious metals account at a dealer, per year. A bank safe-deposit box starts at €31 a year, an international vault platform at 0.12% of the value, at least 48 US dollars.

So the question is not “how secure is the vault” but “up to what amount is anyone liable”. That figure is in the contract, and you are allowed to ask for it before you sign.

Silver

And silver? The same principle, quite different figures.

The VAT exemption under § 25c UStG applies only to investment gold, not to silver. Together with the higher trading costs, that leads to a premium of 39% on a silver coin and 31% on a one-kilo bar. So anyone buying silver starts around a third below break-even. It can be worth it, but only over very long periods, and someone should say so beforehand.

What you can do

Three rules that save a lot of money.

  1. 01

    Large units

    The smaller the piece, the higher the premium. Given the choice, buy one 100-gram bar rather than ten ten-gram bars, unless being able to sell in parts matters more to you than the price.

  2. 02

    Settle the storage first

    Not the purchase first and the storage afterwards. With a safe-deposit box or a dealer account, the contract decides how much is replaced if something happens. That figure is rarely in the brochure.

  3. 03

    Only money that can sit still

    Buying and selling back cost around 6% together. Money that is needed in two years does not belong in gold. Money that can sit still for twenty years can carry that spread.

Since 2016/17 Michael Jung has been a certified precious metals advisor (Edelmetallberater, GG-Akademie Berlin) and goes through selection, unit sizes and storage with you before you buy. More on that under Services. What inflation does to the money that is not in tangible assets is under Inflation and purchasing power.

This is where we buy gold + silver

storage free of charge included

Common questions

Answered briefly.

Is gold exempt from VAT?

Investment gold is: under § 25c of the German VAT Act (UStG), the supply of bars with a fineness of at least 995 thousandths and of coins of at least 900 thousandths, minted after 1800, is exempt from VAT. The exemption does not apply to silver. That is one of the reasons for the high premium on silver.

How much gold makes sense?

There is no answer that holds for everyone, and anyone who names a percentage without knowing your assets is guessing. The useful question is the other way round: which part of your wealth is today a claim against someone (a bank balance, a life insurance policy, a bond), and how much of it should be something you own?

At home, safe-deposit box or dealer account?

All three have a catch. At home costs nothing, but your contents insurance replaces valuables only up to a limit. With a bank safe-deposit box it is not the rent that counts but the maximum amount in the contract: in Gelsenkirchen, after the break-in in 2025, the Sparkasse replaced only €10,300 per box. An account at a dealer costs €200 to €300 a year, and insurance is usually included.

Read on

More about your wealth. Short, with sources.

Michael Jung

Written and reviewed by

Michael Jung

Broker specialising in tangible assets · Insurance broker

  • 1996Certified Insurance Specialist (Geprüfter Versicherungskaufmann, IHK)
  • 2003Certified Finance Specialist (Geprüfter Finanzwirt, bbw)
  • 2005Master Consultant in Finance
  • 2016–17Senior Consultant, precious metals advisor (Edelmetallberater, GG-Akademie Berlin)
  • 2021Certified under DIN 77230, the German standard for financial analysis (DEFINO)
  • 2023Florida Premium Real Estate certification

Insurance broker licensed under § 34d GewO · German register of intermediaries D-5D7P-3694H-28 · Last reviewed on

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