sam007

Folks - am I allowed to bring in under $10,000 in gold coins back to the USA from another country for gifting purposes without being asked questions? That's what the Customs declaration form seems to indicate but I'm not sure if they are referring to wearable jewelry vs coins/bars

Not sure if it's relevant but I do have some jewelry that belongs to my family in an Asian country and looking to re-gift it to some younger family members here. Also, will I be listing total value in section 15 on customs form and then putting Gold in description of articles?

Thank you

guv1976

Are you talking about $10,000 in face value, or $10,000 in current market value?

sam007

I guess US customs would look at current market value so let's go with that. I'll obviously try to keep it lower to be on the safe side like 9k and I can have it evaluated too before flying

guv1976

This is what the U.S. CBP has to say about importing gold coins:

https://help.cbp.gov/s/article/Artic...language=en_US

juddles

Hi there sam007,
a couple of points from my experience....
First up, the $10,000 rule is fairly universal - as all countries need to have a baseline for you to have to declare things. Where you can fall foul of this is where you are carrying multiple forms of value that exceed this limit. Just be aware that the $10,000 is the total of all such convertible things - your gold plus any cash you carry, jewellery, etc. I think this is a concept many do not understand. If you have $9,000 in gold, but also happen to have a gold necklace worth $500, plus $600 in whatever currency, you are actually above the limit.

Second thing is that "gold" is not "gold" - depending on the purity it will have different values. Unless it is some sort of 999 pure bullion, the actual value has to be determined by the assay of it - if you intend to be near the limit, you should make some attempt to get some sort of documentation to establish its real worth. This will help you in an airport conversation scenario.

Third and lastly, if you are kosher, and are not trying to do an improper thing, it is far better to declare it all and talk to them, rather than being found out. When you declare something you start of on a good footing - and things will be reasonably worked through. If you do not declare things, you start off from the entirely different position, and this usually does not go well. Gold is perhaps one of the things most easily detectable by even rudimentary scanning, as it is simply a very dense item that can be picked up by even the most primitive of scanners.

So in summary, if you think you are even near the limit - declare it and talk to them. Far better this than being challenged and them taking from you everything.

guv1976

I think that it's important to distinguish between the two different kinds of reporting involved here. The FINCEN reporting is required when the total value of all monetary instruments being brought in or out of the U.S. exceeds $10,000. But Customs requires that one declare all gold being imported into the U.S., regardless of its value. From the link I posted above:

"There is no duty on gold coins, medals or bullion but these items must be declared to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officer. Please note a FINCEN 105 form must be completed at the time of entry for monetary instruments over $10,000. This includes currency, ie. gold coins, valued over $10,000."

TWA884

Take a look at this thread in the Practical Travel Safety and Security Issues forum:

Section 107

This. But even better, so as to prevent any surprises upon arrival, is to simply contact Customs before you leave and ask them your questions with the specifics of your situation and you can rely on their answers more than you can rely on the answers not from actual Customs officers in a discussion forum (however accurate they are).

And certain types of coins are always prohibited no matter their value.

Remember there is no limit on how much you are allowed to bring in but there are limits on how much you can bring in without being required to declare. Declaring, even if well below the limit, can always be done. Depending upon how much you are bringing, be prepared to be able to document how you legitimately obtained them. In some cases, US law enforcement authorities have broad discretion to seize assets on the spot if the officers believe the assets were not obtained legitimately. The process to get the assets returned is lengthy, arduous and usually costly.

TWA884