Margin VAT on jewellery

A piece of jewellery as an object falls under the margin. The material it is made of does not.

On Belgium’s exclusion list sits one item that hits no other type of goods as hard: precious metals, precious stones and pearls.

That does not mean a second-hand ring falls outside the scheme. It means two trade flows run side by side in this business, with different VAT treatment, and that you may not mix them.

What the Belgian tax authority says about jewellery

A vintage ring, an old brooch or an inherited piece bought from a private individual and resold as jewellery is tangible movable property that can be used again. That is second-hand goods, and the margin scheme applies.

Buy that same piece to melt it, or buy gold scrap by the gram, and you are not buying jewellery but precious metal. That is named on the exclusion list.

Antique jewellery may additionally fall under antiques or collectors’ items, two categories the tax authority names separately. For your bookkeeping that changes nothing: it stays a margin sale.

That is the whole test, and it is a test about the goods, not about your trade. Alongside second-hand goods, FPS Finance explicitly names works of art, collectors’ items, antiques and second-hand means of transport. The scheme sits in article 58, § 4 of the Belgian VAT Code and is worked out in Royal Decree no. 53 of 23 December 1994. This page describes the Belgian scheme; the four-country panel below shows where the Dutch, French and UK rules diverge.

When jewellery fall outside the scheme after all

The exclusion of precious metals, precious stones and pearls is the sharpest line in this whole series. It does not separate types of shop; it cuts through a single transaction: the same piece can be jewellery on one side of the counter and material on the other.

In practice: sell to a customer who will wear the ring and you are selling jewellery. Sell by weight to a refiner and you are selling precious metal, and the margin scheme is not in play.

Loose stones taken out of a setting to be sold separately fall outside the scheme for the same reason. And investment gold has its own exemption regime in the Belgian VAT Code, separate from the margin; put that case to your accountant before treating a purchase that way.

The same piece, four countries

Whether jewellery fall under the scheme is answered the same way in all four countries: it is European law. The rate and the calculation method are not.

Where it goes wrong with jewellery

• You treat scrap gold as a margin piece

  Precious metals are named on the exclusion list. A sale by the gram is not the sale of second-hand goods.

• You take the stones out and sell them loose under the margin

  Precious stones and pearls are excluded. Out of the setting it is no longer jewellery but material.

• You keep both flows in one ledger

  The tax authority requires separate bookkeeping for margin sales, or at least separate columns. In this trade that is not a formality but the heart of it.

• You forget the purchase register for private individuals

  Jewellery almost always comes from private individuals and therefore without an invoice. Without a register as required by Royal Decree no. 53 your margin cannot be demonstrated.

Written on 8 September 2026. The scheme, the definition of second-hand goods and the exclusions were measured on 8 September 2026 at Belgium’s FPS Finance, Regeling van belastingheffing over de marge, which names article 58, § 4 of the VAT Code and Royal Decree no. 53 of 23 December 1994 as its basis. Since 1 January 2026 the law of 19 December 2025 excludes goods bought at a reduced rate from the margin scheme — explained in circular 2026/C/14 of 13 January 2026, measured via eur-lex.europa.eu on 31 August 2026. FPS Finance has not yet updated its own page on that point — re-checked on 10 September 2026.

This is an explanation, not tax advice. Whether the margin scheme is the right choice in your case, and how to enter it in your return, is a question for your accountant.

Frequently asked questions

• Does second-hand jewellery fall under the VAT margin scheme?

  As jewellery, yes. A used ring, brooch or necklace is tangible movable property that can be used again, which is the definition Belgium's FPS Finance uses. But on the same page it explicitly excludes precious metals, precious stones and pearls. Sell the piece as material rather than as an ornament and the scheme does not apply.

• Can I sell gold bought by the gram under the margin scheme?

  No. Precious metals are named on the tax authority's exclusion list. Buying and selling by weight is trade in precious metal, not in second-hand goods.

• What about loose diamonds or pearls?

  Also excluded. The tax authority names precious stones and pearls alongside precious metals on the list of goods the scheme cannot be applied to.

• How much VAT is due on a ring bought for €320 and sold for €690?

  In Belgium, €64.21, if you sell it as jewellery. The margin is €370, and €370 × 21/121 gives €64.21. Sell the same ring as scrap gold and the margin scheme does not apply.

Other types of goods

The same question, a different kind of piece. The answer differs more often than you would expect.

Every type of goods at a glance

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