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Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Tuesday that would recognize gold and silver as legal tender in the state, paving a path for Floridians to use the commodities in payment transactions.
The bill, HB 999, starts the process of allowing government or private entities, such as businesses, to voluntarily accept gold and silver as a form of debt payment. The bill also outlines sales tax exemptions on the purchase of the precious metals if they meet the purity requirements or if the sale of the gold or silver exceeds $500.
HB 999 is set to go into effect on July 1, 2026, if the Florida Legislature ratifies the rules to implement the bill before then.
In a statement on X announcing the bill’s signing, DeSantis said the move was to ensure the state’s financial sovereignty.
“Florida stands firmly for freedom, economic self-determination, and resistance to government overreach,” the governor said. “But for too long, outdated regulations and unnecessary sales taxes have made it impractical for Floridians to enter the gold and silver market.”
Florida’s recognition of the gold and silver follows in the footsteps of states like Utah, which implemented a law in 2011 to recognize gold and silver as legal tender and exempt coins from state taxes.
The Florida bill states that gold coins must have 99.5% purity and silver coins must have 99.9% purity to be recognized as legal tender.
The coins must also be stamped with their weight and purity, according to the bill.
Governmental entities can also accept gold or silver but only in the form of electronic transfer, the bill states.
While the price of silver has fluctuated over the years, gold has been on a yearslong rally, hitting a recent all-time high of $3,500 per ounce in April as investors continued to turn to the precious metal amid economic uncertainty.
Gold’s recent tear came as the Trump administration’s trade policies and tariffs rattled the global economy and wiped out trillions from the stock market.
“Whenever there’s a lot of uncertainty, traders temporarily park their money in gold,” Lina Thomas, commodities strategist for Goldman Sachs, wrote in a May 15 report. “When there’s clarity, gold prices tend to drop again because traders know what to do with their money.”
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