Gold Jewellery Price Calculator
Gold Jewellery Price Calculator
The full price of a gold ornament: the gold, the making charge (a percentage or a rate per gram) and GST or VAT, with the effective price per gram against the bare gold rate.
Jewellery price
24K at $15,000 a gram; 10 g of 22K; making charge 12%; GST 3% on both
Price of a gold ornament
- G
- the gold value: 24K rate × fineness ÷ 1000 × net weight in grams
- M
- the making charge: a percentage of G, or a rate per gram × W
- tg, tm
- the tax rates on the gold and on the making charge
Worked example
24K at $15,000 a gram; 10 g of 22K; making charge 12%; GST 3% on both
Gold: 15,000 × 0.916 × 10 = $1,37,400
Making: 12% of 1,37,400 = $16,488
GST: 3% of (1,37,400 + 16,488) = $4,616.64
Price = $1,58,505, or $15,850.46 a gram against a bare 22K rate of $13,740 (15.4% more)
If the making charge were taxed at 5% instead: $1,58,834
10 g of 22K at a 24K rate of 15,000, GST 3%
| Making charge | Making amount | Price with GST | Per gram |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6% | $8,244 | $1,50,013 | $15,001 |
| 8% | $10,992 | $1,52,844 | $15,284 |
| 12% | $16,488 | $1,58,505 | $15,850 |
| 18% | $24,732 | $1,66,996 | $16,700 |
| 25% | $34,350 | $1,76,902 | $17,690 |
What goes into the price of gold jewellery
A jewellery bill has three parts. The gold value is the day’s rate for the karat × the net weight of gold. The making charge pays for the work; jewellers quote it as a percentage of the gold value or as an amount per gram, and some add a separate wastage or value-addition percentage, which you can fold into the percentage here. Then comes tax. Because the making charge scales with the gold, a high percentage on a heavy piece adds up: on the example the bill works out to 15.4% more per gram than the bare gold.
GST in India: 3%, and where 5% comes from. Gold and jewellery attract 3% GST. You will often read that making charges are taxed at 5%. That is the rate for job work, when you give your own gold to a goldsmith to be made up and pay only for the work. When a jeweller sells you a finished ornament, the gold and the making are one composite supply, taxed at the rate of the jewellery, 3%, on the whole bill, even when the invoice shows the making charge on its own line. Tax sources and consumer guides do not all agree on this, so both rates are inputs here, and the default is 3% on both. Check your bill. Neither rate changed in the GST rate changes of September 2025. For GST on other goods, see the GST calculator.
The Gulf. In the UAE a shopper pays 5% VAT on jewellery, the making charge included. Investment gold of 99% purity or more is zero-rated, and trade between VAT-registered gold dealers runs under a reverse charge, which a retail customer does not see. Enter your own country’s rate in the two tax fields; the VAT calculator handles VAT on its own.
Stones are priced separately and their weight should not be in the gold weight. The rate and the default figures are illustrations; use today’s rate from your jeweller. For the metal value alone, use the gold price calculator. This is arithmetic on the figures you enter, not financial advice.
Frequently asked questions
How is the price of gold jewellery calculated?
Gold value (24K rate × fineness ÷ 1000 × weight) + making charge + tax. 10 g of 22K at $15,000 a gram for 24K, with 12% making and 3% GST, costs $1,58,505.
Is GST on making charges 3% or 5%?
When you buy a finished piece from a jeweller, the whole bill, making included, is one supply of jewellery taxed at 3%. The 5% rate applies to job work, where you supply the gold and pay a goldsmith only for making it. Some guides say 5% for all making charges; this page lets you set either.
Is there VAT on gold jewellery in the UAE?
Yes, 5% for a consumer, on the making charge as well as the gold. Investment gold of 99% purity or more is zero-rated.
What is a fair making charge?
There is no regulated rate. It depends on the design and the jeweller, from a few percent for simple machine-made pieces to 20% or more for detailed handwork. Compare the effective price per gram between shops.
Related calculators
References
- Government of India. Notification No. 1/2017-Central Tax (Rate), 28 June 2017, Schedule V: 3% on gold and articles of jewellery (HSN 7108, 7113). Notification No. 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), entry 26 (job work), as amended by Notification No. 20/2017-Central Tax (Rate): job work on jewellery and precious metals.
- Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, section 2(30) and section 8(a): a composite supply is taxed at the rate of its principal supply.
- United Arab Emirates. Cabinet Decision No. 25 of 2018 on Supplies of Gold and Diamonds between Registered Persons (reverse charge); Federal Tax Authority public clarification VATP029 on making charges; Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017 on VAT (zero rating of investment precious metals of 99% purity or more).