Alaska House passes gold, silver legal tender bill unanimously

The Alaska House of Representatives voted unanimously Thursday to allow Alaskans to use gold and silver coins as legal tender and exempt those transactions from local sales taxes.

House Bill 1 passed 40-0 after sponsor Kevin McCabe argued the measure protects Alaskans from inflation that has eroded the dollar's purchasing power by roughly 20 percent since 2020. The bill does not require merchants to accept gold or silver coins, nor does it replace the dollar as Alaska's unit of account. It exempts the intrinsic metal value of specie from borough and city sales and use taxes while keeping collectible premiums above that value taxable.

The House Finance Committee advanced a committee substitute on April 30, 2026, that added consumer protections and tasked Legislative Budget and Audit with studying specie use, consumer safeguards, and market behaviors. The bill also clarifies that state and local governments are not required to accept specie for taxes or fees.

McCabe said the dollar's loss of purchasing power amounts to "a tax without our input" that affects families trying to save for a house or other major expenses. He acknowledged the bill creates a trade-off for boroughs and cities that levy sales taxes. They lose a small amount of revenue on specie transactions, which are already uncommon and often structured to avoid the tax. But he argued that Alaskans who set aside gold or silver as a hedge against inflation will eventually spend that money when they need it most.

"Specie in a safe today is fuel for Main Street tomorrow," McCabe said.

Representative Carrick, who chairs the State Affairs Committee, said the committee changes were designed to preserve municipalities' ability to collect revenue while allowing voluntary specie transactions. The bill exempts only the metal's intrinsic value from taxation, not dealer premiums or service fees.

"We have clarified that the state and local governments are not compelled to accept specie for payment of taxes, fees, or other obligations," Carrick said. "In other words, if you want to participate in gold and silver specie in the market for that, you do still need to pay all of your state and local taxes and other fees with traditional cash-based transactions."

Carrick noted that Alaskans are already engaging in specie transactions, which currently function like bartering. The bill allows retailers to legally accept gold and silver coins as tender if they choose to participate.

"This bill provides for Legislative Budget and Audit to have a slightly increased scope on their study," Carrick said. "Not only will they be studying the use of specie in Alaska, they will also be studying consumer protections, ways to strengthen those, and market behaviors."