Precious Metals Parity Act

The Precious Metals Parity Act would amend the Internal Revenue Code to allow income that a regulated investment company (RIC) receives from precious metals to be treated as qualifying income. Currently, qualifying income for RICs includes items like dividends, interest, and certain gains, with currencies already explicitly included. This bill adds precious metals to that list, aligning them with foreign currencies for purposes of the 90% gross-income rule that lets RICs avoid corporate taxation and pass through income to shareholders. The change would apply to taxable years beginning after enactment. In practical terms, funds that earn income from precious metals (for example, through holdings, lending, futures, or other investments related to metals) could count that income toward the 90% qualifying-income requirement. This could make it easier for precious-metals-focused funds to maintain RIC status and distribute income to investors in a tax-advantaged way. The bill does not alter tax rates or other RIC requirements beyond this definitional change.