Capital Gains Tax
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HMRC expect most individuals with cryptoasset activity to be treated as an investor (for capital appreciation), subject to the capital gains tax regime. Where this is the case, they are liable for capital gains tax on the disposal of cryptoassets.
Individuals investing in cryptoassets must calculate the capital gain or capital loss they have made whenever they “dispose” of cryptoassets.
HMRC guidance confirms that disposals (taxable events) include:
Purchasing cryptoassets is not taxable.
In exceptional circumstances will a taxpayer be treated as a ‘’ in cryptoassets. In which case these disposals are treated as business trading income, subject to income tax and national insurance.
for fiat money (e.g. GBP, USD, EUR).
for a different cryptoasset (e.g. exchanging Bitcoin to Ripple).
(e.g. paying fees on crypto trades, paying fees on crypto withdrawals and deposits of cryptoassets, buying a Starbucks Coffee or paying for a software subscription.
to another person is deemed to be a disposal at market value unless to a or a
where there is a transfer of of the tokens let out to another person, party, protocol or platform.
where there is a transfer of of the tokens staked to another person, party, protocol or platform.
where there is a transfer of to another person, party, protocol or platform. There may or may not be redemption/claim tokens received by the provider.
where there is a transfer of of the tokens locked away to another person, party, protocol or platform. This also includes REPOS.
between wallets owned by the same person does not result in a taxable disposal.
