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Recap HomeCrypto Tax Guide (Lite)HMRC Cryptoassets Manual
  • A Technical Guide to Cryptocurrency Tax for UK Individuals
    • What are Cryptoassets?
    • Who are Recap?
  • CRYPTOCURRENCY TAX
    • Do I Need to Pay Tax on my Cryptoassets?
    • Which Taxes Apply?
      • Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
      • Income tax
      • VAT
      • Inheritance tax
      • Stamp Duty
    • How Much Tax Will I Pay?
    • New HMRC DeFi Guidance
      • Overview of HMRC guidance
      • 1️⃣Is the Reward Income or Capital?
      • 2️⃣Is Beneficial Ownership (BO) transferred?
      • 3️⃣Consider the Tax Treatment
        • Staker/Lender/Collateral Provider
          • Income Rewards
            • BO transferred
              • ➡️At Point of Entry
              • ⬅️At Point of Exit
              • 💧On Liquidation
              • 💎On Receipt of Income Reward
              • Example 1A
              • Example 2A
            • BO not transferred
              • ➡️At Point of Entry
              • ⬅️At Point of Exit
              • 💧On Liquidation
              • 💎On Receipt of Income Reward
              • Example 1B
              • Example 2B
          • Capital Rewards
            • BO transferred
              • ➡️At Point of Entry
              • ⬅️At Point of Exit
              • 💧On Liquidation
              • 💎On Receipt of Capital Reward
              • Example 1C
              • Example 2C
            • BO not transferred
              • ➡️At Point of Entry
              • ⬅️At Point of Exit
              • 💧On Liquidation
              • 💎On Receipt of Capital Reward
              • Example 1D
              • Example 2D
        • Borrower
    • Investor or Trader?
      • Badges of Trade Limitations
      • HMRC Approach
      • Court Cases involving Financial Traders
    • Capital Gains Tax
      • Calculating the Capital Gains Position
      • Disposal proceeds
      • Disposals to Connected Parties
      • Allowable costs for CGT
        • Exchange fees
        • Forks - affect on allowable costs
      • Capital Loss Claims
    • Income Tax
      • Financial trading income
      • Miscellaneous Income
      • Employment income
    • Fair Market Valuation
  • TRANSACTION TYPES
    • 💷Selling Crypto for Fiat
    • 🔄Trading Crypto to Crypto
    • 🛍️Purchases using Crypto
    • 🎁Gifts
    • 💍Spouse Transfers
    • 🎗️Gifts to Charity, CASCs & Bodies for a National Purpose
    • 🎈Airdrops
    • 🤝Staking
    • 💸Transfers
    • 🍴Forks
    • ⛏️Mining
    • 👛Employment income
      • UK Employer
      • Overseas employer
      • National Minimum Wage (NMW)
    • 🚨Lost & Stolen Crypto
    • 🎲Gambling
    • 💧Liquidity Pools
      • Example - Liquidity pool
    • ⬆️Token Upgrades/Swaps
    • 🔮Cryptoasset derivatives (CFDs, Futures and Margin Trading)
    • 💼Crypto Loans
    • 🔄REPOS
    • 🪞Reflections Rewards
    • 👥Referral Income
    • 💳Cashback
    • 🎨NFTs (Non Fungible Tokens)
    • 🎮NFTs earned playing games
  • Record Keeping
  • Filing Your Self-Assessment
    • How to Register for Self-Assessment
    • How to Fill In the Tax Return
    • Submitting the Tax Return and Paying the Tax
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On this page
  • Investing in cryptoassets
  • Taxable events
  • Not taxable events

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  1. CRYPTOCURRENCY TAX

Capital Gains Tax

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Last updated 3 years ago

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Investing in cryptoassets

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.

In exceptional circumstances will a taxpayer be treated as a ‘financial trader’ in cryptoassets. In which case these disposals are treated as business trading income, subject to income tax and national insurance.

Taxable events

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:

Selling cryptoassets for fiat money (e.g. GBP, USD, EUR).

Exchanging cryptoassets for a different cryptoasset (e.g. exchanging Bitcoin to Ripple).

Using cryptoassets to pay for goods or services (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.

Giving away cryptoassets to another person is deemed to be a disposal at market value unless to a spouse/civil partner or a qualifying charitable/CASC donation.

Lending out your cryptoassets where there is a transfer of beneficial ownership of the tokens let out to another person, party, protocol or platform.

Staking your cryptoassets where there is a transfer of beneficial ownership of the tokens staked to another person, party, protocol or platform.

Adding and removing your cryptoassets to/from a liquidity pool where there is a transfer of beneficial ownership to another person, party, protocol or platform. There may or may not be redemption/claim tokens received by the provider.

Depositing cryptoassets as collateral for a loan you take out where there is a transfer of beneficial ownership of the tokens locked away to another person, party, protocol or platform. This also includes REPOS.

Not taxable events

Moving tokens between wallets owned by the same person does not result in a taxable disposal.

Purchasing cryptoassets is not taxable.

Calculating the Capital Gains PositionDisposal proceedsDisposals to Connected PartiesAllowable costs for CGTCapital Loss Claims