Crypto tax in the UK: a plain-English guide

This is general information, not tax advice. Rules change. If your situation is complicated, speak to a qualified accountant or check GOV.UK.

Check the FCA register first. Search the firm's name on the official FCA register. If it isn't listed as registered for cryptoassets, don't use it. How to check.

The short version

In the UK, HMRC treats crypto as property, not currency.
You may owe Capital Gains Tax when you dispose of crypto at a profit.
Some crypto you receive (pay, mining, staking rewards) can count as income.
Keep records of every transaction from day one. It's far easier than rebuilding them later.

What counts as "disposing" of crypto

Selling crypto for pounds
Swapping one cryptoasset for another (for example, Bitcoin for Ether)
Spending crypto on goods or services
Giving crypto away (except to a spouse or civil partner)

Simply buying crypto and holding it is not a disposal.

Working out a gain

Your gain is roughly what you received minus what it cost you, including allowable fees. When you've bought the same coin at different times, HMRC sets the order for matching what you sell against what you bought:

Same day. Coins sold are matched first with coins of the same type bought that same day.
Next 30 days. Then with coins of the same type you buy back within the following 30 days (the "bed and breakfast" rule).
The pool. Anything left uses the average cost of all your remaining coins of that type, known as the Section 104 pool.

(GOV.UK: check if you need to pay tax when you sell cryptoassets)

Allowances

UK tax

For the 2026/27 tax year (6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027), the first £3,000 of your total gains is tax-free. This is called the annual exempt amount, and it's shared across all your assets, not just crypto. Gains above it are taxed at 18% if they fall within your basic-rate income tax band and 24% above it. (GOV.UK: Capital Gains Tax rates and allowances)

Correct for the 2026/27 tax year

Exchanges now report to HMRC

Since 1 January 2026, UK-based crypto platforms must collect your details, including where you're resident for tax, along with a summary of your transactions, under the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework (CARF). The first reports reach HMRC by 31 May 2027 and cover the whole of 2026. Platforms in other countries that have signed up to CARF report to their own tax authority, which then shares the data with HMRC. (GOV.UK: reporting cryptoasset user and transaction data)

Warning

In practice, assume HMRC can see your exchange activity.

Records to keep

For every transaction: the date, the type (buy, sell, swap, spend, receive), the coin and amount, its value in pounds at the time, any fees, and the wallet or exchange used.

Tip

Download your exchange statements regularly. Exchanges can close, and statements can disappear with them.

Reporting and paying

You must report if your total gains are over £3,000, or if the assets you sold or disposed of were worth more than £50,000 in total, even when there's no tax to pay. Report in the cryptoasset section of a Self Assessment tax return (the SA108 capital gains pages). The online return and any tax due are normally due by 31 January after the end of the tax year. If you don't otherwise file a tax return, you can use HMRC's real-time Capital Gains Tax service to report and pay sooner. If you owe tax from earlier years, HMRC's Cryptoasset Disclosure Service lets you put it right. (GOV.UK: SA108 notes)

Common mistakes

Forgetting that crypto-to-crypto swaps are taxable
Not keeping records from exchanges that have since closed
Assuming small amounts never count

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