Crypto Tax Calculator UK Trending

HMRC treats cryptocurrency as a taxable asset. Capital Gains Tax applies when you sell, swap, gift or spend crypto at a profit. For the 2026/27 tax year, the annual exempt amount is £3,000. Gains above this are taxed at 10% for basic-rate taxpayers or 20% for higher and additional-rate taxpayers.

The cost basis is calculated using the share-pooling method, which is the same approach used for shares. Under this method, you maintain a pool of tokens with an average cost. The rules also include the same-day rule (matching disposals with acquisitions on the same day) and the bed-and-breakfast rule (matching with acquisitions within 30 days).

You must report crypto gains exceeding four times the annual exempt amount (£12,000 for 2026/27) via Self Assessment, even if no tax is due after the exemption. Mining, staking rewards and airdrops may be treated as income rather than capital gains depending on the activity.

Crypto is taxed as capital, not currency, in the UK. HMRC treats crypto as an asset for Capital Gains Tax purposes. Buying and selling, swapping ETH for BTC, using crypto to buy goods, gifting (except to spouse) — all are disposals subject to CGT. Income tax applies separately to: mining/staking income (taxed as miscellaneous income), airdrops (income at receipt + CGT at disposal), play-to-earn rewards, salary paid in crypto. NFTs are also assets. The pseudo-anonymous nature of crypto does NOT make it untaxable.

Capital Gains rates and allowance for 2026/27. After the October 2024 Budget unified rates: 18% (basic-rate taxpayer) or 24% (higher-rate). Annual Exempt Amount £3,000 — much reduced from £12,300 in 2022/23. Each crypto disposal must be matched to a purchase using Section 104 'pooling' rules (similar to share matching): same-day rule first, 30-day rule next (anti-bed-and-breakfasting), then the pool average. Most exchanges don't track this — you need separate accounting software (Koinly, CoinTracker, Recap).

OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) — automatic reporting from 2026. The OECD CARF requires UK crypto exchanges (Coinbase, Binance, Crypto.com, etc.) to report customer transactions to HMRC starting 2026. This means HMRC will know about your trades whether you declare them or not — pre-CARF non-declaration is becoming risky. CARF extends the existing Common Reporting Standard (CRS) to crypto. Make voluntary disclosure of past unreported gains before HMRC contacts you — penalties are significantly lower for prompted disclosures.

Reporting and payment deadlines. Annual: Crypto gains declared on Self Assessment by 31 January following the tax year (e.g. 2026/27 gains: file by 31 January 2028, pay by same date). Real-time service: For 'Real Time Capital Gains Tax' you can report and pay sooner. Late filing penalty: £100 immediate, daily £10 after 3 months, plus 5% / 10% / 15% slabs of unpaid tax. Loss claims: must be made within 4 years. Crypto losses can offset gains (same year, or carried forward indefinitely against future gains).

What disposals trigger UK CGT on crypto. Selling crypto for fiat (£/$/€); swapping crypto for crypto (ETH→BTC); using crypto to buy goods or services (treated as disposal at GBP value); gifting crypto (except to spouse); earning crypto as payment (income tax at receipt, CGT on disposal). Transferring between your own wallets/exchanges is NOT a disposal. Loss on disposal can offset gains in same or future years (carried forward indefinitely).

Income tax events on crypto. Mining rewards: taxed as miscellaneous income at GBP value at receipt; rewards over £1,000 trading allowance must be declared via Self Assessment. Staking rewards: same treatment. Airdrops: income at receipt + CGT at disposal (cost basis = market value at receipt). Salary paid in crypto: taxed as employment income via PAYE; cost basis for future CGT = GBP value at receipt. Play-to-earn rewards: typically miscellaneous income.

Section 104 pool — UK's specific crypto matching rule. Same-day rule: crypto bought and sold on same day matched first. 30-day rule: matched against purchases in next 30 days (anti-bed-and-breakfasting). Section 104 pool: average cost of all earlier purchases. This means UK crypto disposals use weighted average cost — different from FIFO/LIFO used in US. Most exchanges don't track Section 104 pooling — use specialist software (Koinly £49/year, CoinTracker, Recap).

OECD CARF reporting from 2026. The OECD Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF) requires UK exchanges (Coinbase, Binance, Crypto.com) to report customer transactions to HMRC starting 2026. HMRC will know about your trades whether you declare or not. Pre-CARF non-declaration becoming dangerous. Make voluntary disclosure of past unreported gains before HMRC contacts you — penalties significantly lower for prompted disclosures (10-30%) vs reactive (30-100%).