Crypto Tax Calculator UK
Work out the tax on your crypto — and the rule that catches most people: you owe tax when you swap one coin for another, not just when you cash out to pounds.
HMRC treats crypto as a capital asset, not currency, so you pay Capital Gains Tax on the profit when you dispose of it — above the £3,000 annual allowance, at 18% if you’re a basic-rate taxpayer or 24% if you’re higher-rate (the same rates as shares since October 2024). The rule that catches most people is what counts as a disposal: it’s not just cashing out to pounds. Swapping Bitcoin for Ethereum, spending crypto, or gifting it are all taxable disposals — so you can owe tax in a year you never touched your bank account. Crypto you earn — through staking, mining, or airdrops — is different again: it’s taxed as income at your marginal rate when you receive it, then CGT applies to any later gain. Just holding, or moving coins between your own wallets, triggers nothing. And from 2026, under the new CARF rules, UK exchanges report your data straight to HMRC — so getting it right matters more than ever. This calculator shows your gains, your income, and what you owe. For the wider CGT picture, see the Capital Gains Tax Calculator; for your income band, the Salary Take-Home Calculator.
Crypto disposals
Income from crypto
Personal tax position
Rates and reporting
Crypto tax result
Estimated crypto tax due
Calculating…
Calculating…
Net capital gain
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CGT due
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Income Tax due
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Taxable gain
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Loss carried forward
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Reporting check
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Crypto tax — quick lookup
The left table shows the Capital Gains Tax on crypto profits, which depends on your income band; the right shows the Income Tax on crypto you earn from staking or mining, taxed at your marginal rate on receipt. The headline is that crypto is taxed two different ways — gains when you dispose, income when you earn — and most people only know about the first.
| Gain | Basic rate | Higher rate |
|---|---|---|
| £3,000 | £0 | £0 |
| £5,000 | £360 | £480 |
| £10,000 | £1,260 | £1,680 |
| £20,000 | £3,060 | £4,080 |
| £50,000 | £10,064 | £11,280 |
| Reward | Basic rate | Higher rate |
|---|---|---|
| £500 | £100 | £200 |
| £1,000 | £200 | £400 |
| £2,000 | £400 | £800 |
| £5,000 | £1,000 | £2,000 |
Left: CGT on gains above the £3,000 annual exempt amount, at 18% within the basic-rate band and 24% above, depending on your total income. Right: staking, mining, and airdrop rewards taxed as income at your marginal rate (20% or 40%) on their GBP value when received. The two are separate — earned crypto can be taxed as income on receipt and then for CGT on any gain when you later dispose of it.
How crypto tax works
The single biggest misunderstanding about crypto tax is that it only applies when you cash out to pounds. It doesn’t. HMRC treats crypto as an asset, and the tax turns on two questions: did you dispose of it, and did you earn it? Get those two ideas straight and the rest follows.
Disposals: far more than cashing out
You pay Capital Gains Tax when you dispose of crypto, and a disposal is broader than most people think. It includes selling for pounds, but also swapping one coin for another (BTC to ETH counts as selling your BTC), spending crypto on goods or services, and gifting it to anyone other than your spouse. Each is a taxable event valued in GBP at the time. What isn’t a disposal: buying crypto with pounds, and moving coins between your own wallets. So you can run up a tax bill in a year you never withdrew a penny to your bank.
The same CGT rules as shares
Since October 2024, crypto gains are taxed at the same 18% / 24% rates as shares and property, with the same £3,000 annual exempt amount. The gain is “top-sliced” onto your income, so your salary decides whether you pay 18%, 24%, or a mix. Unlike shares, though, crypto can’t be held in an ISA or pension, so there’s no tax-free wrapper — every gain above the allowance is potentially taxable. Losses can be offset against gains and carried forward if reported. See the Capital Gains Tax Calculator for how the bands work.
Earned crypto is income first
Crypto you earn rather than buy — staking rewards, mining, airdrops, or payment for work — is taxed as income at your marginal rate, based on its GBP value the day you receive it. That value then becomes your cost base, so if you later sell it for more, CGT applies to the additional gain. It’s two bites: income tax on the way in, capital gains tax on any growth afterwards. This catches people who think staking rewards are only taxed when sold.
Worked examples
Four scenarios: the swap that surprises people, the share-pooling rule, earned crypto taxed twice, and a loss put to work.
Scenario 1 · The crypto-to-crypto swap
Tax with no cash withdrawn
Disposal value £3,500 − cost £2,000 = £1,500 gain
Taxable, even though no pounds were withdrawn
This is the one that catches everyone. Swapping your ETH for another token is a disposal of the ETH at its £3,500 market value, crystallising a £1,500 gain — a taxable event, despite never touching your bank account. If your total gains for the year stay under the £3,000 allowance there’s no tax, but the disposal still has to be tracked. Active traders making dozens of swaps can build large taxable gains without ever cashing out.
Scenario 2 · Share pooling (Section 104)
Working out the cost of what you sold
Average cost = £50,000 ÷ 2 = £25,000 per BTC
Sell 1 BTC at £35,000 → gain £10,000
When you’ve bought the same coin at different prices, HMRC uses a “Section 104 pool” — you average the cost. Two BTC bought for £50,000 total give an average cost of £25,000 each, so selling one at £35,000 is a £10,000 gain, not measured against any single purchase. Special same-day and 30-day rules override the pool for very recent buys, but for most holders the pooled average is what matters. Good records are everything here.
Scenario 3 · Staking rewards taxed twice
Income on receipt, then CGT on growth
Income tax on receipt: 40% = £400
Later sell for £1,800 → CGT on the £800 gain since receipt
Earned crypto gets taxed on the way in and on the way up. A higher-rate staker receiving £1,000 of rewards pays £400 income tax straight away, on the GBP value at receipt. That £1,000 becomes the cost base, so selling later for £1,800 creates an £800 capital gain — covered by the allowance here, but taxable if your total gains exceed £3,000. Treating staking rewards as tax-free until sold is a common and costly error.
Scenario 4 · A loss put to work
Offsetting a bad trade against a good one
Net gain £5,000 − £3,000 allowance = £2,000 taxable
Higher-rate CGT: £480
Capital losses offset capital gains. An £8,000 gain reduced by a £3,000 loss leaves a £5,000 net gain, then the £3,000 allowance brings the taxable figure to £2,000 — £480 at the higher rate. Losses you can’t use this year carry forward indefinitely, but only if reported to HMRC. With crypto’s volatility, banking losses in bad years to shelter gains in good ones is one of the most valuable habits a holder can build.
What actually triggers crypto tax — and what doesn’t
Most guides quote “18% to 24%” and stop. But the real question is which of your transactions are taxable at all — and the answer surprises people. Work through these four to know where you stand:
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1
Did you dispose, or just hold and move?
Selling, swapping coin for coin, spending, and gifting are disposals — all taxable. Buying with pounds, holding, and moving between your own wallets are not. The swap rule is the one that catches active traders, who can owe tax without ever cashing out.
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2
Did you earn it, or buy it?
Crypto earned from staking, mining, airdrops, or work is income, taxed at your marginal rate on receipt — then CGT on later growth. Crypto you bought is only ever subject to CGT. Mixing the two up is the most common reporting error.
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3
Are your records good enough?
Every disposal needs its date, GBP value, and cost from your pool. With dozens or hundreds of transactions, this is where it gets hard — and from 2026, under CARF, HMRC receives your exchange data directly, so it can cross-check. Reconcile your records; the maths is mechanical once they’re right.
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4
Have you used your allowance and losses?
The £3,000 allowance is use-it-or-lose-it, and spreading disposals across tax years can use two. Reported losses offset gains and carry forward. Transfers to a spouse are tax-free and unlock a second allowance. Unlike shares, there’s no ISA wrapper for crypto, so these levers matter more.
A year of crypto activity — what’s taxable
Same portfolio, different actions:
The same holdings produce no tax while bought, held, and moved — but a swap and some staking rewards both create liabilities, one capital, one income. That’s why “do I owe crypto tax?” can’t be answered by how much you cashed out; it depends on every disposal and everything you earned. For most holders the practical work is record-keeping, not maths: track each disposal’s GBP value and pooled cost, separate earned crypto from bought, and use your allowance, losses, and a spouse’s allowance where you can. From 2026 the data reaches HMRC regardless, so accurate reporting is the only safe path. The calculator does the matching once your transactions are in.
Reporting and the CARF change
You report crypto through Self Assessment by 31 January. You generally need to report if your total disposal proceeds exceed £50,000 in a year, or if your taxable gains exceed the £3,000 allowance, or if you have crypto income to declare. The big shift is CARF: from 1 January 2026, UK crypto platforms must collect and report user transaction data to HMRC, with the first reports covering 2026 activity. The era of crypto being invisible to HMRC is over — undeclared gains are increasingly likely to be spotted, so declaring properly is both the legal and the sensible choice.
Two scenarios that change the picture
What if…
You swap coins all year without cashing out?
What if…
You transferred some holdings to a spouse first?
Key crypto tax terms explained
Crypto tax blends capital gains rules, income tax, and some crypto-specific matching mechanics. The ten terms below cover what you’ll meet working out what you owe.
- Disposal
- Any event that triggers Capital Gains Tax: selling for pounds, swapping coin for coin, spending crypto, or gifting it (except to a spouse). Buying and holding, and moving between your own wallets, are not disposals.
- Capital Gains Tax
- The tax on profit when you dispose of crypto — 18% basic, 24% higher, above the £3,000 allowance. The same rates as shares since October 2024, top-sliced onto your income.
- Annual exempt amount
- The £3,000 of total capital gains you can make tax-free each year, shared across crypto, shares, and other assets. Use-it-or-lose-it, and much smaller than the £12,300 of a few years ago.
- Crypto income
- Crypto you earn rather than buy — staking, mining, airdrops, or payment for work — taxed as income at your marginal rate on its GBP value when received, before any later CGT.
- Section 104 pool
- HMRC’s method for costing crypto bought at different prices: you average the cost of all units of the same coin. Selling part of your holding uses this pooled average, not any single purchase.
- Same-day & 30-day rules
- Matching rules that override the pool for recent buys: disposals are matched first to same-day acquisitions, then to any bought within the next 30 days, to stop short-term “bed and breakfasting”.
- Cost base
- What you’re treated as having paid for the crypto — its purchase price plus fees, or its GBP value when earned. The gain is the disposal value minus this cost base.
- Capital loss
- A loss on a disposal, which offsets gains and carries forward indefinitely — but only if reported to HMRC. Given crypto’s volatility, banking losses is especially valuable for sheltering future gains.
- CARF
- The Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework: from 2026, UK exchanges must report user transaction data to HMRC. Not a new tax, but it ends crypto’s invisibility, with first reports covering 2026 activity.
- Spouse transfer
- Moving crypto to a husband, wife, or civil partner is tax-free and uses their £3,000 allowance and tax band. With no ISA wrapper for crypto, it’s one of the few ways to cut a gain legitimately.
Five mistakes people make with crypto tax
Crypto tax trips people up because the rules are counter-intuitive and the records are hard. These five errors, drawn from the recurring r/UKPersonalFinance and r/BitcoinUK threads, are the costly ones.
Thinking tax only applies when you cash out
The most expensive myth: that crypto is only taxed when converted to pounds. In fact, swapping one coin for another, spending it, and gifting it are all disposals. Active traders can build large taxable gains with nothing withdrawn. Treat every swap as a sale and track its GBP value.
Cost: a tax bill you didn’t see coming Fix: track swaps, spends, and gifts as disposalsIgnoring staking and mining as income
Many treat staking or mining rewards as tax-free until sold. They’re income on receipt, taxed at your marginal rate on the GBP value that day — then CGT on any later gain. Missing the income charge understates your tax and is exactly what CARF data will reveal.
Cost: unpaid income tax plus penalties Fix: record rewards’ GBP value at receiptKeeping poor or no records
Without dates, GBP values, and pooled costs for every transaction, working out gains is impossible — and HMRC now receives exchange data under CARF. Reconstructing years of trades after the fact is painful. Keep a running record, or use crypto tax software, from the start.
Cost: hours of work or an over-estimated bill Fix: keep transaction records as you goNot reporting losses
Crypto’s volatility produces losses, which offset gains and carry forward — but only if reported. People who sell at a loss and say nothing can’t use it against a future gain. Report losses to HMRC even in a year with no tax to pay, to bank them for later.
Cost: wasted losses worth real tax later Fix: report losses to carry them forwardAssuming HMRC can’t see it
The idea that crypto is invisible to HMRC is out of date. Under CARF, from 2026 UK exchanges report user data directly, and HMRC can cross-check it against returns. Undeclared gains are increasingly likely to surface, with interest and penalties. Declaring properly is now the only safe route.
Cost: back tax, interest, and penalties Fix: declare crypto on Self AssessmentFrequently asked questions
Do I pay tax on cryptocurrency in the UK?
Yes. HMRC treats crypto as a capital asset, so you pay Capital Gains Tax on the profit when you dispose of it — above the £3,000 allowance, at 18% or 24% depending on your income. Crypto you earn from staking, mining, or airdrops is taxed as income instead.
Buying crypto and simply holding it isn’t taxed, and nor is moving it between your own wallets. The tax arises when you dispose of it or earn it — not just when you cash out to pounds.
Is swapping one crypto for another taxable?
Yes — and this catches most people out. Swapping Bitcoin for Ethereum is treated as selling your Bitcoin at its GBP value on the day, so any gain since you bought it is a taxable disposal, even though no pounds change hands.
The same applies to spending crypto on goods or services, and gifting it to anyone other than your spouse. Active traders making many swaps can build significant taxable gains without ever withdrawing to their bank account, so each swap needs tracking.
How much is crypto tax in the UK?
On gains, the first £3,000 a year is tax-free, then 18% if you’re a basic-rate taxpayer and 24% if you’re higher-rate — the same rates as shares since October 2024. A £10,000 gain costs a basic-rate taxpayer £1,260 and a higher-rate one £1,680.
On crypto you earn (staking, mining, airdrops), it’s income tax at your marginal rate — 20%, 40%, or 45% — on the GBP value when received. The two are separate, so earned crypto can face income tax on receipt and CGT on later growth.
Is staking income taxed?
Yes. Staking and mining rewards are generally taxed as income at your marginal rate on the GBP value when you receive them, not when you sell. That value then becomes your cost base.
So if you receive £1,000 of staking rewards and later sell them for £1,800, you pay income tax on the £1,000 at receipt, then Capital Gains Tax on the £800 of growth (if your total gains exceed the £3,000 allowance). Treating staking as tax-free until sold is a common, costly error.
What is share pooling for crypto?
When you’ve bought the same coin at different prices, HMRC uses a “Section 104 pool” — you average the cost of all your units. If you bought one BTC at £20,000 and another at £30,000, your pooled cost is £25,000 each.
Selling one BTC at £35,000 is then a £10,000 gain, measured against the pooled average, not any single purchase. Special same-day and 30-day rules override the pool for very recent buys, but for most holders the pooled average is what applies.
Can HMRC track my crypto?
Increasingly, yes. Under the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF), from 1 January 2026 UK crypto platforms must collect and report user transaction data to HMRC, with the first reports covering 2026 activity.
This means HMRC can cross-check what you declare against the data exchanges send. The days of crypto being invisible are ending, so undeclared gains are increasingly likely to be spotted, with interest and penalties. Declaring properly is now both the legal and the sensible choice. See gov.uk.
Do I need to report crypto if I made a loss?
You should. A capital loss offsets gains and can be carried forward indefinitely — but only if you’ve reported it to HMRC, generally within four years. Given crypto’s volatility, banking losses in bad years to shelter gains in good ones is valuable.
You may also need to report simply because your total disposal proceeds exceeded £50,000 in the year, even if you made no overall gain. When in doubt, report — it costs nothing and protects the loss for future use.
How do I reduce my crypto tax?
The main legitimate levers are: use your £3,000 allowance every year and spread disposals across tax years; report losses to offset gains; transfer some holdings to a spouse before selling to use their allowance and band; and time disposals for a lower-income year where the 18% rate applies.
Unlike shares, crypto can’t be held in an ISA or pension, so there’s no tax-free wrapper — which makes the allowance, losses, and a spouse’s allowance the key tools. For large or complex holdings, a crypto-specialist accountant is worth the cost.
Related calculators
Crypto tax sits alongside the wider CGT rules, your income band, and the other taxes on investments. These calculators handle each piece.
Methodology & sources
How the maths works
The calculator separates the two ways crypto is taxed. For Capital Gains Tax, it treats each disposal — a sale, swap, spend, or gift — as a sale at GBP market value, subtracts the pooled cost (the Section 104 average, with same-day and 30-day matching for recent buys), deducts the £3,000 annual exempt amount across all gains, then applies 18% within the remaining basic-rate band and 24% above, stacking the gain on your other income. For crypto income — staking, mining, airdrops, or payment — it taxes the GBP value at receipt at your marginal Income Tax rate, and that value becomes the cost base for any later CGT. Losses offset gains and, if reported, carry forward. This is why the same activity can create a capital gain, an income charge, or both.
These are illustrative estimates to show how crypto tax behaves, not a personal tax computation. Real outcomes depend on your full transaction history, your other income, the GBP values at each event, available losses, and the current rates and thresholds, all of which can change. HMRC’s crypto guidance is still developing, and the treatment of airdrops, DeFi yield, and some staking remains an area of interpretation. The aim is to show how disposals and earnings are taxed and what drives the bill — not to replace tailored advice from a crypto-specialist accountant. Do not file a return based solely on this tool.
Assumptions and conventions used
- Crypto is a capital asset, not currency (HMRC treatment)
- Disposal = sell, swap, spend, or gift (not buy, hold, or self-transfer)
- CGT: 18% basic, 24% higher, above the £3,000 allowance
- Gains top-sliced onto income, like shares since Oct 2024
- Earned crypto: income tax at marginal rate on receipt, then CGT on gain
- Section 104 pool with same-day and 30-day matching
- No ISA or pension wrapper available for crypto
- Reporting: Self Assessment; proceeds over £50,000 or gains over allowance
- CARF exchange reporting from 2026 · figures are illustrative current UK figures