Estimate capital gains tax on crypto trades across nine major jurisdictions.
Pick your country, filing status, and annual income. Add one or more closed trades with buy and sell details. The calculator classifies each as short or long term where the country distinguishes the two, applies current tax brackets, and shows an estimated tax liability. Works for the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Netherlands, India, and Morocco.
Run the estimate
Pick your country, filing status, and annual income. Add one or more trades. The calculator classifies each trade as short or long term where the country distinguishes the two, sums gains and losses, and applies a simplified tax estimate based on current brackets. Your inputs save locally.
How crypto tax works
Crypto tax follows the same conceptual framework as other capital asset taxation in most jurisdictions. A taxpayer acquires an asset at a cost basis, later disposes of it at a sale price, and pays tax on the difference. The complications come from the sheer volume of small transactions typical of active crypto use, the classification of specific activities (staking, airdrops, hard forks, DeFi yield), and the fact that regulation varies widely country by country.
Two broad categories of crypto income apply in most frameworks. Capital gains arise when you dispose of a crypto asset, whether by selling for fiat, trading for another crypto, or spending it on goods and services. Tax is computed on the difference between your cost basis and your proceeds. Ordinary income arises when you receive crypto that was not purchased, such as mining rewards, staking yield, airdrops, or payment for services. The income is valued at the market price on the date of receipt and taxed at your ordinary rate.
Most jurisdictions then apply a capital gains framework that differs from ordinary income, often at a lower rate, sometimes with a holding period requirement. The interaction between these two categories (especially for staking rewards that are income at receipt but then capital assets at disposal) is where much of the real complexity lives.
US crypto tax rules
The IRS treats cryptocurrency as property, not currency, for tax purposes. Every taxable disposal generates a capital gain or loss based on the difference between proceeds and cost basis. Short-term gains (assets held one year or less) are taxed at the taxpayer ordinary income rate, which ranges from 10 to 37 percent depending on income. Long-term gains (held more than one year) are taxed at 0, 15, or 20 percent depending on taxable income.
Crypto capital gains are reported on IRS Form 8949 and aggregated onto Schedule D. Each disposal is a separate line item, which can produce thousands of rows for active traders. Exchanges are gradually moving toward issuing Form 1099-DA (digital assets), which will eventually provide broker reporting similar to stocks, but coverage is partial as of filing years 2025 and 2026.
Additional considerations matter at higher incomes. The Net Investment Income Tax adds 3.8 percent on investment income (including capital gains) above modified adjusted gross income thresholds of 200,000 dollars for single filers and 250,000 for joint filers. State tax varies from zero (Texas, Florida, Washington, several others) up to roughly 13.3 percent in California. The combined federal plus state marginal rate on short-term crypto gains can exceed 50 percent in high-tax jurisdictions.
Loss deduction rules favor crypto traders relative to securities traders. Capital losses offset capital gains of the same type first, then across types, then up to 3,000 dollars against ordinary income per year, with the balance carried forward indefinitely. The wash sale rule that applies to securities (disallowing a loss if you repurchase within 30 days) does not currently apply to crypto because crypto is property rather than a security. Several legislative proposals have sought to close this gap but none have passed as of this writing.
UK crypto tax rules
HMRC treats crypto as a form of property subject to Capital Gains Tax. Every disposal, including crypto-to-crypto trades, is a CGT event. Unlike the United States, the UK does not distinguish between short and long term. Gains above the annual exempt amount (3,000 pounds for 2024/25) are taxed at a flat 10 percent for basic rate taxpayers and 20 percent for higher and additional rate taxpayers.
Cost basis uses the share pooling method rather than FIFO or specific identification. All holdings of a given asset are pooled, and a proportional cost basis is calculated for each disposal. UK traders must also be aware of the 30 day rule (also called “bed and breakfasting”), which applies a modified wash sale concept: if you repurchase a crypto within 30 days of selling, the cost basis rules treat it as if you never sold.
Mining, staking, and airdrop income is generally taxed as miscellaneous income at the taxpayer marginal rate. Some high-volume crypto activity can be reclassified as trading income (taxed at income rates rather than CGT), though this is relatively rare in practice. HMRC guidance continues to evolve and the Manual 2024 update tightened expectations around record keeping and disclosure.
Crypto tax rules in other countries
Canada
Canada treats crypto as a commodity under Revenue Canada guidance. Gains are subject to capital gains taxation with a 50 percent inclusion rate, meaning only half of realized gains are added to ordinary income and taxed at your combined federal plus provincial marginal rate. For high-volume or business-like activity, the CRA may reclassify gains as business income, which is fully taxable and subject to different reporting.
Australia
The ATO treats crypto as property subject to Capital Gains Tax. Assets held more than 12 months receive a 50 percent CGT discount, and net gains are added to ordinary income taxed at marginal rates up to 45 percent (plus Medicare levy). Personal use asset exemptions may apply to small transactions under 10,000 Australian dollars if the crypto was held primarily for personal use, though this exception is interpreted narrowly.
Germany
Germany has one of the most favorable regimes for long-term crypto holders. Assets held more than one year are entirely exempt from tax when sold. Assets held one year or less are taxed at the ordinary income rate, which ranges up to 45 percent at the top bracket, with a small annual exemption of 1,000 euros for private sale transactions. Staking may extend the required holding period to 10 years in some interpretations, though recent BMF guidance has narrowed that rule in most cases.
France
France applies the PFU (prélèvement forfaitaire unique) flat rate of 30 percent to all crypto capital gains, covering both income tax and social contributions. An annual exemption of 305 euros in total disposals shields very small traders. Active traders whose activity resembles a profession are taxed differently under the BIC or BNC regimes at potentially higher rates.
Netherlands
The Netherlands uses a wealth tax approach under Box 3. Rather than taxing realized capital gains, the government applies a deemed return to total assets each year and taxes that deemed return. The system has been under active reform since a 2021 court ruling, and the current transitional rules apply percentage brackets to asset categories. Crypto is treated as other savings. Consult a Dutch tax advisor for the current year rules, because the Box 3 framework is in the middle of being redesigned.
India
India taxes virtual digital asset gains at a flat 30 percent regardless of holding period, with no deduction other than cost of acquisition. Losses cannot offset gains from any other income category, including other crypto gains in some interpretations. A 1 percent TDS (tax deducted at source) applies to every crypto transfer above a small threshold, which creates a significant compliance burden for active traders. The regime is widely considered among the most restrictive globally.
Morocco
Morocco has no specific crypto tax regime as of this calculator. Crypto trading is not officially regulated, and in practice gains are often treated as other income under the general individual income tax schedule, which ranges from 10 to 38 percent depending on total income. Official guidance is limited, and practitioners recommend treating any meaningful crypto income as reportable until clearer rules emerge.
Taxable versus non-taxable events
The common list of events that trigger tax in most jurisdictions:
- Selling crypto for fiat. Disposal, triggers capital gains.
- Trading one crypto for another. Disposal, triggers capital gains in almost all jurisdictions (including the US). There is no tax-free like-kind exchange for crypto.
- Spending crypto on goods or services. Disposal, triggers capital gains on the difference between purchase price of goods in crypto terms and the crypto cost basis.
- Receiving mining or staking rewards. Ordinary income at the market value on the date of receipt.
- Receiving airdrops or hard fork tokens. Typically ordinary income at fair market value when you gain dominion and control.
- Earning crypto as payment. Ordinary income at fair market value on receipt.
Events that generally are not taxable:
- Buying crypto with fiat. Cost basis is established but no tax event.
- Transferring crypto between wallets you control. Same holding period and cost basis carry over.
- Holding crypto without selling or spending. Unrealized gains are not taxed in most jurisdictions (the Netherlands is an exception via Box 3 wealth tax).
- Gifting crypto below local thresholds. Recipient typically takes over your cost basis.
Cost basis methods
When you sell a portion of your crypto holdings, the cost basis method determines which specific units you are deemed to have sold, and therefore what your realized gain or loss is. The four most common methods:
- FIFO (first in, first out). The oldest units purchased are deemed sold first. Default method in many jurisdictions. In a rising market, this method typically produces the largest realized gains (and therefore the highest tax).
- LIFO (last in, first out). The newest units purchased are deemed sold first. Permitted in some US contexts but not all. Reduces realized gains in a rising market.
- HIFO (highest in, first out). The most expensive units are deemed sold first, minimizing realized gains. Generally permitted in the US under specific identification rules but requires detailed record keeping.
- Specific identification. You identify exactly which tax lot you are selling. Most flexible method and usually produces the best tax outcome, but requires the exchange or wallet to support lot-level tracking and for you to document the choice at the time of sale.
The UK does not permit these methods and instead uses share pooling, which averages cost basis across all units of a given asset. Most countries require you to apply your chosen method consistently once elected.
Staking and DeFi income taxation
Staking rewards are generally treated as ordinary income at fair market value on the date of receipt in most jurisdictions. The IRS issued specific guidance confirming this treatment for US taxpayers. The same framework applies to liquidity provider rewards in DeFi, yield farming distributions, and similar protocol level payments. These rewards then become new tax lots with their own cost basis equal to the income value, and any subsequent appreciation or depreciation creates capital gains or losses at disposal.
The record keeping burden for active DeFi users is substantial. Each claim, rebase, or auto-compound event may be a taxable event. Liquid staking derivatives (stETH, rETH, cbETH) complicate matters further because the rebasing mechanism versus reward-in-kind mechanism has different tax consequences. Most dedicated crypto tax software handles this, but manual tracking quickly becomes impractical.
Lending income (supplying crypto on Aave, Compound, or similar protocols) is generally ordinary income at receipt. Flash loans, MEV rewards, and other advanced DeFi activities fall into edge cases that may require professional judgment.
NFT taxation
NFTs are generally taxed under the same framework as other crypto assets, with some jurisdictions treating them as collectibles with higher rates. In the United States, the IRS has indicated it will treat certain NFTs as collectibles subject to the 28 percent maximum long-term rate rather than the standard 20 percent, though full guidance is still pending. Minting an NFT is usually not a taxable event; receiving payment from an NFT sale is income to the creator; buying an NFT is a disposal of the crypto used; selling an NFT later is a second capital event on the NFT itself.
NFT losses often trigger the same behavior as other crypto losses. In the US, they can offset gains within the same category. In the UK they are pooled for CGT purposes. Royalty income from NFT resales flows through to the original creator as ordinary income when the resale occurs.
Tax loss harvesting strategy
Tax loss harvesting is the practice of selling positions at a loss to generate deductible losses that offset taxable gains, typically near year end. The practice is especially attractive for crypto in the United States because the wash sale rule (which disallows losses if you repurchase within 30 days) does not currently apply. A US taxpayer can sell a losing crypto position to harvest the loss and immediately repurchase the same asset, locking in the tax benefit while maintaining the position.
Mechanically: identify positions trading below cost basis, sell them before the tax year ends, and use the realized loss to offset gains elsewhere in the portfolio. Unused losses offset up to 3,000 dollars of ordinary income per year in the US and carry forward indefinitely to future years. This can meaningfully reduce tax bills in volatile markets where some positions are up and others are down.
Important practical notes: the UK bed and breakfasting rule does apply to crypto, so immediate repurchase does not work there. Some jurisdictions have partial wash sale rules or treat reacquisition differently. Always verify the specific local rule before relying on tax loss harvesting. Also, coordinate harvesting with other portfolio decisions, because forcing a trade purely for tax reasons can interact poorly with market timing and asset allocation.
Best crypto tax software
For anything beyond a handful of trades, dedicated crypto tax software saves significant time over manual spreadsheet tracking. The leading options:
- Koinly. Supports more than 800 exchanges and 50 blockchains. Produces country-specific tax reports for over 100 jurisdictions including the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, and more. Free tier for viewing reports, paid tier for generating tax forms.
- TokenTax. US focused with strong support for complex scenarios including DeFi, NFTs, and margin trading. Expensive at the higher tiers but includes CPA review and filing assistance.
- CoinTracker. Good user interface, integrates with TurboTax for US filers, and supports most major exchanges via read-only API. Strong portfolio tracking side benefit.
- Koinly, CoinLedger, Accointing, ZenLedger. Broad mid-market options that cover the majority of retail use cases. Feature sets overlap substantially. The right choice often comes down to which exchanges and wallets you use most.
Whichever tool you pick, start the import early. Reconciling years of on-chain activity against centralized exchange histories is often the most time consuming part of crypto tax filing, and starting in January for the prior tax year is usually realistic only for simple cases.
Related tools
Profit and Loss Calculator
Calculate realized profit, return on investment, and exchange fees on any trade.
ToolStaking Calculator
Estimate staking rewards across major proof of stake coins.
ToolDCA Calculator
Simulate dollar-cost averaging outcomes for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and major altcoins.
Frequently asked questions
Is this calculator a substitute for a tax professional?
No. This tool produces a rough estimate based on simplified brackets and a small set of assumptions about your situation. Actual tax liability depends on factors the calculator does not model: state and local tax in the US, provincial rates in Canada, specific deductions, other income, the holding period rules in your exact jurisdiction, and the accounting method you have elected. Use the result as a starting point. For anything material, work with a qualified tax professional who has real crypto experience.
What counts as a taxable event in crypto?
In most jurisdictions, selling crypto for fiat, trading one crypto for another, spending crypto on goods or services, and receiving crypto from mining, staking, airdrops, or hard forks are all taxable events. Simply holding crypto, moving it between your own wallets, or gifting below a small threshold typically is not. The specific list varies by country and is covered in the sections above.
How are short-term and long-term gains different?
The distinction only applies in some countries. In the United States, assets held one year or less are short-term gains taxed at your marginal ordinary income rate. Assets held more than one year are long-term gains taxed at 0, 15, or 20 percent. Germany exempts assets held more than one year entirely. Australia discounts long-term gains by 50 percent. The United Kingdom, Canada, France, Netherlands, and India do not distinguish between short and long term for crypto.
Can I deduct crypto losses?
Usually yes, but rules vary. In the United States, capital losses offset capital gains of the same type first, then up to 3,000 dollars can offset ordinary income each year, with any remaining loss carried forward indefinitely. Most Western jurisdictions allow some form of loss offset. India is notable for not allowing crypto losses to offset gains from other income. Always verify locally before relying on a loss deduction.
What is the wash sale rule and does it apply to crypto?
The wash sale rule is a US rule that disallows a loss deduction if the taxpayer buys the same or substantially identical security within 30 days before or after the sale. As of this writing, the rule does not apply to crypto in the United States because the IRS classifies crypto as property rather than a security. This creates a legal tax loss harvesting window that most traditional assets do not have. Legislation to close the gap has been proposed but not enacted. The UK has a similar but functionally different “bed and breakfasting” rule that does apply to crypto.
Which cost basis method should I use?
This is an important decision because the method can meaningfully change your taxable gains. FIFO (first in, first out) is the default in many jurisdictions and typically produces the lowest realized gains in a rising market. HIFO (highest in, first out) minimizes gains by always selling the highest cost basis lot first, which is favorable for reducing current year tax. Specific identification lets you pick exactly which tax lot to sell. Not all jurisdictions permit all methods, and once you elect a method you generally must use it consistently. See the section above for a fuller discussion.
Are staking rewards taxed differently?
Yes, in most jurisdictions. Staking rewards are treated as ordinary income valued at the market price at the time of receipt, separate from any capital gain or loss on later disposal. This creates two taxable events per reward: the income event when you receive it, and a capital event when you sell. The cost basis of a sold reward is the value at the time it was received as income. Our staking calculator helps estimate the reward stream that drives the tax liability.
What if I never sold, only moved crypto between my own wallets?
Transferring crypto between wallets you control is generally not a taxable event in most jurisdictions. You still maintain the same cost basis and holding period on the transferred coins. However, network fees paid during the transfer may be taxable events themselves because spending crypto on transaction fees is a disposal. Keep records of transfer fees for your tax year in case they apply.
Related reading
For ongoing coverage of crypto tax policy and enforcement, see our regulation desk. For context on the markets that produce the gains and losses, browse the market analysis section. For daily coverage of the stories that move positions you might be harvesting, subscribe to our free newsletter.
