Crypto tax UK
How Capital Gains Tax on crypto works in the UK
HMRC taxes cryptoassets as property. This is a plain-English, HMRC-cited guide to how gains are actually calculated: per-token Section 104 pooling, the same-day and 30-day rules, swaps as disposals, and staking as income.
Last updated 7 September 2026 · for the 2026/27 tax year · general information, not advice for your circumstances.
Do you pay tax on crypto in the UK?
Yes, in most cases. HMRC treats cryptoassets as property, not currency, so disposing of them can create a Capital Gains Tax liability. Some activity (such as staking rewards) is taxed as income first, then as a gain when you later dispose of the tokens.
What counts as a disposal of crypto?
Selling tokens for pounds, swapping one token for another, spending crypto on goods or services, and giving it away (other than to a spouse or civil partner) are all disposals. A token-to-token swap is two events at once: a disposal of what you gave and an acquisition of what you received, both valued in GBP.
How is a crypto gain calculated?
Each token gets its own Section 104 pool, a single running quantity and average cost. When you dispose, HMRC applies the same identification order as for shares: same-day acquisitions first, then anything you bought back within the following 30 days (the bed and breakfast rule), then the Section 104 pool. Your gain is the GBP proceeds minus the allowable cost that comes out under those rules.
How are staking rewards and airdrops taxed?
Rewards you receive (staking, some airdrops, mining) are usually taxable as income at their GBP value on the day you receive them. That value also becomes the acquisition cost of those tokens, so any change in value between receiving and later disposing of them is a separate capital gain or loss.
Is HMRC really getting my exchange data?
Increasingly, yes. Under the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, from 1 January 2026 UK exchanges collect and report user information to HMRC, and HMRC has been sending nudge letters to people it believes have undeclared gains. Computing your position correctly, with an audit trail, is the safe response.
What is the Capital Gains Tax allowance for crypto?
The annual exempt amount is £3,000 for the 2026/27 tax year, and it is shared across all your chargeable gains (crypto and shares together). Gains above it are taxed at 18% within your remaining basic-rate band and 24% above it, for disposals from 30 October 2024 onward.
A worked example: a swap is a disposal
Suppose your Section 104 pool holds 0.5 BTC with an allowable cost of £15,000 (an average of £30,000 per BTC). You swap 0.1 BTC for ETH when 0.1 BTC is worth £4,000. HMRC treats that as a disposal of 0.1 BTC for £4,000. The allowable cost is 0.1 ÷ 0.5 of the pool, which is £3,000, so the gain is £4,000 minus £3,000, a £1,000 gain. Your BTC pool drops to 0.4 BTC and £12,000 of cost, and you start a new ETH acquisition at £4,000.
Work out your own figure
Pooled runs the rules above across every token and every account, and flags any row that has no GBP value rather than inventing a price. Try the free calculator, or import an exchange CSV to see your own position.
Crypto tax by exchange
The tax treatment is the same wherever you trade; only the export differs. Guides for the venues Pooled imports: