Calculate total UK capital gains tax across your entire cryptocurrency portfolio using HMRC's Section 104 pooling rules.
Crypto CGT Liability
Frequently Asked Questions
HMRC treats cryptocurrency as a capital asset. Profits from selling, exchanging, or spending crypto are subject to Capital Gains Tax. The annual allowance is £3,000 (2025/26).
HMRC requires using the Section 104 pool method: all purchases of the same cryptocurrency are pooled together, and cost basis is averaged across the pool. You can't pick specific lots.
From October 2024, crypto gains are taxed at 18% (basic rate taxpayers) or 24% (higher rate taxpayers). The previous 10%/20% rates no longer apply to crypto.
If your total gains minus losses are under the £3,000 annual allowance, you don't owe CGT. But you still need to report gains over £50,000 in proceeds (even if no tax is owed).
Disposals include: selling crypto for fiat, swapping one crypto for another, paying for goods/services with crypto, gifting crypto (except to spouse), and receiving crypto as salary.
Gifting crypto to anyone other than your spouse or civil partner is a disposal at market value. You must calculate the gain based on that market value minus your cost.
Yes. Crypto losses can be offset against gains in the same tax year or carried forward indefinitely. Report losses to HMRC within 4 years.
If you sell crypto and buy it back within 30 days, the repurchase price becomes the cost basis (same-day and 30-day rules apply, matching to prevent bed-and-crypto tax avoidance).
Airdrops with no service are non-taxable on receipt; cost basis is zero. DeFi income (staking, yield) is usually income tax, and cost basis equals the value at receipt.
No. UK CGT only applies when you dispose of crypto. Holding crypto in a wallet, no matter how much it rises, is not a taxable event.
Report on your Self Assessment tax return (SA108 Capital Gains supplement) or use the real-time CGT service for disposals outside of a tax return period.
Keep records of: date of each transaction, type of crypto, amount and value in GBP at transaction time, costs, and disposal proceeds. HMRC requires 5 years of records.