Cryptoasset Tax UK 2026/27 | CGT, Income Tax, Mining & Staking

HMRC does not treat cryptoassets as currency or money. In the common investment case, you may pay Capital Gains Tax when you dispose of them; crypto received from employment, mining, staking, lending, liquidity arrangements or services may instead be income, depending on the facts. For 2026/27 the CGT annual exempt amount is £3,000 and the main individual CGT rates are 18% within the unused basic-rate band and 24% above it. Selling for pounds, exchanging one token for another or spending crypto can be a disposal.

The tax-free threshold has fallen from £12,300 in 2022/23, so even modest portfolios now hit the reporting line. Calculate your gains with the Crypto Tax Calculator→, and check how crypto gains sit alongside share disposals with the CGT Calculator→.

What Counts as a Disposal

Transfers between your own wallets are not disposals, but the moment you trade into a different asset the old holding is treated as sold at its market value and the new one acquired at that value. That makes every exchange trade part of your tax records, and it is why exchange CSV exports alone are usually not enough — wallet-to-exchange movements must be reconciled to avoid double counting.

CGT Rates and the £3,000 Exemption

The exemption applies across all your chargeable assets, not just crypto. Gains under £3,000 in a tax year are within the annual exempt amount and it does not carry forward. The gain is added to taxable income to determine whether it falls within any unused basic-rate band; the relevant 2026/27 income-tax basic-rate band is £37,700 before considering the Personal Allowance. Do not treat £50,270 as a universal CGT threshold, and remember that other income and losses affect the calculation.

Pooling and Matching Rules

Each type of crypto generally forms a Section 104 pool at an average cost per token. When you dispose of tokens, the gain uses the applicable matching rules rather than simply the price of one chosen purchase. Before the pool is used, same-day acquisitions match first, followed by acquisitions in the 30 days after the disposal. These rules can defer or change the loss or gain computation; they are not a simple permanent loss disallowance.

Mining, Staking and Airdrops

Mining rewards may be taxable income at their market value when received, or trading receipts if the activity amounts to a trade. The facts determine whether actual expenses or the £1,000 trading and miscellaneous income allowance is relevant; do not claim both for the same income. The later disposal of tokens is then considered separately, normally using the value already brought into account as the acquisition value. Staking, lending and liquidity returns also depend on the arrangement: HMRC says some returns are income and some may be capital. Airdrops received without doing anything in return may escape Income Tax, while an airdrop provided for a service or as part of a trade can be income.

Worked Example: 1 BTC

The facts. Tom bought 1 BTC for £15,000 in June 2020 and sold it for £40,000 in November 2026. Assume he has no losses or other gains and that the whole taxable gain falls above the basic-rate band.

The example assumes the gain is above the unused basic-rate band, so the 24% rate applies. If Tom had unused basic-rate band, the gain falling within that band would be charged at 18% instead. This is why the actual result depends on taxable income, losses, other gains and the ordering of the annual exempt amount.

DeFi, Lending and Borrowing

Decentralised finance adds its own layer. HMRC does not apply one universal treatment to every DeFi return: the terms and structure determine whether a return is income or capital, and whether lending or liquidity provision amounts to a trade. Receiving a different token or a liquidity-provider token can itself require a disposal analysis. Liquidations may dispose of collateral at its market value. Keep transaction-level records for every protocol, token, fee and valuation, and do not label every reward as “interest” without examining the arrangement.

Reporting to HMRC

Crypto gains can be reported through Self Assessment or, where eligible, HMRC’s real-time CGT service. If you use Self Assessment, report gains when taxable gains exceed the annual exempt amount or when the disposal-proceeds reporting test applies; for 2023/24 onwards the proceeds test is more than £50,000, including where gains are within the allowance. Crypto income is reported under the relevant income rules. Exchange exports are not tax calculations: keep the transaction-level schedules, pooling records and GBP valuations. HMRC’s cryptoasset information rules are also increasing, so platform records should reconcile with your return.

The 30-Day Rule in Practice

The 30-day matching rule applies when you dispose of a token and acquire the same type within the following 30 days. The acquisition is matched to the disposal before the Section 104 pool, so the calculation may defer or change the gain or loss; it is not simply an automatic permanent loss. Selling ETH and buying BTC is a disposal of ETH and is not the same-token 30-day match, but it remains chargeable. Keep the exact token identity and dates rather than relying on a generic “31-day” planning rule.

Losses and Record Keeping

Crypto losses can offset gains in the same year or be carried forward, subject to the normal claim and reporting rules; they cannot be set against salary. A same-token acquisition within 30 days changes the matching computation rather than automatically erasing the loss. HMRC expects transaction-level records: date, type of crypto, quantity, GBP value, bank and wallet records, pooled costs and allowable fees. Use exchange exports plus wallet statements, and reconcile them to the pooling rules.

Trading activity, employment and borrowing

The investment treatment in this guide should not be copied onto an organised crypto business. HMRC looks at the facts when deciding whether activity is a trade, including the nature, scale, frequency, organisation, intention and commerciality. A person who regularly provides services, operates a mining business or deals as a business may have trading income and National Insurance questions rather than only a capital gain. A limited company also needs a Corporation Tax analysis and should not use an individual investor's Section 104 calculation without review.

Crypto received from an employer can be employment income or a benefit, with payroll and reporting consequences. A token received for services can be income even when it is locked, staked or immediately moved to another wallet. Establish the GBP value and tax point when received, then keep the later disposal separate. A later rise in value is not normally taxed twice as income; it forms part of the subsequent disposal calculation using the amount already brought into account as the acquisition value, subject to the exact rules.

Borrowing, collateral and lending also need separate timelines. A loan received is not automatically income, but interest, fees, collateral disposal, liquidation and token replacement can each create a tax event. The proposed 2027 crypto-loan framework is not current law for 2026/27. Apply the existing rules to current-year transactions and retain the agreement, wallet movements and market values in case the arrangement is reviewed.

Exchange information and data quality

HMRC's cryptoasset reporting changes mean a service provider's future report may not match the format of an old exchange export. The taxpayer remains responsible for the return. Reconcile the provider's account identifier, wallet addresses, deposits, withdrawals, fees and GBP conversion method to the transaction ledger. A transfer between your own wallets should not be counted as a disposal, but an unlabelled transfer can look like a sale or an unexplained acquisition when the records are incomplete.

Keep a source note for the exchange rate used on each material event. If an asset is thinly traded, record the valuation method and the time of the price. Preserve original CSV files and a read-only copy of the transformed ledger so a later correction can be reproduced. This is particularly important where the same token appears on several platforms or where a lost wallet, chain migration or wrapped token makes the asset identity difficult to follow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Run your trades through the Crypto Tax Calculator→ and check share disposals with the CGT Calculator→. Pair this guide with Capital Gains Tax 2026/27 and Record Keeping Requirements 2026/27 for the wider picture.

Official sources

• HMRC: Check if you need to pay tax when you sell cryptoassets
• HMRC: Check if you need to pay tax when you receive cryptoassets
• GOV.UK: Capital Gains Tax rates
• HMRC: Cryptoassets Manual
• HMRC: Cryptoasset information reporting for UK service providers